[Project Complete] 5.5"x 8.5" Postcard for Landscape Management Co. - $150

[Cooker]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 4PR523532B2141354)

Good Day,
After lurking around here for a couple weeks and being very impressed with the work presented by the designers here on Design Outpost I have decided to post the first one of several projects I am looking for assistance with.

I am looking for a 5.5" x 8.5", full color, double sided postcard. I would like it to be be clean looking and professional in appearance. If at all possible I would like to have this ready for print on or by March 11. For printing I will be using www.gotprint.com

On the card I would like a list of our services:

Mowing
Spring & Fall Clean Up
Fertilization & Weed Control
Bark Mulch Installation
Core Aeration
Landscape Bed Maintenance
Shrub Pruning
Lawn Renovation

Please also include:

Logo
Phone Number: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Web Address: www.SolarLandscapeServices.com (hopefully will be up and running soon)
Call today for a free estimate.
Commercial & Residential
Fully licensed & insured

I have a couple one line company descriptions I have not decided on the best one yet but please use one or a combination of a couple of the items below:
-Complete Lawn Care and Landscape Maintenance
-Complete Landscape Management
-Specializing in Commercial & Residential Lawn Care and Landscape Management
-A full service Lawn Care and Landscape Management Company

Feel free to use stock photos in your design and/or anything else that will make it easier for you to design the best possible postcard for my application.

I look forward to seeing your designs and thank you for your time.

[Cooker]

Here is our logo.

Feel free to adjust the yellow and/or the red a little bit if it makes the logo more readable on the background color you are putting it on.

Thanks again.

[glyphica]

Here is my first attempt. Let me know what you think. :)

[plum74]

Hi! I'll be posting in a few days. :)

[Marcusfizner]

Hello Cooker,
Thanks for the invite. Here is one from me. Comments are appreciated. Thanks. :D

[Cooker]

Kekepania,
Thanks for the design.

To be honest the overall design really did not grab my attention. I have always liked the way our company colors has looked on black but the color scheme on the front doesn't look quite look right to me. I don't really like the flower picture and perhaps the pink flowers in the picture are what is throwing it off for me.

Thanks again and I will look forward to seeing somthing a little different.

[Cooker]

Marcusfizner,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your design idea. It is a very nice looking card.

Just a couple things:

I do really like the layout on the back but unfortunately I did not clarify that these cards will be distributed though the mail so they will need to have an area for addressing and postage. I apologize for not making this clarificaiton.

Although you chose a nice picture/home for the front of the card it appears to be from a southern climate and is not representative of the landscape/climate here in the Midwest. If you could possily replace it with a photo for fitting for my region I would appreciate it.

The only other comment I have is that at on time I thought that all of our print media and promotional items had to have our logo shown in our "company colors" (yellow & red). For the most part I have stuck with that idea but when looking at the design as a whole I think it may look better in colors that are more fitting with the overall design. I wouldn't mind our logo in at least one location in our company colors but if, in your professional opinion, it looks out of place by doing so feel free to omit my suggestion.

Thank you.

[plum74]

Hi Cooker,

Presenting to you my design study for Solar Landscape Services postcard...

http://www.lasfolio.com/DO/solar_1.jpg

[Marcusfizner]

Ryan, Sorry for omiting the mailing information on the back. Here is the changes you requested. Please let me know if there is anything else.

- Aaron

[Cooker]

I have reviewed the current designs with some friends and have some comments.

plum74,
Thanks for submitting a design. It has a very nice look to it.

The picture you chose for the front is very nice and colorful but would it be at all possible to add a couple pictures to give a greater visual impact?


Marcusfizner,
Thanks for making the revisions. The blue house does not look as well IMO with the overall color scheme as the previous house but the landscape is more fitting for my area. I do like your marketing concept and design ideas. I may try browsing for picture of a nice house/lawn/landscape. Or do you think your same idea could be presented with multiple pictures on the front?

Also, is there any way you could dress up the back of the card a little bit to take away the squared off, blocky look. That may not be possible given the verticle highlights? Maybe it is the white background that I'm really not fond of?


Thanks again to those who have submitted a design and I would encourage anybody else considering entering this contest to feel free to submit your ideas. I have a suspicion that I am going to have a difficult decision to make by the end of this contest.

[plum74]

Thanks for your comments. I will try to incorporate them on the next set of revisions and will take a look at the possibility of adding more photos. I think since your logo has bright colors that its background would have to be a neutral color like black, white or gray. I chose the black to help give the postcard and elegant feel, sort of like trying to communicate the art and luxury of a full service lawncare company (I don't know if that makes sense).

Lala

[Cooker]

Lala,
After reviewing your design again the photo really is fantastic. I just wouldn't mind seeing a couple more, if possible, with more of a grassy theme.

At first the black looked out of place to me with the rest of the color scheme of the card, particularly on the front, but I am starting to change my mind. I do appreciate what you are trying to communicate with your color choice.

Thank you again.

[glyphica]

Here is a whole new design... let me know what you think. :)

[plum74]

Hi, here is a second version taking into account your comments and suggestions.

Lala

[IMG]

[Cooker]

Kekepania,
That is a very nice design. I do like the look of the front but the back seems a bit plane to me. If you could dress up the back some so I could take a look at it again that would be great.

Also, on the front I see you darkened up behind my logo. Would the "Landscape Services" part of the logo look ok in the origial red vs. changing it to white. I am guessing that you looked at this during your design process and it just didn't work out well being red that is why you changed it to white?

Thank you again for submitting a design.

[Marcusfizner]

Here is another one from me. The area on the right is plain in order to prevent any problems with the U.S. Postal Service.

[glyphica]

Okay, here it is with a more interesting background. Hope this is what you are wanting ;) The logo on the front had to be those colors, or just white, because it didn't look right with red/orange against green... kind of a strain on the eyes.

The right side of the back does need to be blocked out for usps to stamp and label, and the bottom left will have some kind of sticker/stamp on the bottom, so I left that open, so no type gets covered up. I'm not sure of the exact regulations if you are mailing them yourself... maybe contact the usps.

Let me know what you think of this :) Thanks :yes:

[Fran]

:)

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/403/solarlandscape7gk.jpg

[Cooker]

plum74,
Thanks for adding a couple pictures. I think the extra couple pictures add a bit more to the visual message I'm trying to get across.

Marcusfizner,
Thanks for the new design. Very classly looking and I really like the colors!

Kekepania,
Thanks for making the changes to the back of the card. I think the color adds a little bit more impact.

Fran,
I would like to thank you too for submitting a design. I'm not sure I prefer how the text is right justified on the back of the overall design is very appealing.

[martellostudio]

Here's what I came up with... Let me know what you think..

Thanks,
Vic

[Fran]

Hello,
thank you for the feedback. Here is my revision of the text on the back.
:) Fran

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/3463/solarlandscape4xn.jpg

[plum74]

Hi all,

I found some helpful guidelines following postal regulations for postcard. You can find them here: http://www.postcardmailings.com/templatefor4x6.pdf

I also revised the backpart of my design to follow this guidelines although there are really several ways to go about it and this is just one of them.

Lala

[IMG]

[Cooker]

Vic,
Thanks for submitting a design. I like the overall style of the card and the color scheme. The back has a nice clean look to it but the front does not seem quite right to me. There seems to be a bit too much empty space. Granted I don't want it to look cluttered either but maybe all it needs is to make the bottom picture a bit more visible? I would just like the front to have a little more visual impact.


Fran,
Thanks for making the revisions to the text on the back. I see now why you had them right justified before (so as to not cover up the flowers). I'm think I prefer them centered.


Lala,
I also looked into the postage/mailing requirements a little bit. I did contact the company that will be doing the distribution for me and I think your original design would be acceptable. They informed me that what will work and what you can get away with as acceptable are a little different from eachother. In this case, all that is required is a spot 4"x2" for the address label and barcode and an area to the right and above the 4"x2" area for the permit. The background color need not be white but a color that is light enough that black ink will show up well on so the readers do not have a problem.

From a designers point of view, it is probably best IMO to follow the post office regulations but in this instance they need not be followed to a T. Thank you.

[Marcusfizner]

Ryan,

This version has a curved sepearation on the back instead of the "boxed in" feel of the previous version.

[martellostudio]

Hello,

Here is my revised front side.

Thanks,
Vic

[Cooker]

Vic,
Thanks for the revision to the front. I prefer the look of the larger space for the photos.

Marcusfizner,
Thanks for taking time to revisit the idea of the big white box :) I prefer the original version better.

[Cooker]

Since the topic of addressing and postage came up in this contest I have been paying attention to other postcards and how they were addressed. I scanned a couple I could get my hands on and I think we will all be surprised by just what is actually acceptable with the USPS.

I am not expecting, or aksing anyone to make any changes to their designs because of this. I just thought it was noteworthy since the topic did come up.

Attached are two postcards for you to take a look at.

[Cooker]

I apologize for stepping away for a couple days.

I have been continually looking at the designs trying to make a decision as to which one is going to provide the most positive results for me.

I must say that I am throurghly impressed with all the design ideas that have been presented. To be honest, each one has fantastic attributes that make me think it could be the "right one" but unfortunately I can only pick one.

At this point I still have yet to make a decision. I am hoping to decide on a design and get the final revisions taken care of over the weekend so I can get the files to the printer sometime on Monday.

Thank you again to all the designers for your time and effort that you put into these impressive designs.

[plum74]

Hi! I just happen to be looking at some of the designs on another computer with an LCD screen (I prefer using my CRT monitor which I calibrate often so that it's closer in terms of colors to the printout) and saw how some of the designs's colors look very different on other screens. It would help if you can print some of the designs yourself on a desktop printer just to see how they would look on paper (it would still be generally quite different to how the final print out will look with a commercial printer though). It's really hard to rely on the colors on screen since every screen is calibrated differently.

Just thought this might help with your decision making process. :)

Good luck to all of us guys!

Lala

[Cooker]

Wow, I didn't think choosing one of these deisgns was going to be so tough. I think I have narrowed it down a little.

Fran and Kekepania,
Your designs are really fantastic but unfortunately I do not think they are what I am looking for at this time. Thanks you for taking the time to present your ideas.


Marcusfizner,
I really like the design in message #16. My only issue with it is that my phone number is not very visible. Is there is a way we could make it bigger so it will stand out better? I wouldn't mind my logo in on the "address" side of the postcard as you did in message #9 with possibly the web address under it. I guess moving the logo to the white side take away from the impact it has on black but I really want to phone number to "pop" more. Or perhaps with the new info the address side could be utilized more allowing additional room for the phone number to stand out better.

Vic,
The revision with a larger photo area looks much better IMO. Thanks.

Vic and Lala,
Since a large part of our company is lawn care and lawn maintenace I prefer that the pictures try to present more of a lawn theme (either residential or commercial lawns).

Lala,
I really like the picture of the flower garden so I wouldn't want it to be removed completely.


Thank you again.

[Cooker]

I have attached a photo I had available and also one I thought may be appropriate that I located on istockphoto.

These may or may not be able to be utilized in your design but I thought I would try and help. I will continue to look for others that may be of assistance.

Thank you.

[plum74]

Hi, here is a version of the design using 2 new pics.

Lala

[IMG]

[glyphica]

Well, I didn't read your post until after making this new version... :blush: So... I guess I will post anyways. Let me know if "this is what your looking for". Thanks ;)

[Cooker]

Lala,
I think the new pictures provide a much better fit for our services. It gives the card a much better "feel" IMO. Thank you.


Kekepania,
Thank you for your newest design. It is certainly my favorite design that you have submitted for this contest. I especially like the red background.

Maybe now I do not have it narrowed down quite as much as I thought :)

[Marcusfizner]

Here is a new version with the changes you requested. Don't hesitate if there is anything else.

- A

[plum74]

Hi, I felt like playing around with the color...

[martellostudio]

New pics swapped out... Here is the new version..

Thanks,
Vic

[Cooker]

Sorry for taking an extra day to make this decision.

Well, I hope you all know what an extremely difficult decision this was. As I said before each design has some really great attributes and what is really boils down to is that I cannot make a bad choice (which is actually a great position to be in). Each one of these designs is clean, professional, and represents the image of our company. Shoot, even as I am typing this reply I am still second guessing my decision :)

My hats off to all of you that took the time and effort to submit your ideas. I feel very fortunate to be presented with such fantastic artwork. This was a great first experience for me here on DO and I am overwhelemed by the extreme talent that all of you have. I can only hope that my future experiences on DO are as great as this one has been.

Sorry to be so long winded here but I really do truely appreciate all of your efforts and it is unfortunate that I can only select one designer.

Anyway..... I have decided to select the design posted in message #35 from Marcusfizner with possibly some minor changes to the back of the card. I am not sure how to go about completing this project so please contact me and advise.

Again, I would like to thank everyone for their participation.

Best Regards,
Ryan

[Marcusfizner]

Ryan,

Thanks for choosing my design. Let me know what changes you had in mind and I'll get right on them.

- A

[Marcusfizner]

Ryan, here are the changes you asked for. I think I covered everything you asked for.

- A

[Marcusfizner]

Is this more of what you had in mind?

- A

[Marcusfizner]

Here you go. Let me know if there is anything else.

- A

[Marcusfizner]

Getting better?

- A

[Marcusfizner]

Final files have been sent to Ryan's email.

- A

[Cooker]

Yes, I received the files and everything is all set.

I am having a slight problem with getting them printed, does anybody have a suggestion for a print shop? GotPrint seems like a great company but I would like the postcards a little sooner than they can promise them. I am considering 48HourPrint now. Any other suggestions?

Thank you again to all the designers for their time, effort, and great work.

Take care,
Ryan

[plum74]

There's www.overnightprints.com. They have a 24 hour turnaround time for priority printing and priority shipping of business cards and 4 x 6 postcards. However for 5.5 x 8.5 I think the turnaround is 72 hours. You might want to verify this on there website www.overnightprints.com.

Lala

[Cooker]

Thanks Lala.