Category

When photographer Chris Sembrot set out to create his latest promo he set the bar pretty high – “keep costs low, be visually interesting and make it so great that it would be difficult to throw out.” He knows from his previous experience as an art buyer that it takes a little extra something special for an art buyer or art director to actually hold onto a promo. Melissa Hennessey told me – 

Fun promo from photographer, Brook Pifer. Newsprint is a great idea for a mailer. It’s a larger, multi-sequence format, less expensive to print, folds up great for mailing and lighter to ship. Mixing in the hashtag merges the “old” media of newspaper with the “new” media of social networking. Great way to keep things fresh. Brook told me, “I’ve been inspired by how instagram

These color themed promos from PlainPicture, a photo agency based in Hamburg, Germany, are eye-catching while still remaining minimal in their design approach. The promos focus on the agency’s “unusual and unexpected” photography while still grouping imagery around a common theme.   Aaron Vähi told me - The design of our print advertising / promotions is usually reduced and minimal as to put as

This promo from lifestyle and portrait photographer, Eli Meir Kaplan promotes a very cool project he’s doing on soul musicians from DC called Soul51. The packaging and cover design of this booklet really makes it a stand out. Eli told me, “I’m a big fan of soul music and music in general and I’ve often wondered what happened to the artists whose records I would see in stores but didn’t b

This undergrad portfolio book from designer, Andrea Meli from San Gwann, Malta has it all! It’s a showcase for Andrea’s strong brand design skills, excellent book and editorial design, and more. He even includes a 3D printed rendering of his logo (created in Cinema4D) – very cool! With business cards and a website Andrea is ready to take the design world by storm. Andrea says, “I had one goal;

This is a great share from masterful bookbinder, Scott Mullenberg. Scott told me, “I thought you might be interested in this video, by photographer David White, about Mullenberg Designs and the building of his portfolio. We spent 2 days filming ( I believe in April) and it was just released a couple weeks ago. We’re pretty pleased with what Dave created (post production is everything!).” Scott Mulle

The design of this portfolio for Russian designer, Кочедыков Денис (Denis Kochedykov) is excellent. On the cover, the stripes act as a sort of collage of cropped, offset sketches & projects combined with playful typography that demonstrate a strong design sense while also giving us a look at the type of work included inside the portfolio. The visual look of the cover cohesively extends into the interior pages wh

The concept for this portfolio is communicated through a smart and interesting “two books in one” book form. It’s by designer, FuiTeng Chong of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This custom, hand made portfolio not only stands out for it’s smart concept and execution, but it’s also practical and easily updatable through the utilization of an elastic cord binding. The simplicity of the visual desig

I’m starting a new series called “Best Portfolios From Around the World.” I’ve scoured the internet, looked through submissions and exchanged emails with many talented folks whose portfolios and other promo materials I’m excited to share with all of you. Each week I’ll add another “best of” in the series. If you think you’re portfolio should be a contender send me

I’m starting a new series called “Best Portfolios From Around the World.” I’ve scoured the internet and exchanged emails with many talented folks whose portfolios and other promo materials I’m excited to share with all of you out there. Each week I’ll add another “best of” in the series. If you think you’re portfolio should be a contender send me an email and I

Photographer Sarah Lim made her most recent portfolio book herself. Making a book is an art unto itself and as with most art forms you either enjoy that process or you don’t. Clearly it also requires a certain level of skill and patience. All of which will show in the end result. The best hand crafted books are a labor of love. Sarah’s unique book is a nice example of craftsmanship and the pride she takes

Wow! What a special promo this is from Canadian photographer Dan Bannister. It’s just one of a kind. Definitely a promotional piece for a few select clients that you really want to impress. I imagine these sitting on the desk of quite a few agency creative directors. It’s a reminder everyday of the unique vision, exceptional skills and creative mind that Dan has to offer. So, while probably on the more ex

Thought I would share a “leave behind” promo that I designed for speaking engagements and conferences that Larry and I participate in. It started out as a simple postcard and evolved from there into a double-sided fold out piece. The concept plays with the NO (and opposite) YES established in our “No Plastic Sleeves” brand. I print and score myself to save on cost. As a mailer I use a clear tr

Recording memories, something every professional and amateur photographer knows something about. This beautifully designed and crafted promo kit for Brookelyn Photography celebrates recording memories both with the photographic image and written word. Photographer Brooke Fitts of Brookelyn Photography explains - “I hooked up with the amazing team at Hum Creative a few months back to chat about all things packag

When I received an email from photographer Marshall Troy sharing his summer promotion, I was blown away by how nice it was! Troy said, “To get into the spirit of summer, the idea was to send a ‘picnic basket’ to some dream clients that work with food – magazines, ad agencies, brands, reps, etc. We sent out about 12. We had boxes custom made to look like picnic baskets, inside and out, and then

This is an impressive first promotion from photographer Brandon Haynes. With a specific target audience in mind (editorial and music/entertainment based clients), he was smart to chose a concept for his magazine – “Light v Dark.” The theme helped to frame the work and provide a cohesive context for the sequence of images that ranged over several bodies of work. But Brandon’s promo package does

This smartly designed newspaper/magazine features some of Chris and Sarah Rhoads‘ favorite work. Type and image work beautifully together in this striking layout. Extra consideration with a gold foil deboss on the cover and the inclusion of perforated leave behind cards really make this a stand out promo. Sarah says, “The promo we sent out this year was an oversized newspaper/magazine hybrid at 15″

Photographer, Nate Luke‘s “Musky Old School” promo is a great example of a promo that captures a “look and feel” created through specific visual references along with copy that together draws you in. This piece thoughtfully brings together image, typography, texture and form in a well considered promo piece that takes you along on a journey into the the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Nate says

Your logo design is a graphic representation or symbol of your professional self. It should be used consistently across your promotional and business materials as an identifying mark. Logos can be more or less specific to a particular subject, industry, aesthetic style and of course one’s name. The strongest logos are meaningful and versatile, holding up across medium, format and varying sizes. A professional l

Celebrating spring, photographer Shelby Duncan‘s DIY promo package catches the eye – right from the get go with the use of clear plastic envelopes. This creative and smart idea gets you to the lush, colorful image right away, tempting one to see more! The use of text combined with the image (as an incomplete sentence cropped off the card) also helps to lead one on to the next image. Nice concept! Shelby t