[ProjectComplete] Deadline Extended to July 10 - E-book Cover & 3D Image - $150

[asmith]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 7HU71204A58637031 , 62989962NS832981H )

Hello everyone! Here are the details of my project:

Deadline: Extended to July 10

Price: $150

Deliverables:
1) E-book cover design at 8 ½ x 11 (vertical orientation)
2) Three-dimensional image of the e-book (standing up)

E-book Title: Online Networking for the Newbie

Book Description/Blurb: An In-Depth Guide to Building Strong Business Relationships through Web-Based Discussion Forums
(I’m still tweaking the description, but this will give you a placeholder to work with.)

Author: Angela Smith

Format: Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, or Photoshop files (non-flattened if possible)

Colors: Black, white, gray, bright red – possibly with yellow and blue accents. (I'm open to a mix of other colors too.)

General Feel: Clean, simple, modern graphics, but also fun with a bit of color (Target-esque?).

Target Audience: Self-employed business owners (primarily females) who are new to online networking.

Notes:

I'm toying with the idea of using an emoticon or "smiley" on the cover since I may be integrating emoticon graphics throughout the e-book. I've uploaded a vector graphic of an emoticon that I really like, but please feel free to create your own emoticons if you prefer. If you choose to design your own, try to stay with the friendly, happy, inquisitive theme.

I've also considered using abstract, colorful background artwork/graphics that represent connections, networking, systems, framework, etc. However, I'd prefer not to use graphics of computers, mice, etc.

People often print out e-books, and most desktop printers won't allow printing to the edges of the page. I'm OK with the printer margins cutting off a portion of the cover art, but I'd like for the majority of the images and wording to stay intact when printing. You can still create a "full bleed" design, just be careful not to place the text too close to the edges of the page.

I am planning to write a series of ebooks, so it would be ideal if the cover layout included a general design element that could be carried over to subsequent books, like a special border, stripe, specific shape, etc.

By the way, I really dislike the stereotypical e-book covers that I see floating around the web; for example, the ones that have a bunch of loud, cluttered, obnoxious pictures and fonts. (Fortunately, I haven't seen any designs like that here at Design Outpost!) I'd prefer for the e-book's cover to look more like a "real" book: understated, not overhyped like so many e-book covers I see.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm really looking forward to seeing your designs! You guys are amazing!!

Thank you! :)

Angela

[bogglins]

hi.. for the 3d book, is it ok for the format to be in adobe photoshop?.

[asmith]

hi.. for the 3d book, is it ok for the format to be in adobe photoshop?.
Yes, that's fine. Thanks for asking!

[bogglins]

..sorry.. forgot to ask..
for the photoshop file, in what dpi do you need? 72, 100 or 300?

so, the front cover and the 3d cover can be in adobe photoshop format, right?.. thanks!

:)

[asmith]

..sorry.. forgot to ask..
for the photoshop file, in what dpi do you need? 72, 100 or 300?

Let's go with 300 dpi -- I can always reduce the dpi later if I need a smaller file size.

..sorry.. forgot to ask..
so, the front cover and the 3d cover can be in adobe photoshop format, right?.. thanks!

Now that I think about it, Adobe Photoshop should be OK for both the front cover and the 3D cover if you'd prefer to use that. I'll edit my original post to clarify this.

Thanks! :)

[BlueCherryGraphics]

I'll submit something prior to the 29th.

[asmith]

I'll submit something prior to the 29th.
Thanks, Jennifer. I'm looking forward to it! :)

[asmith]

Just curious -- is anyone interested in submitting a design for this project? If so, I can extend the deadline by a few days if it will help. Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks! :)

Angela

[bogglins]

:)

[asmith]

Nice work, Bogglins!! I really like your design. I'll be back with some additional comments for you soon.

I've decided to extend the deadline to at least Tuesday, July 3. Does anyone else want to jump in? The more the merrier! :)

Thanks!

Angela

[asmith]

Hi Bogglins,

Thanks again for submitting your design. I really like it! The colors certainly capture the "fun" feeling I was going for.

I have a few tweaks for you when you have time:

1) Title font: For the title, I'd like to try a font that's a little less angular, specifically for the capital N's and lowercase w's. I found another "bulky" font that I think would work well for this design -- maybe you can find something similar in your font collection. Feel free to try a few font variations if you'd like.

Animated Gothic Heavy (http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/bagraphics/animated-gothic/heavy/)

2) Blue shape: The blue shape gives the book cover a very dynamic feeling. Would you mind trying a couple of other shapes too? Don't toss out the current shape though as I may end up coming back to it.

3) Binding: Instead of a spiral binding, let's try a hard binding to give the e-book a more substantial feeling, although the book doesn't need to be super thick. The spiral binding does look pretty cool though!

That's it for now. I look forward to seeing a couple of variations on your design. Nice work! :)

Angela

[abby]

Project Update: The project deposit has been raised to $150 and the deadline has been extended to July 10th

[nhr]

Hello,
my design coming.
Thank you.

[nhr]

:)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DO_/OnlineNetworking_nhr.png

[bogglins]

:)

[asmith]

NHR: I really appreciate your submission, but it's not quite what I'm looking for. I'm not all that fond of the color scheme, and the smiley is actually a little scary looking to me! :eek: However, I do like the circle design in the background.

Bogglins: Looking good! I have a few comments for you below.

1) Title font: I think we're going in the wrong direction with the title font. It's a bit too curvy now. With your current design, I think a big, bulky font looks quite nice (like in the original), but I'd like to see straight lines rather than points on the letters. Please take another look at this font to see what I mean: Animated Gothic Heavy (http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/bagraphics/animated-gothic/heavy/).

2) Binding: Let's try a hard cover instead of a paperback. I may still come back to the spiral though.

3) Blue shape: In my previous post, I had asked to see some variations on the blue shape. Do you have any other ideas for this?

4) Author's name: It looks like the font size on "Angela Smith" may have been enlarged since the last version. I actually prefer it to be a little smaller. Can you please change it back to the original size?

5) Flat version: When you have time, I'd like to see your design in a flat version too.

Jon: Thanks for your interest. I look forward to seeing your design!

Thanks everyone! :)

Angela

[nhr]

Thank you for the feedback Angela :)

Diferent color scheme, diferent smiley, diferent font, but same layout. Now you have better view of the concept and I hope you will like it:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DO_/OnlineNetworking20_nhr.png

Thank you.

[asmith]

Thank you for the feedback Angela :)
Diferent color scheme, diferent smiley, diferent font, but same layout. Now you have better view of the concept and I hope you will like it:

Wow, NHR! What a huge difference!! Your design is definitely back in the running! :)

Just a few tweaks at this point:

1) Title: In the title, please change the words "for" and "the" to all lowercase letters. It should read like this: Online Networking for the Newbie.

2) Book Description: In the book description at the bottom, let's try using mixed case instead of all caps. You can use this as a guide for the capitalization: An In-Depth Guide to Building Strong Business Relationships through Web-Based Discussion Forums. Also, let's try making all the words the same size and height. You might try a slightly taller, more slender font.

Nice work!

Angela

[nhr]

Thank you very much Angela :blush:

Revision, as requested:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DO_/OnlineNetworking30_nhr.png

:)

[bogglins]

:)

[asmith]

NHR: Thanks for the revisions. The cover looks great! Just a few more comments/questions:

1) Typo: Please add the second "s" to the end of the word "Business" in the subtitle.

2) Subtitle Font: I like the font you've used for the subtitle. Is there a way to make it a little darker/bolder? If not, no big deal.

3) Binding: Just for variation, would you be able to show the book with a black spiral binding? I'm still trying to decide between a hard back and a spiral binding.

4) Vacation: I see from your signature line that you'll be on vacation from July 9-21. If your design is selected, will you be available to make final revisions and send the files on July 11-12, or will you be away from the office at that time?


Bogglins: Wow - it looks like you've come up with a whole new design! Unfortunately, I don't think that's quite the direction I want to go.

Let's go back to your original design in Message #9 (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/showpost.php?p=278741&postcount=9). I really like the design, but my main concern at this point is getting the title font just right. The current title font is too "primitive" for my taste. Please review my comments regarding the title font in Message #17 (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/showpost.php?p=279498&postcount=17).

Thank you! :)

[bogglins]

Hi.. Do you have the font file? I don't..
I found the price is $24 for the font.. and I thought it quite not worth to buy the font because of the project budget is just right...

[asmith]

Hi.. Do you have the font file? I don't..
I found the price is $24 for the font.. and I thought it quite not worth to buy the font because of the project budget is just right...
Hi Bogglins,

I linked to the Animated Gothic Heavy font just to give you an example of a font that I like. (A font without the pointy N's and w's.) I was hoping that you might have something similar in your font library. I'm not necessarily hung up on a specific font, but I'd like to go with something a little less primitive-looking.

It might be helpful if you'd provide several variations of the cover using different title fonts to see if we can find the perfect one. I'm looking for big, bulky, rectilinear fonts that have a little "character."

Does this help? :)

Thanks,

Angela

[bogglins]

:)

[nhr]

Hello again with revision, Angela :)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/nhrdesign/DO_/OnlineNetworking40_nhr.png

Answer abut vacation: sorry, but I am available about 14 hours from now. Then, I will be offline.
Thank you for understanding.

[asmith]

NHR: Thanks for the revisions and all your hard work on my project. The book cover looks great! Enjoy your vacation! :)

Bogglins: A couple of comments for you:

1) The title font is getting closer, but it's still not quite what I'm envisioning. I finally found a font in my font library that might work until I decide whether or not to buy the Animated Gothic font. It's called Wendelin. Should I send the font file to the email address listed on your website? I'd rather not post it here at the forum.

2) I noticed that you added a black horizontal bar at the bottom of the cover. I think I prefer it without the black bar, so let's go back to the original.

Thank you! :)

Angela

[bogglins]

:)
Hi Angela..
Well.. to save your money, I decided to use the "preview" image of the "animated gothic" font for the title...
Yes, you're right from the beginning that the font is good indeed..

I suggest you not attach the font here nor giving the link here on the forum... because of the copyright issue... It would be better for you to only send the file to the designer you appointed later to finalize the design of your cover...

:)

Thanks!

-Pieter

ps: removed the black bottom bar

[bogglins]

What I meant with "to save money" was just for preview only how it will look on the design... before you buy the font..
Not intended to be used on the final design..

[asmith]

That looks great, Pieter! How in the world were you able to use the "preview" font in your design? I'm impressed!

One suggestion: Could you try adding just a little more shadow behind the letters to make them "pop" a bit more?

I'm glad I was able to see how the Animated Gothic font would look before I buy it. I'll hold off on buying any fonts until the contest ends on Tuesday. I'm sure each design will call for a different font style.

Nice work! Thanks again! :D

[bogglins]

Hi again Angela..

I'll just wait then until the contest ends. I think I've done enough to show you my approach for the design.. Further revision surely can be done later if selected.
Thanks! and Good luck! :)

I hope you enjoy the process here at Design Outpost.

-Pieter

[nhr]

NHR: Thanks for the revisions and all your hard work on my project. The book cover looks great! Enjoy your vacation! :)

Thank you very much, Angela!
Best wishes :)

[bogglins]

NHR: hey.. where r u going? :D hawaii?

[asmith]

I'll just wait then until the contest ends. I think I've done enough to show you my approach for the design.. Further revision surely can be done later if selected.

That sounds like a good plan, Pieter! Thanks for all your work on this. :)

Angela

[asmith]

Just a friendly reminder! This contest ends on Tuesday, July 10.

Is anyone else planning to submit a design? :yes:

[asmith]

I'm pleased to announce that Pieter (Bogglins) is the winner of this contest!

NHR: Thanks for submitting your design. It turned out great! It was a tough choice - too bad I can't choose both!

Pieter: Congratulations! If possible, I'd like to finalize the design by Friday, July 13, so I'd like to start up the revision process again now.

I've been wondering whether the Animated Gothic Heavy font is a little *too* heavy. Can you use the "preview" font for Animated Gothic Light (http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/bagraphics/animated-gothic/light/) to see how it looks on the cover instead? I want to be sure that we've found the perfect font before I purchase it.

Thanks again, everyone! :D

[bogglins]

Hi.. Thanks for choosing my design.. :)
I'll post the revision soon today..

[BlueCherryGraphics]

Congratulations Pieter.

This thread has been moved to the Revisions Forum.

Client, please post a note in the thread once you receive the final files.

Thanks! :)

[bogglins]

:)

[asmith]

Thanks for doing the mock-up, Pieter. I think we've finally found the perfect font!! :D

The Animated Gothic Light font is Windows/Mac OSX TTF. I assume you can work with this type of font?

Also, please email me at asmith205@gmail.com so I'll know where to send the font file once I've purchased it.

Once you get the "official" version of the font on the cover, would you mind trying a slight drop shadow to make the letters look a little more three-dimensional?

Nice work! :)

Angela

[bogglins]

Hi Angela,

I've sent an email to your asmith205@gmail.com address...
Please advise..
Thanks!

-Pieter
:)

[asmith]

I've sent an email to your asmith205@gmail.com address...
Please advise..

I just sent you the font file via email. Please let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks! :)

Angela

[bogglins]

file sent!
:)

[asmith]

I have received the files, and everything looks great!

Thanks to Pieter who went above and beyond to create my vision.

Best wishes! :)

Angela