Chinese American

We all have our own ideas of what we want. I know I certainly do. Sometimes it takes us a while to come up with what that is though. Seeing things we don't want. It helps us decide what we do want. Whatever that may be.

This was a two sided announcement printed on heavy nice 5x7 cover stock.

I had lots of ideas but it's not about me, its about coming up with what the couple wants. :)

It's a classic

Picture with text overlay is a classic announcement style.
Looks simple right? But there are at least 6 major changes that made this Classic Picture announcement work. I'm not talking about the text either.
Lets play a game shall we? and see if you can spot them all.
Click on image below to see what I started with and the end result.


Congratulations to Marie and Ryan. Thanks for letting me be a part of this awesome time.

Announcing Genève

The last few months I've been on a hiatus preparing to deliver my little baby girl... and then adjusting to life with three little darlings. This announcement I actually designed in the hospital a few hours after having her and sent it to family via email.

The Set

As I suspected, changes were minimal. Here is the finished set that will go out to the couple's friends and family in the next few weeks. Congrats to the cute couple. When I dropped off the finished printed announcements the groom thanked me and said the announcements were the only thing his bride was happy about. Glad I could please. :)

When presented with a Choice...

What would you choose? I don't typically post the comps, because they are unfinished work (and I think intellectual theft is EVIL, esp being a victim of it), but the idea here is relevant and examples illustrate better the point.

I recently finished some wedding announcements. Typically people don't know exactly what they want. That's where a designer comes in handy. We all like choices. When I do announcements I like to give a few comps, typically 4, for the decision challenged (this seems to include all of us). This kind of guidance has really proved helpful to gauge what the client wants and usually one comp is a home run. Then I work on the mini cards to match. Since I know what design the client likes these cards are easy to get right on. Typically most of the time spent on a job is spent on the comps, research and exploration is the best use of time and energy. The amount we gain is directly related to end result. So what did this couple choose? Next post. Along with the cards to match and any edits that they requested. You will see next time that changes are pretty minimal from the comps to the finished product because of the energy spent getting it right in the first place.

5x7 Standard Package Examples

5x7 Fold Example

3 Panel Fold

This deesign goes for the Package 3 Pricing as a 5x7 folded design, one sided print. This option is a more classic wedding announcement with extra space for more pictures.

Long Letter Envelope Announcement Example (#10 envelope)

The small black and white picture was edited to be used in the newspaper announcement, the other two were sent with invitation, map and ceremony invitation.

4x5.25 Announcement Example

Growing Poles, Wore the Wrong Color?

Good picture except for the pole, and I want the invitation blue, not green.... Don’t worry! We can fix that.
The right background can be hard to find, especially if you don’t want to hire a professional photographer for engagement photos. Save the moola for the wedding! Color schemes can be worked with, in this case their clothes and background clashed with the blue that was chosen for the invitation. So I just changed their clothes... Changing the background from the lovely fall colors to the grey helped carry the blue and white theme and brought our attention to the couple's faces and the information, not the landscape.

oh baby!

We added a little monkey to our family right after I completed the Smart/Neugebauer wedding announcements. I designed this announcement before he was born so I could just add the pic and details while in the hospital to get the word out asap. I also used the design as a thank you/baby announcement to send to friends and family who helped in the welcoming of our special arrival.

Head Switching

He looks good in this one and I look good in this one.... Don’t worry! We can fix that.


The best picture of the bride and groom were actually on two separate photos, instead of settling for one to have a better representation than the other the best of both was combined in the final invitation. It may be subtle but makes a difference, plus the tilt of his head makes the couple seem cozier. Color, brightness, pixel softening makes faces look warmer and more inviting. Background edits were included to ease the reading of the text while still capturing the background that was descriptive of this couple’s hobbies and personalities and adding attention to the real focus, the couple. I've done more dramatic head switches but this is just an example so you get an idea. The source images I used are on an abnormal negative format and I am having trouble finding someone who will make prints off it.

I really enjoy putting together photos and having no one be the wiser, and yet all being happy.

The Fold

i was really excited about doing this project with the fold out design and incorporating the content of the pictures into the design. the couple actually took the sample print i had even though for their actual announcements they opted for the 5x7 flat format (less in printing costs).

Idea

I have this idea for an announcement design, but I'd need certain photos taken so that it works. I need the couple holding hands or facing each other (profile). The more I think about it the more I think the couple hand in hand, full body would be most pleasing. I will be doing an announcement set soon and hope to get them to get these photos taken so I can make a sample, whether or not they use the folded design or not. I think they are using a prof/semi prof photographer, but even if they weren't I could make it fab. I just really want to lay out this idea.