Project 7: Direct Mailer Danny Herzberg
Step 1: Preliminary The first part of the project was deciding which event I wanted to choose. I decided to work with Dam to Dam because I’ve always had a love for road races. I have been running in road races since elementary school, but have yet to attempt a half-marathon. Once I chose Dam to Dam, the next step was in deciding among a design for the work. I began with
a standard tri-fold brochure with the idea of the race through the middle and two Dams on each side. Another idea I received from one of our critiques was to work it as an accordion-fold, and have each significant part of the race take up a different page. After designing each out on paper and pencil I decided on the accordion fold. It gave me more room for a tear away card.
Step 2: Computer Work After I decided to work with Dam to Dam and use the accordion fold, I took to the computer to design each of the pieces individually. I used InDesign for each of the design circles, which proved more difficult than I originally intended. For each landmark I downloaded a photo from the Internet then used the pen tool to recreate the important parts of the image. After I created these images, I used
a small street to connect each image and create a flow from left to right, ultimately where the copy would be. After printing the document, I realized it needed a bit of text along the entire image because it felt a little bare. I then included a small blurb about each of the major attractions on each of their panels.
Step 3: Final Shipping Once I finished the design of the mailer, I needed to include an outer mailing because it was too small to be shipped on its own. I decided to use a manila envelope to send my brochure to replicate the feeling of a race packet pick-up. After running
numerous road races and cross country meets, the manila envelope is a staple of packet pickup or ribbon handouts. I wanted this same feeling to be replicated in my mailer.