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Julian Love, a UK-based travel photographer, came to Wonderful Machine to promote a collection of images following the journey of Clara Hayward, a young woman traveling from London to Istanbul in search of adventure. Here’s a brief synopsis from Julian:
It’s 1931. The British Empire encompasses a quarter of the world’s population, and London, the largest city in the world, sits at its center. Somewhere among the diplomatic residences of Knightsbridge, a young woman receives a letter that will change her life forever.
Julian wanted to create some type of creative marketing campaign that would center around Clara’s journey that would entice clients to explore not just the series, but all of his other work too. So, our Wonderful Machine designer Peter and publicist/writer Maria began brainstorming concepts to present to Julian. After a few group emails and Skype conversations, they settled on the details for the project — a campaign that we were all three very excited to pursue.
The first step of the project would be a print campaign—something far from the typical postcard. They would create the following:
All three items would be sent to over 200 targeted clients on Julian’s list. Then, the printed package would be followed up by three email promos that mimicked vintage postcards. They would direct the recipient to Julian’s Clara Tumblr, which features behind-the-scenes content and additional images. The promos would go out to the same clients who received the print pieces – along with a much larger list to get a broader range of eyes on his work. On top of designing, writing, printing, and hand-making these pieces, Peter also helped Julian modify his existing Tumblr template to fit the overall project design.
To get started, Peter and Maria researched vintage mail designs (postcards, envelopes, stamps) and tried to replicate the aesthetic as much as possible. One big issue was figuring out early on how to print the three images so they would appear vintage, but still keep the image quality intact. Julian ended up using a printer in London so he could see the printed proofs in person before he signed off. He went through several rounds of test prints before settling on the final look and feel of the cards.
Another key component to the entire project was generating interesting copy that would go along with the design. Julian worked directly with Maria for this, to create a fun and engaging letter from Clara. Maria was also in charge of writing each of the image and email captions. Julian advised her to write Clara to sound as British as she could—not an easy task for an American.
For the font styles, Peter and Maria considered using a typographer or calligrapher for the project, but ended up going with an existing typeface that looked great and translated well across all the different mediums.
At first, Peter experimented with pre-made airmail envelopes. They looked fine but didn’t feel right. Their overall size was too long (or too small) and some of the paper stocks on the envelopes weren’t the greatest. In the back of his mind, Peter had another idea: to create handmade envelopes, one by one. They all knew this would be a lot of work, but definitely worth it in the end.
But before they could get Julian on board with making envelopes, Peter and Maria did some research on different paper stocks. They made a trip to the local paper store to sample the latest stocks to consider for both the envelope and the letter design and brought back 15 different options they felt would work for the project. After laying them all out and examining them down to the last detail, they settled on a textured grey stock for the letter and a smooth blue paper for the envelopes.
Peter and Maria ended up printing/creating everything in-house, except for the images. This helped save on production costs and allowed them to have more control over the printing process. That was the most laborious part of the assignment, automating the printing of 200+ custom-addressed envelopes and letters. And, manually cutting and gluing everything, but it was totally worth it in the end.
One of Peter’s favorite parts was coming up with an interesting email promo that was different than what most clients receive in their inboxes. He had a lot of experience in making vintage-themed designs and used his skill to craft a layout that allowed Julian to switch in new images and copy for each promo. Every little detail was thought out, including having the correct postage stamps on the card.
To unify all the elements, Peter came up with a stamp-like seal that said “Follow Clara’s Journey Online.” The copy was surrounded by a distressed globe shape. This seal was placed on the back of the printed images, the letter, the email promos, and the Tumblr. When all was said and done, the finished products looked amazing and truly one-of-a-kind.
Julian told us he’s hoping to shoot more images for the series when his schedule allows.
Further Reading
Wonderful Machine: Print Promo And Emailer Template: Eric Tate
Wonderful Machine: Expert Advice: Email Marketing for Photographers
Wonderful Machine: Expert Advice: Pitching Picture Stories To Magazines
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