Hood River, Oregon-based Outdoor/Adventure and Sports/Fitness photographer Lance Koudele might be the only photographer who is also a former extreme sports athlete and X-Games Gold Medalist for drone/video work on a snowboarding and skiing film. Lance transitioned into photography through his action sports, and has since built a career creating catalog and advertising imagery for outdoor and fitness brands looking for active energetic lifestyle imagery. After a break from commercial work, Lance wanted to reintroduce himself to clients with a freshly designed Print Promo.
As Wonderful Machine’s Senior Designer, I work with photographers on all varieties of projects, most of which are digital. In fact, I was working on a Digital Promo for Lance at the same time. As soon as Lance contacted us, I was eager to work on a physical publication and design tangible collateral. Initially, however, our project was on hold as Lance was in the process of a general brand overhaul. Once Lance was fully back to his photography business, we scheduled an intro video call to brainstorm the project and discuss his goal. Based on Lance’s ideas and personality, I knew we would design a unique attention-grabbing piece to support his renewed marketing efforts.
As Lance was in the process of launching a new website with a cleaner minimal approach, he wanted the print promo to follow the same style. At the beginning of our conversation, I suggested a few design possibilities but Lance was already prepared with a plan and a clear idea of what he wanted. He imagined a postcard that could easily be given to anyone. Our first thoughts were to use a single image on the front, while the back would either be another image plus his contact info or a blank space for writing notes. Getting to know Lance’s personality and his work better was crucial to creating a flowing design process. With his brand assets in hand and his new website as reference, I started sketching the design concepts.
Visual/design hierarchy and organization are essential for effective design that is both eye-catching and communicative. Hierarchy guides the viewer’s attention to the most important elements first, while organization presents the viewer with only the most essential information. For the first round of designs, each option has a vertical image, with the option to adjust horizontally, on the front and back.
This design features a full image on the cover overlaying a white semi-translucent version of his logo. This creates a sense of layering and depth. The white semi-opaque logo would not affect the image. The back is divided into the top with his logo in its original colors and contact info, plus a horizontal image at the bottom.
In this design, a full-bleed image serves as background, with paper texture at the top and bottom. The main image is centered with the logo on the top left, and contact info centered at the bottom. The back shows a centered logo at the top, contact info at the bottom using the paper texture, plus spacing for any notes.
The final design option features the main image centered to the page, with the logo split into icon at the top and the logotype part at the bottom. Email address and website link are on the left and right, respectively. The background has a light gray texture and an almost transparent version of the mountains on the corners. The back has the same texture as the background. Lance’s logo is at the top and his contact info is at the bottom. Finally, this design also includes a space for notes.
Lance liked Option 1 most but he was concerned that it would be difficult to replicate it with different images. As part of the project, we selected 10 images that will make it to the print, giving him options for printing based on his needs at different times.
While working on Lance’s print promo, I was also working on his digital promo for email attachments, and we both agreed that the print promo should resemble the digital promo and vice versa. The digital promo design included a white background with an opaque light gray logo print. Since our print promo design was slightly different, we adjusted the design of the digital promo for a consistent aesthetic.
In the end, Lance chose Option 1. Minimal adjustments to the proportions and changes to the text color were the only subsequent design edits. The print promo builds on Lance’s new minimalist aesthetic. Only the most necessary information is present with ample negative space to achieve a clean and focused design.
The design for the print promo met Lance’s needs and is adaptable to new images going forward. After an extended pause at the beginning of the project, Lance and I produced a high-quality design that he can use for many years to come. These days, many photographers tend to overlook the benefits of tangible collateral. Since advertising is so saturated with digital media, however, a Print Promo can be the right marketing tool to make an impression.
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Further Reading
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Case Studies: Print Promo
Specialty: Outdoor/Adventure Photography