Specialty Item Material Update

So I went to Micheal's today and was looking around for some sort of material that I could make the body of my specialty item from. They didn't have any industrial foam (wasn't surprised.. I have no clue where to find that). But I did find regular blocks of Styrofoam.. but then decided that that would become to messy and I'd have to spend even MORE money, buying a cutting device for it. So finally, I rested on regular foam (the kind kids use in art projects). I've decided that I'm going to layer it so it is thicker yet still manageable.
Still not sure yet how I'm going to do the wheels.. although I think I have a plan that would avoid that altogether.
More soon.

My Specialty Item Idea

I think that it would be really cool to use the finger-skateboard toys that came out a few years ago. It would be a cool way to promote a real-life skateboard and biking store. I think I would place a sticker on the bottom of the skateboard that promoted the store.. and then possibly have other stickers that you could either collect or would be given with the finger-skateboard to switch out.

(If you aren't familiar with the finger-skateboards.. here is an example image below.)

Specialty Items

Cool specialty items.

YouTubeVideo

I watched this and it got me thinking...

Line and Text

A line and text experiment.

Ideas with Image

These two are the same idea as my all text ads, but they have images.

Scratched Ideas

These were some things I was working on that didn't make it.

More on Ads

So I decided to see what an all type ad would look like.. and I gotta say.. I like it. It is clean and straight to the point! And I think not having an image leaves the audience wondering just what the ad is about. Then the logo at the bottom leads the viewer in the right direction.

Computer Ad Sketch

So I think I develop my ideas a lot better when they are done on the computer. This not only helps me be more creative by seeing what I can do, but also gives me a more realistic view of my limitations as well. These are things that I can work on the future to overcome.
Either way, below are two different versions of the same ad.. I'm not sure which way I'd like to go yet.

More Ad Ideas

Final Mailer

So this is just the final version of my mailer...

Ad Idea Sketches

So I decided to expand upon my first campaign idea.. and here are the sketches from that...

My Ad Ideas

AD Campaign Idea #1
Better than a car campaign.
no polluting exhaust-image of dark exhaust coming from a car juxtaposed with the cleanness of a skateboard or bike
no paying for parking-image of taken parking on the side of an atlanta road (one with a parking meter) and a skateboard or bike wedged in between two spots with the words "No Problem." written underneath
no paying for gas-either an image of a gas price board.. or one of a car stalled out on the side of a road because it ran out of gas
no traffic-image of congested traffic and a skateboard or bike traveling along side the road getting to where it needs to be

These where just a few ideas I was thinking about working around.

AD Campaign Idea #2
Play on road signs campaign.
This campaign would feature images of road signs with alternative meanings. These things would be related back to skateboarding or biking in some way.

I also had another idea.. although I'm not sure how I would make 3 different but similar ads... but I would have an image of a sign in front of a skatepark or ramp that would read "No Skating, No Biking, No Boarding" then below that in smaller text it would say "Psych."

Skateboard Ads

So I was looking for Skateshop ads.. but there weren't really any to be found. However I found some ads for skateboard brands...

Completely Random.. BUT COOL Advertisements!

None of these advertisements are your "traditional" (page in a magazine) ad's... but I thought they were pretty cool ways of advertising a brand.

Mailer Update

So after some much needed revisions, I think I'm getting closer to my final product. I decided to take advantage of the strong angles on the folds of my pop up and make my image have more perspective. And although you can't really see it in the image, when you open the mailer the pop up comes up, then goes back a bit, making a bit of a shelf (for lack of better words) where the sidewalk is. It's actually really cool if you see it. Also, the skateboard (logo) pops out from the background as well. On the left hand side of the mailer is a business card, that once again just like my stationary, you can pop out and make better use of an entire piece of paper you may have thrown away (although if I got this mailer in the mail... it'd be in my collection for life).
Also, on the right side of the mailer I decided to use a chart-like manner of organizing my maintenance tips so it would be more appealing to the audience my mailer would be going to (very visual people). Either way... I'm still working, but hopefully this will give you an idea of my progress!

Mailer

So I've been working on this pop up idea some.. and I think I have to basic design decided.. at least for now. My mailer features a pop up area on the top which automatically folds out when the mailer is opened (like a card), and the right hand side will have a business card which the recipient will be able to punch out (MORE PERFORATIONS!!)! Also, the area behind the skateboard has a huge glow on it in the photo, however that is only to differentiate the space. The real one will not need this because the skateboard and cityscape will be on two separate planes.

The All-in-One

So I decided that going along with my eco-friendly theme, I would not only combine the business card with the letterhead, but I would also make it the envelope as well.
I used textured paper (to go with the idea of roughness... from the grip tape, the cement, the concrete) to create this all-in-one piece.
I extended the top of the letterhead to include a cutout of the logo which wound work as the sealing point on the envelope.
The sides of the letterhead/envelope would be glued down on the edges and perforated approximately ..5cm into the letterhead/envelope to ensure the customers privacy. This would be torn off in order to fully open the letterhead.
Once opened, the bottom of the letterhead has an area which would be torn off, then within that there is a front and back to a business card that would be punched out (it is perforated) and folded along the middle (already scored). Then on the back of the letterhead (on the part that is folded INTO the envelope, there is a piece of double-sided tape (which is still covered) which would be used to hold the folded sides of the business card together.

Honestly, even though at times I just wanted to tear up the entire project (lol yes I said it)... I LOVE how my concept turned out. And the design isn't too shabby either. :)

Printing Issues

I think that graphic design is often limited by printing issues! The inability to replicate on-screen colors and dimensions is sooo frustrating!
I just had to let that out before I continue.

I went out an bought both premium presentation matte paper, and ultra premium presentation matte paper with the goal to find a nice thick paper to print on, so that double-sided printing would not be an issue. But now I've found myself with paper which is too thick for an envelope or letterhead (although it works great with my business cards!). So now I'm looking into different kinds of paper to print on. (Although it is VERY short notice to start doing this now)

When I printed out a mock-up for class I had used sketchpad paper (this is prior to buying the matte paper) because I needed a paper with a bit more weight to print on. And while I was expecting a blah kind of print out, the texture actually added a cool element to my design.
So now I would like to find a textured paper to print on that is a bit heavier than the sketchpad paper. I was thinking that some kind of scrapbooking paper could be kinda cool.

So I guess it's off to the store with me again.

Experimenting with Other Mediums

So I had this FANTASTIC idea to use transparency paper for my business cards. I figured using this would not only make my cards more durable, but it would also be helpful because that way I wouldn't have to use the green border (like i had been using before) and I could leave those parts clear (to encourage the idea of movement more). However, after a few test prints I ran into come problems.
A. When they say that the other side is not printable, they mean it. All I got was a pile of ink (which was kinda cool though, as I could press it against something else and get some pretty cool textured prints).
B. The printed piece is very transparent still. Go figure. (haha.. I guess I didn't think that one out too well) ... So being able to paste something to the other side (such as the back side of the card) wouldn't be very legible.

So while it was a cool idea... in practice it just isn't plausible.
I think that I could resolve my problems by printing my front and back on the printable side of the transparency paper, and then attach them together with a piece of paper only between the main part of the board, however this wouldn't be doable for mass production. Everything would HAVE to be hand done and it would be HORRIBLY time consuming for the client.

Coming Along

I've definitely gone into a different direction than what I was doing before, however I think it is for the better. My new identity includes more horizontal lines that help to promote the idea of streamline movement. And gradients are also utilized to evoke a sense of depth and territory.