Direct Mail

Next up for the class, we're doing a Variable Data Direct Mail piece of our choosing. This piece would be used to call out to two different audiences, using the same layout with some interchangeable elements that cater to each of the two groups. For mine, I have decided to make up a fake, little travel company. One version of the layout would be sent out to the portion of the group interested in vacationing to a larger city, while the other version would advertise for a more scenic, rural vacation. Each of these would lead the recipient to contact the company, either through email, phone, or Internet (I haven't exactly decided which yet. It just depends on how things come together).

The specifications given were that the piece must be 5" by 7", double-sided, and the back should leave 4" of space for mailing information. Also, other than the address change for each individual, there are to be at least two other instances of changes from one version to the other. Again, one layout is to be used for both pieces, and some (or all, if desired) of the text and images will be swapped in and out, depending on what group the recipient falls into. An 1/8" bleed and 1/4" margins should be used. As far as colors go, we can use black and white, two color, or four color process.

Right now, in the beginning stages of the process, I'm thinking that I might use duotone, but I'm still open to four color. I'm also considering my options for using a full-bleed image and/or a reverse.

Here are my thumbnails:

And here are my rough sketches:

Update: I decided to go with my first rough (seen above). The images would require a full bleed, and I chose to go ahead and make them duotones (because of my Master Image List requirements). For my colors, I tried to think of the color schemes of other travel companies I've seen in the past. Also, I wanted to pick a vibrant and exciting color that would be more so associated with happiness and fun. I picked a nice, bright orange from the solid coated Pantone chart (Pantone 124 C) and used that to make my two duotones. This turned out to be a rather good choice, since it gave the images a sepia-tone look, which I thought went well with the travel idea. After converting the Pantone to a process color, I incorporated it onto the back side of the piece. Initially, I thought I would use a reverse for the text and logo. However, I realized I didn't know how to make the Illustrator file a reverse. It worked out just fine, though. I felt the white text on the orange color block seemed a bit washed out, mostly because of the large block of white space for mailing. I switched both the text and the logo to black, and I finished it up. Here's my final piece:

On the final printed pieces, recipients in the "city" group will receive a piece with: their name on the front, "Want to see the city?," and the image of the city skyline. Those in the "rural" group will have a piece with: their name on the front, "Want to get away?," and the image of the mountain road. The back portion of both pieces will be identical, with the except of the name and address in the mailing section.

                                                                                                                   

Master Image List Elements: The images on the front of the piece fulfill the "Raster - full bleed [Photoshop image]" requirement. Since they are both duotones, they also fulfill that. Also, I chose a Pantone color for those duotones and converted them to CMYK, which fulfills one of the two "Screen Tint" requirements.

Copyright statement: I generated the "Kinnamon Travel" logo in Illustrator myself, just for the purposes of this project. The images were both obtained from Flickr from the Creative Commons section. The city image has an "Attribution" license and copyrighted to Francisco Diez. The rural image has both an "Attribution" and "Non-Commercial" license, with a copyright belonging to WanderingtheWorld (www.LostManProject.org).