Christmas Cards

So, I have been spreading the word this week, shamelessly plugging myself and the fact that I may be printing some Christmas Cards this year. I have had quite a good response so far, enough for me to actually get some done. So, I'm going for it. I have enough stock......some 300gsm Pulp Board that I was given and I have someone who can guillotine it down to size and then score it for me so it's all ready to be folded. The design is going to be along the same lines as the Birthday Cards that I have printed (pictures below in another post). This way, they will either look good as they are, or there is room for people to fill in the gaps by whatever means they wish. Maybe I can even do some. Maybe put one in each set that I sell. I plan on them being finished size A5. I now just need to source some envelopes. I have spotted some that I might be able to use and won't cost me anything, which is happy days. Keep the costs down.

But speaking of costs, that is where my dilema lies. I dont know how much to charge.....per card/set?
I have been looking on etsy and in general, the cards sell at approximately $4 each (that's 2.50 per card). Knowing my family and friends, I think that's a little steep. If your selling for a international market, then yes, I'd say that is fair as there are quite a few man hours going in to the work. I don't want to put people off but at the same time, I want it to be slightly beneficial to me. Maybe it could be like 5 pound for a set of five, and you get a few free? I don't know. Any input from people would be greatly appreciated.

I will keep you updated as to how things are turning out.

Mark Geary's 'Live Love Lost it - NYC' album print

So, finally, here is an image of one of the initial prints that I did for Mark's album cover. Not the best impression ever but I really liked it. I showed it to Mark and he thought the same. Because the album is live and was recorded in NYC, I wanted it to have a raw, urban feel. Much like New York is.

Maybe some of you out there can spot were I have cheated a little bit.
Points go to the first person that spots it!!

Let me know your thoughts people!!

Album Cover

So, I've been a bit busy lately working and designing an album cover for Irish singer/songwriter, Mark Geary. He has just recorded a Live album in New York called "Live Love Lost it - NYC". I was luck enough to be able to design the album cover and CD. Because its a live album and it's from NYC then I thought about using letterpress as my main idea. I wasn't interested in getting a perfect impression. I wanted it to be rough..........raw.

I used a nice blocky wooden typeface for the front (pardon my ignorance for actually not knowing what it is. Infact, its on an image at the bottom of this blog!!). I also did my first lot of typesetting with the help of a master and set the lyrics in 12pt Times New Roman. This turned out beautifuly when pressed but unfortunately, wasn't used in the final outcome.

In the end, I resorted back to my style of design and combined letterpress and illustration. Some hand rendered type thrown in there..................

Unfortunately, I don't think I am able to put up any images yet of what the design looks like. But as soon as it has gone to print and has started being printed, I will get some images up. In the meantime, I'm pretty sure I can give you a glimpse of the track names that I did.

 

Check out Mark Geary. Fantastic guy.