Variable Data Direct Mail

Project Specifications

This information will be used to determine the cost of printing 500 post cards, with variable data content. You will have 250 cards for audience A and 250 cards for audience B.

• 4 color | 2 sides
• Trim size | 7x5 inches
• Bleed | .125 inches on all sides
• Margins | .25 inches
• Paper stock: 12 pt or 80# coated cover weight | White
• Quantity to print (for price quote only) 500 total (250 for each audience)

1) Identify two target audiences for company/service.

- The target audiences for my video game company will be two different terms that have now been coined in the industry: hardcore gamers and casual gamers.  Hardcore would be people that are avid gamers.  They play to compete.  Casual gamers would be people who don't always game.  They pick it up in a party atmosphere or every once in a while to relax and have fun.  Can also be first time gamers.

2) Identify call to action.

- The postcard is going to be an invitation to a gaming event that is trying to draw in all types of people.  Basically it wants to make gaming a more widely spread activity by getting both kinds of people in one place.  The postcards will provide a link to the website www.iwanttogame.com for more information.

3. Goal 

- Develop a concept adaptable to a 5x7 template. The same template will be used for both target audiences. The template should accommodate variable content (photo or text).

The thumbs:

My ten roughs showing a brieft layout for text and pictures.

The roughs:

The front.

The back.

Final Images:
I wanted to find an image that showed people you might not expect playing the Wii because the Wii is considered more of a console for casual gamers that everyone can enjoy.  That is where the reasoning for this picture with all of the girls playing the Wii came from.

Variable 1 Front

The reversal picture is just a pen tool trace of all the different controllers for consoles from this generation.  I used it to signify a kind of togetherness between them all.

Variable 1 back

In the video game industry, the Xbox 360 is considered a console that caters to the more hardcore crowd of gamers so I searched for a picture of people with 360 controllers in their hands.  Even though they look goofy, it shows a different crowd of gamers than the first picture for variable data 1.

Variable 2 Front

Not much changes on the back of the post card.  The picture is kept, but the text has some slight variations to name off the different games available to the hardcore crowd of gamers.

Variable 2 back

My end images came out pretty much exactly as I had my roughs planned except the front page has the top text bubble removed and I compensated for that by lengthening the bottom one.  This kept parts of the image from being blocked.

The images from the master image list used are a reverse 1, duotone raster, raster - full bleed, screen tint and vector art 2

The ending price quote from printing 500 postcards was $141.18 ($70.59 for 250 of each kind) with $12.07 tax, so the total came out to $153.25.

Copyright statement: The images for the kids playing Wii and Xbox were found at the following locations allowing full commercial use.
wii: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitch98000/3598072451/sizes/z/in/photostream/
xbox: http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigmdennis/3028922418/sizes/o/in/photostream/
The other image of the controllers was created by me in Illustrator and is usable by anyone if they simply ask permission.

Ten Thumbnail Sketches for Self-Promotion Notepad

Ten thumbnail sketches.  They are all basic picture ideas to put in the corner of the notepad except for the one that is just a box with NPJ Originals in it.  That one would run along the whole bottom of the notepad.

My rough image for the thumbnail I chose.

I went with the image of black rimmed glasses with my design name within the frames.  It's a simple design and I feel like it serves a few purposes.  It makes my name look prominent within the frames and it is almost like the glasses are looking at my name by having it within the lens.  By picking the thick black rimmed glasses I also am appealing to what I would say is a nerd/geek crowd, because usually these kind of glasses are associated with those people, which I am one of them.  The QR code also got placed in the top left corner by itself to give it more prominence and make it really pop out.

The final product.

Parameters:

• 1 color | Black
• Trim size | 5x7 or 7x5 inches
• Bleed | .125 inches on all sides
• Margins | .25 inches
• 50 sheets per pad
• Padded with a chipboard backing
• Quantity to print (for price quote only) 100

Copyright Statement:  All pictures and fonts used in the design were created by me (Nevin P. Jones).  To use them, one must simply contact me.

Images used from Mater Image List are a bitmap, two pieces of vector art, and a grayscale raster.

-Nevin P. Jones