This is a series of postcards that would be used to promote the BDES program to incoming students. The tagline I created was “Make Design Your Magic” and it was the basis for this postcard series. The program is about teaching students how to create for the future in design. With design, we are making something beautiful out of nothing, similar to magic. The tagline is a call to action that tells the audience to use design as a way to express their own style and creativity. This is a unique and playful series that would catch the attention of high schoolers who are interested in the program.
Each postcard has a different theme to represent different styles of design. They each have their own colour palette and gradient that can stand alone, but also work well together. I wanted the postcards to be colourful to match the whimsical theme. At the bottom of each postcard is a unique potion bottle that is included in an accompanying sticker set.
The Problem
Creating engaging promotion for a university program. How would I appeal to high schoolers and how would I be consistent across the postcards?
The Goal
The solution should be bright and attention grabbing so it stands out from other university promotions. It also has to relate to the tagline “Make Design Your Magic” and incorporate York branding.
“The tagline is a call to action that tells the audience to use design as a way to express their own style and creativity. This is a unique and playful series that would catch the attention of high schoolers who are interested in the program.”
Target Audience
High school students in Grade 11 and 12 who are about to graduate and are choosing what program they want to enter. More interested in the arts.
Tone and Manner
Whimsical, Vibrant and Fluid. How do I convey magic in a still image? What kind of imagery will I use through a set of 3 postcards?
Final Deliverables
Postcards - Front and back
Sticker Set
Process
Initial Sketches
The Plan
Design 3 different potion bottle shapes as the focus of the postcards. Abstract shapes would come out of the top of the bottles acting as “smoke”. The front would be a close up of the top of the bottle with the abstract shapes being the focus and the back would be the “label” of the bottles.
Initial Layout
Initial Layout Iterations
I focused on designing one of the postcards first using the plan that I created. I tried incorporating the tagline into the shapes by using overlays. I tried several other approaches as well where the tagline was a bit quieter, but I enjoyed using the text as shapes. After deciding on an initial layout, I repeated it with the two other postcards and made small edits by adding sparkles and removing the overlay to make the text easier to read. In the last iteration of this idea, I changed the bottle design of the red postcard to be more symmetrical like the others and tweaked the colours overall.
Revised Layout
I thought that I had finished this project with my final iteration above, but I had to change my direction after my supervisor saw it. They thought that the tagline was too large and the back was too complicated. I solved these problems by making the potion bottle a smaller focus of the design and reworking how the tagline would be displayed. The potion bottles would be repurposed in the sticker sheets. The final product used a playful sans serif and script typeface together as well as two swirl accents to frame the two parts of the tagline. The back design was changed completely and a white background with some of the textures on the front was used instead. The important information was moved to the bottom of the postcard to be clearer and the logo is in the same location on the front and back.
What I learned
It's important to be flexible
…because sometimes things don’t go to plan. Even when I thought I was finished, things can always change. How you react to those changes and listen to feedback will show how you work as a designer.
Less is more
Sometimes, designs have to be made simpler to be quickly readable. I overcomplicated my initial design and had to change it to be more clear.
Think about what is the focus
…and know the hierarchy you need to showcase it. In this case, my tagline became the focus of my design, which was not the goal of the assignment. I had to focus on creating interesting visuals that my tagline supported, not the other way around.
