designmarketing and branding

Not loving is not enough

today, just a quick post. Although it is still pretty early: I need to head to the factory and fill air in to bottles. And then put air into boxes. For this, I am printing cards right now, on my laser printer, that miraculously accepts the thick paper, which is right beyond its specs… although, funny enough: it only accepts the one side with the tauer logo in silver if put in bottom to head, not head to bottom like I should. Thus, we had to turn all label information that goes on this side by 180 °. The silver logo seems to confuse the paper detection thing. Well, must have to do with the past of the printer: It was standing in the offices of the Swiss Federal Bank. And wasn’t really used there.

Anyhow, while I fill air and boxes: Here is a quick update on the brochure thing. The picture shows you a full double page (left and right pages if you open up the future brochure thing), in the middle, and a cut of the preceding double page and the following page. The text is not really important, yet. I worry more about the overall visual impression. We have kind of 5 elements:

Large picture, overlapping to the opposite page

small picture, in a corner position, showing some detail of a picture that fits with the content of the text

text, scattered, that can be read and makes sense without following any particular order

semi transparent blue space at the bottom, with a personal statement

hand-written “motto”, header for  each double page

Do I like it. Yes. Do I love it. No. Could I go with it. Don’t know.

What’s missing? It is too geometric. Too nice without being creatively brave. It misses a few elements that render it “different”. I have a few ideas, though. I am considering cutting the square pictures and bring in some round forms, some background elements, maybe changing even the format from A5 to A4, allowing me to go bigger with the main pictures and still have enough room for the text.

We will see: I just wanted to share this with you. It is like with perfumes and their creation: even if you like a particular scent, even if you think, it is “OK”, you do not really love it. And this is not enough.