And the 'Bad' (for me) I'm not naming any names.....

For me,  this would not make my post-card collection, and would probably make the bin before I turned it over to read the name.  It is wholy digital completly flat in terms of texture, I don't find the colour scheme or the ratio of the colours at all attractive, and I don't like the size of the card in comparison to the row of circles.

I know this is a terrible photograph, and that it doesn't do the cream and blue icons any favours, but they don't pop out at you any more in real life.  This could be a very old card, in which case it could have been ground breaking some years ago, and been a good showcase for a graphic designer, but the composition does not suit the size of the post card.  My initial impressions were that it was old without being retro, and not likely to generate any work.

And this feels like another 80's image.  I didn't even get the point of the image untill I turned the card over and realised that it was from an editorial on domestic violence.  This is a business card, so it really looks like the illustrator has had something published, and decided to stick it on the front of his business card, irrespective of whether it does him any favours or not.  The image has a very flat feel to it due to the drawing  and the use of colours.  The whole image may be much more interesting (I'm  assuming this has been cropped) but this particular section makes the illustrator come across as unskilful.

I also got the wrong emotional feel from the card.  I didn't pick up on the fact that there is a fist outlined (in red, in the woman's hair), and thought the figure was frowning rather than frightened.  When I did realise what the image was saying,  I thought it was a strange image to put on a business card.  There can't be many 'Domestic violence' articles to illustrate, and must be more positive images to represent yourself.  I can't imagine getting much follow-up work from this card.

I've finished now. 

Good and Bad Promotional Stuff.

It was an interesting exercise to look at other peoples self promotional stuff.  As Mel said, it is very subjective.  What appleals to one person doesn't appeal to another.  And what you choose to put out there to represent 'YOU' says loads about who and what you are.

The 'Good' first:

 

This had a real hand-rendered look.  The envelope was made out of embossed card and the little inner card looked hand printed.  It had a hand written web address on the inside from www.the things.co.uk.

It felt like you had just met the person.

Because it has that sort of old fashioned, hand made feel about it, it feels like a lot of thought has gone into it, and that the design service they give is a bit different and personal.  The texture of the card makes it an item that you want to keep.  It had a playful quality, and the picture of the toilet made me chuckle.  There is a slightly Monty Python madness to the whole thing.

This is a post card by Shaun Lynch.  I liked it because there was an emotive feel to the image. 

The penguine had a lonely expectant feel to it, and the different areas of the iceburg were beautifully rendered.  The lower, underwater area has a map like quality with text and lines running through it, that indicate a journey, perhaps to be undertaken.  I like the way the image is divided into thirds (nearly) by colour.

The post card size makes it a perfect appetizer.  You want to know what happens next, so you get in contact.  The Post card format is something I will look into.  I have picked up attractive A5 postcards myself, and they are a perfect size to pin to a wall, and generally wear well.  The print quality on this one looks good.  Not to glossy.

This card is my favourite - it intrigued me whe it was the wrong way round - like it is now, and made me smile when it was the right way round (and laugh at myself) .  I picked it up, and thought it was a very clever 'J' that someone had made by letting paint run and guiding it round - a sort of liquid alphabet.  I liked the hand painted feel, the textured paint on the top, and the colours reminded me of an old sepia print.  It also had two little eyes at the top.  For such a simple image, there was a lot to it.  It was something I would like to produce myself.

Then I turned it over, and saw it afresh.


Its actually a sleepy little seed, or an alien buried in the earth.
Whatever it is, it's very simple, and very clever, and I loved it's emotionsal strength and vunerability.  Very jealous of this.  I couldn't produce this in a lifetime of working.  I would expect the person who produced this to be able to solve some very difficult visual problems for an art director, and to produce some strong and attractive editorial work.