letters of appeal – part 3

A couple months ago, I shared with you two of the letters of appeal I designed for the University of Oregon 2011-2012 fiscal year (view them here and here) so today I thought I'd share the third.

This particular letter was sent out late spring and a continuation of the visual theme I developed in the preceding fall and year-end mailers.


While using the same angled band of bright yellow color from the fall mailer, this time I also added a stripe pattern and used it along the edge of the page to give it a bit of spring flair.


I incorporated photos from last summer's shoot (with David Loveall) into a side bar on the front of the letter. On the back, I echoed the horizontal tagline treatment by using panoramic shots, creating a pleasing contrast to the front.

The first of this fiscal year's mailers has already been sent to the printer and development of the subsequent mailers is in full swing. Stay tuned for updates on those later this year.

letters of appeal – part 2

As promised in my last post, today I'm sharing another letter of appeal for the University of Oregon's Annual Giving Program.

 

This mailer uses the same tagline and color palette established in the first mailer but expands on the use of photography, showing students engaged in various activities across campus.

 

The photo shoot for these mailers is always a lot of fun and usually encompasses one or two full days of shooting. It takes a lot of organization to scout locations, create a shot list, and manage a group of a dozen or more students (our models). But all that work pays off in the end when I get the hard drive filled with exactly the shots I need to make the designs really come to life.

 

letters of appeal – part 1

As I'm getting started on designing new letters of appeal for the upcoming school year, I realize that I haven't shown any of last year's letters that I designed for the University of Oregon's Annual Giving Program, one of my long-standing clients.

Well, let me fix that right now!

Since 2003, I have helped UO Annual Giving design anywhere from one to four direct mail packages that ask a variety of targeted demographics to help support students in their academic pursuits. Usually there is one central message around which I will then design all of that year's letters so that there's a cohesive look that is reinforced with each mailing.

Last Fall, we kicked off the academic year with this:

The converted #10 envelope introduces the "Every gift. Every dream. Every year." tagline with a specific typographic treatment that was used on all subsequent mailers, too.

To brighten up the standard UO color palette of green and yellow, I chose a fresh lime green that was used to emphasize the word "every" in the background of the tagline.

I also used a yellow line that angled into and out of the letter at the top and bottom, creating a bit of a 3D effect to entice the reader to turn the page.

On the back, the tagline is front and center, sandwiched between large photos of students enjoying campus life.

Working on these letters of appeal is always a fun challenge. The core message does not change so each year I have to find new ways to communicate the same basic idea: give now to help students achieve their academic dreams.

Stay tuned for my next post, where I'll share the second mailer in this series.

seeing green

The University of Oregon is about to celebrate the grand opening of their new Alumni Center and needed a save-the-date postcard to spread the word. And who better to get everyone in a celebratory mood than good ol' Donald Duck himself?

Just one teeny, tiny problem: we didn't have a high-resolution version of this image.

Not to worry! After applying a few halftone filters and adding a dot pattern to the background, I ended up with a fun and festive treatment that was the perfect throwback to Donald's cartoon heritage.

Printed digitally, over-sized at 9" x 6" and finished with rounded corners, this bright and happy save-the-date is sure to grab attention!

save the date postcard

This morning I picked up my samples of the save-the-date card for the University of Oregon's Pioneer Award Gala (a black-tie gala honoring leaders in our community) and I thought I'd share it with you here.

Since the event takes place in late spring, the color palette needed to reflect that freshness so we chose a warm yellow and cool silver combined with stately black (a more elegant interpretation of the bright yellow and green Duck colors).

The heavy cover stock has a wonderfully textural finish (Via Felt by Mohawk Fine Papers) and did a great job reproducing the fine serifs, small print, and other details.

This save-the-date was mailed as a postcard to save the cost of envelopes; this allowed us to explore some unique details for the actual invitation (think square and layered – more to come later!)

uo invitations part 4

The fourth invitation I recently designed for the University of Oregon Donor Relations department once again followed the format of fitting a #10 business envelope, but this time I designed the invitation to open horizontally.

I used the rather lengthy event name to create a label of sorts that, together with a brown color bar, mimics a gift-wrapped present. The photographic texture used in the background reinforces this idea.

Using a translucent paper for the insert adds an elegant touch to this invitation that was printed on a relatively smooth paper (Classic Crest).

I'm quite pleased with how all four of these invitations turned out. Each stands alone as being distinctly unique yet as a group they successfully convey a sense of unity. (view parts 1, 2 and 3)

uo invitations part 3

Similar to the design in the previous post, this third invitation for the University of Oregon Donor Relations department uses a horizontal format with an overlapping flap. To save costs, we actually used the same die line to create the curved front panel.

This time rather than using a sticker, the flap is kept closed by tucking it under a little thumbnail slit on the front of the invite.

The whimsical flower illustrations are hand drawn and create a nice visual contrast to the printed fabric background. The Sundance Felt paper reinforces this textural element.

The color palette consists of a dark green and taupe, an elegant interpretation of the official university combo of bright yellow and grass green. (view parts 1 and 2)

uo invitations part 2

This is the second of four different invitations I recently designed for the University of Oregon Donor Relations department.

To stay within the #10 envelope format, I designed this one to open horizontally and have an overlapping flap that is kept closed using a gold sticker blind-embossed with a little leaf motif.

This leaf design is repeated in the Ford Family Foundation typography that functions almost like a logo.

The warm yellow is similar to the official UO yellow. While the warm grey is an unexpected departure from the traditional UO green, it functions well here as a modern palette that still invokes the spirit of the UO colors.

The textured paper is Sundance Felt and lends a luxurious, tactile element to the invitation. (view part 1 here)

uo invitations part 1

A few months ago, I was asked to design a series of invitations for the University of Oregon's Donor Relations department. The invites are for receptions hosted annually for recipients of various different scholarships.

So while there was little overlap in the recipients, I proposed that all four invitations follow the same horizontal format to fit in standard #10 business envelopes. All other elements (with the exception of a shared die line for two of the invites) were purposely designed to be distinctly different from each other.

The design process was a lot of fun and the resulting invites successfully convey the tone of the events. Here are some photos of the first invitation – stay tuned for posts on the other three!

corporate communications

Corporate communications don't have to be bland and boring. They're another opportunity to connect with your customers and reinforce your brand.

Case in point: Peterson Sullivan in Seattle recently merged with another accounting firm and wanted to announce this fact to their existing and potential clients. Instead of sending out a standard postcard or invoice stuffer, we took a different route:

This fun yet informative direct mail piece tells the story beautifully. Yes, they merged and here's what it means to you, their customer.

Closely on its heels followed an invitation to an open house – a great way for clients to meet the new partners and staff, as well as a nice way to thank them for past business.

Because the event will be very wine-focused (various tasting stations with food pairings set up throughout the office), we incorporated vineyard elements throughout (the corks on the back become a fun background once inserted into the translucent envelope for mailing) while staying true to the look and feel established in the first mailer.

Next time your organization needs to communicate a message that falls outside the standard realm of advertising, consider a creative twist to make your message memorable.