WYS - IDENTITY - POSTCARDS

PURPOSE 

With the main idea behind WYS is books/short run zines we decided that postcards were a good introduction for our audience. The postcards showcase the artists work that we are representing which will help to get that initial interest of WYS out there. Many publishers out there are selling photobooks of similar work so we wanted to produce something that would be easy to sell as we understand that the book/zine market is heavily saturated and it can be hard to sell these types of products. Postcards are the next best thing to a book as they can be used in a number of different ways, for example when you have a zine with beautiful photographs inside this tends to stay on the shelf once it has been looked at once or twice, with postcards it gives the user the opportunity to do what they like with them (stick them on bedroom walls or send them to friends or as gifts). Postcards are also a lot cheaper to produce which means we don't have to charge a premium for them. They are also very easy to change/update which means they can always be relevant and exciting to new/old customers. 

PROMO PACK

FIRST IDEAS 

• The design is simple yet bold and informative everything that is on the back of the postcard is informing the user about the artist and photograph on the flipside.
• They will be full bleed
• Copyright stamp in the corner - this is free to do and we don't want our artists work being used where it shouldn't
• These initial designs explore the possible ways in which the information can be laid out, again I am making sure that design is also relevant to the rest of the WYS identity with the use of capital letters and well thought out typesetting to achieve a clean aesthetic.   
• A6 in size, this means we can fit 4 cards on one sheet of A4 and then 8 on A3 this will help to save money on paper but A6 is also the standard postcard size. 

INITIAL CONCEPT (FIRST DRAFT) 

After experimenting with a few different layouts for the back of the cards, I decided on a format for each card, it was important for the cards to be consistent and for them to have informative information so that the users can then interact further once purchased. 

Each card will include the following:

• Artist bio
• Photo location 
• Artist copyright
• Photo project name
• Instagram handle 
• WYS logo 
• Full bleed image

TEST PRINTS 

Along with the business cards stock that we ordered from G.F SMITH we also choose a few different stocks for the postcards themselves. We thought it was important for the postcards to be of a high standard print as they need to just as good as the images or it will make the image look poor quality. We chose a selection of uncoated stock all at around 300gsm as we knew this would be a good weight for a postcard. 

Stock -

Mohawk Options 100% PC White (tested at 270gsm)

This was our favourite stock out of all of the samples that we ordered, by testing each one we could see and feel which was the best for the purpose of a postcard. After testing the postcards at 270gsm we felt that this was too light and something a bit heavier would be better suited for the postcards. The next weight up from 270gsm on the Mohawk stock was 352gsm which works a lot better and is more durable/sturdy for a stand-alone print. 

CARD - BACK FINAL 

• Perfected the layout, each card is different yet follows the same overall layout that allows the information to be read effectively. The design keeps consistent with the rest of the WYS identity.
• Copyright changed from individual to WYS as this gives better continuity throughout all the cards rather than it saying different name each time.
• Rob and I are using our images on the postcards we decided to make these "WYS" cards rather than individual ones as this gives the audience a better insight to what WYS is and we can also remain anonymous.

ARTISTS - PHOTOCARDS

• This series of photos will be the first edition of photocards that we will be selling
• Photocards are a good introduction to WYS 
• Each artist that we collab with will get X4 photos (of there selected works) 
• Sold in packs of 16 - could change to 10 as 16 maybe too many for one pack.
• GIFs and other mockups in this style will be used to advertise the photocards 

PHOTOCARDS FINAL (DIGITAL MOCKUPS - PRINTING - PACKAGING) 

• Below is a selection of the digital mockups that I have made which help to advertise the photocards in an interesting way which will appeal to out design-conscious audience. 
• These will be used to social media and our webstore

PRINTING FINAL 

• Ordered a good amount of stock from G.F SMITH using The Paper Smith rather than getting samples. 
• Photocards are being printed on Mohawk Options 100% PC White at 352gsm 
• Printed at A4 (4 cards on a page double sided) 
• Double-sided printing did not go best to plan as the printer in the print room has some trouble when it comes to alignment - I have found a way to solve, next time I will be printing on SRA3 using bleed and using crop marks this will mean that we can get 8 cards on a sheet and will be must more cost effective and less chance of them not being aligned.
• In the future, we will be moving the printing to more suited printers which mean that quailty will be 100% 

PACKAGING

• C6/A6 Polypropylene self-seal bags
• Simple packing like this helps to keep all the cards together if they are not being used
• Cheap - 250 on Amazon at £4.75
• For shipping purposes, the cards will be then be shipped in postal sleeves with cardbaord backs so that they do not damage while in transit.