Alumni Letter Step 5: Final

Finishing at last!  In the last stage, I made quite a few edits.  I changed the color palette yet again to subtly fit a fall/ University of Minnesota theme.  I edited the curved lines to be a hybrid of straight and curvy and added additional illustrations to the back of the envelope.  Finally, I added a background color, gradients, and a noise texture for visual interest.  Below is the final digital file as well as two photos of the assembled and printed products. Although my design was not chosen, I am very pleased with the end result.  It's an interesting addition to my portfolio!

To see the winning design, please visit Bailey Sears' blog → GET IN MY BRAIN

Alumni Letter Step 4: Rework

After feedback received from the online critique, teachers, and peers, I began to rework the piece.  I edited the color palette, replaced/edited some imagery, and added curved lines for movement.

Alumni Letter Step 3: Fleshing Out

The next step in the process was to flesh out the design in a digital format.  I chose a color palette and began illustrating in Adobe Illustrator.  Below is the piece I presented for the online critique.

Alumni Letter Step 2: Concept

The next step was deciding and developing a concept or direction to take the project.  I decided upon "Pave the Way," a catchphrase that relates to the topic but doesn't directly tell the audience what the subject it.  The reader would have to open the letter to get the lowdown.

To accompany this concept, I decided to include college-themed and "after college" icons, illustrating a move from college to the working world. The backside of the envelope would include paving vehicles and the catchphrase.  These illustrations would carry over to the interior of the letter.

The image I've included is of the concept sketch I showed to the client.

Alumni Letter Step 1: Brainstorm

The first project in our GD1 class was an envelope/letter design for the letter sent to the U of M Alumni asking for donations.  Their previous designs had been lacking, to say the least, and it was our job to create a letter that would encourage the audience to open the envelope and read.  They wanted to move away from blatant maroon and gold and include some sort of graphic element- whether it be typography, illustration, or photography.

The first step in this project (as in any project) was brainstorming. Taking a variety of inspirations from various design websites (ffffound, itsnicethat, etc), I came up with numerous very rough ideas.  Here are a few sketches of these ideas.