Tag: collected materials

Collect and Analyze: Brochures & Newsletters

I am not sure the difference between a brochure and a mailer. I believe you can mail brochures, so I think the definition blends. Regardless, this is a brochure for Unique Oregon I picked up a while ago:

 

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First of all, I love the design of the front. It’s eye catching and it makes you want to open up the brochure to see why these images are numbered. Then you discover that each image lines up with a place on the map! So, it becomes like a fun treasure hunt, matching all the images to place. Then you flip it over and see an adorable photo of local business owners and plea to give locally. I think this is very effective because first it draws you in with excitement and then it asks you to support them. If the front and the back had been switched, I don’t think it would work as well. Plus, because it has a map of all these cool places in Eugene, I’ve kept it as reference for shopping. Thus, it has helped me support local business.

Most newsletters I get are through email. In fact, I signed up for so many mailing lists in Portland, that my regular email is completely overrun. However, there is one newsletter I always click on:

 

For one, GOOD is an amazing organization. All of their articles are incredibly interesting and they do great work supporting the arts. Though it was their newsletter that first pulled me in. I started reading them obsessively because they always had some interesting topic I wanted to know more about. Plus, they get you to go to the website by only giving you a small clip of the article. If you click on the title, it directs you to the website, and then you see a list of the most popular articles and you get sucked in. And there are things you can do, like on this newsletter, you can nominate a teacher or sometimes they have challenges such as building your own tool kit. My only complaint is the newsletter comes quite often, but at least it always has good content.

Collect and Analyze Materials: Mailers & Flyers

As I mentioned in class, I don’t get many mailers. I’m not sure why, but I did receive my friend’s wedding invitation in the mail and I think it could make a great design for a mailer or a brochure.

It has four pages that are truncated so that you can clearly see the basic details of the wedding on the front. And then if you flip each page open, there is a picture (all beautifully matching in black and white) and more detailed information about the wedding, location and accommodations. There is a consistent elegant design to the format and type. All of the information is easy to find and they have their website clearly marked if you need more information. I know that wedding invitations are usually expensive, but they might be a place to look for good design for mailers.

I also think a good design for a flier is one that you keep, and I’ve had this flier for the UO University Theater since the beginning of the school year.

It may not be the best design color and flow wise, but I think it is a great use of space. It’s the size of a business card and manages to fit all the dates of the plays this season, a map of the theater and free parking (didn’t know that!), info about their box office, and advertise that tickets are free for students. That’s a lot to fit on one business card, but they did so without it feeling too forced. Also, the visual guide for the calendar and the map is very helpful. I know that I got lost trying to find the theater. Lastly, the image on the front does catch my eye even though the color might be a turn-off.