Brochure Design

I have been wanting to make something nice that I can send to clients or leave behind at conventions or portfolio viewings. I already have a postcard and some old business cards, but I feel like they are outdated, they don't represent me and my business in the best way possible. Besides, I also wanted something a little different and more exclusive looking than just a postcard.

So as you might have guessed I chose to go for a brochure (see design below). It gave me more room to play around with, room for practical information and a few examples of my work and a proper design. Usually a brochure would be made in a standing format, but I kind of like the idea of a lying(landscape) format, so my design differs a bit from what you would usually see. I will also have some new business cards printed up and maybe some new postcards. We'll just have to see what I can afford.






I want to show my potential customers that I have a cohesive business profile, that I am indeed a professional. That's why the design of my brochure matches my blog design and the coloring of my temporary website. It just seems more professional when things look like they belong together and like it was made by the same person.

The brochures are already in the mail and as soon as they arrive I will post the result on the blog. Now if I have inspired you in some mysterious way to print up some of your own promotional material here are a few on-line print companies that can help you along th way!

www.moo.com
This company offers to print business cards, post cards, labels and stickers. A lot of companies do the same, but the nice thing about these guys is that they offer the option to print several different designs in the same print run so you don't have to blow all your money on one design if you don't want to. They are supposed to be affordable too so definitely worth a shot.

vistaprint.no
This is a norwegian site. They offer everything from t-shirts, banners, caps, mugs, business cards, note pads. Pretty much anything you could want. They are not that expensive unless you want your items delivered very quickly so order things in good time to save a bit of money. They offer free design templates or you can use your own images, they do charge for uploading your own images though, but right now they have a campaign going where the uploading is free.

blurb.com
If you really want to go over the top and don't mind spending a bit of money then this is the site for you. You can order professional quality books in full color with high end paper. Great for a portfolio or if you want an amazing leave behind for the clients you really want to impress.

for a more in-depth article on the leave behind/promotional item please visit this article written by Jon Schindehette over at the ArtOrder as it is a wonderful article on the subject and he knows what he is talking about.

Until next time
Anita K. Olsen

How to promote your illustration business?

I have been pondering how to promote my business quite a lot recently, because let's be honest without promotion there will be no jobs. I think a lot of us young, up and coming artists struggle with this. We are not business graduates, most of us have never studied economics or business management or anything remotely similar to it before we jump into the shark infested waters of the illustration business. So what the hell are we supposed to do once we have gotten ourselves into this position?


Message in a bottle. A fun and eye-catching way of promoting your business!(image found on google)

On paper the answer is easy and straightforward in some ways, but in reality it really isn't. There are countless ways of promoting your business both traditionally and in unconventional ways. Traditionally business cards and postcards seem to be the people's choice because it's usually cheap and they are easy to bring along with you or pop into a mailbox. More modern ways of promoting yourself is purchasing ads on-line or sending out e-mails to editors. A couple of years ago stickers seemed to be popping up everywhere promoting bands, artists or events, and I think that it may actually be a good way of promoting your stuff. Some people handcraft amazing give- aways like origami business cards, bookmarks, little booklets, flower seed packets and so on and so forth. Sometimes it may feel like you have to try to outdo all the artists around you just to get a clients attention. At least I often feel the pressure to do so. That doesn't work however. If you just set out to outdo others you'll usually end up with something that isn't quite you, something that doesn't really describe what you do. That's a horrible trap to fall into.



Origami ninja star business cards? Sure to be a killer at the office. (Image found at crddsgn.com)

I usually send out e-mails, it's my chosen weapon. I struggle with a bit of social awkwardness and anxiety at times and an e-mail is just so much easier on my nerves than a phone call or a personal meeting. Life isn't supposed to be easy though. Sending out e-mails doesn't always give results or answers at all and it's just plain stupid to rely on them as the only promotional item in your arsenal.
E-mails can often seem impersonal and effortless, and let's face it, most art directors must receive half a dozen e-mails every day from young hopefuls. So unless your art is super fantastically awesome you have to find some way to stand out in the crowd. That's the tricky part. I haven't tried ads yet or sending out postcards, or calling art directors to set up portfolio viewings because it has just been too damn scary, but that is about to change.
Over the next few months I will be sending out promotional material and buying on-line ads. I am going to see if it has any effect on my current work flow and I will be writing about my experiences on this blog. So stay tuned as I attempt to delve into the deep dark currents that is self - promotion.



A new and interesting design can really bring a brochure to life. (found at topdesignmag.com)


If there is anything in particular you would like me to write about then please do leave a little comment or question, and I'll see what I can do about it.

Until next time
Anita K. Olsen