Celebrate the Child

Sign concept (left) and completed (right).

Two of our branch libraries recently had an event for voluntary pre-kindegarten enrollment. I was asked to design two 8.5x11 inch signs to promote the events. Both signs would be identical except for a change in the date/location information.


The person requesting the sign emailed me a visual of what she had in mind. She had created the image using the computer software program called Publisher which has limited, but effective page layout and text editing capabilities. 


I appreciated receiving her concept as reference for developing the final work. Receiving a file like this is simply part of the process of thinking visually about solutions for the project at hand. And the earlier it comes in the stage of the creative process, the better. If it comes from the client, that can be a big boost to streamline the process. Whether the idea is a scribble on a napkin, notes along the margins of a report, or a complete digital mock-up from yourself or the client, the creative process begins somewhere and steers the boat, so to speak, based on the direction given.

The handbill design.

Now--just to be sure--I did touch base with the client to confirm that she didn't want the specific pinwheel visual she sent me. For all I knew, it could have been the official image of the event. So being mindful of all the possibilities, checking first to see if that was the real deal or only concept art was important. Knowing beforehand could save me a ton of time if I had gone to a lot of effort to secure a different pinwheel image, used it in my layout and then found out later that the client actually wanted the specific pinwheel she had sent me. With the confirmation that what she sent was only general reference, I moved forward to source images. I also used the same conversational time to inquire about how/where to get the best quality of sponsor logos she had placed on her layout but didn't provide as live working elements.


I searched online for a domain free image of a pinwheel and found one with good lighting. It had a background that I removed; then I added a slight circular motion blur to fan portion of the pinwheel. I added it to a sky background image I already had, and arranged the sponsor logos and event text around the pinwheel as best I could. Fortunately, some of the activities text changed, which reduced the amount of language and freed up more room on the sign. I chose a lively display font named "Curlz" for the headline and activities mentions, and used "Dom Casual" for the rest. Both easy to read by the younger aged readers.


The client loved the final look of the signs and was very appreciative of how quickly and efficiently I produced the designs for her. 


The full compliment of promotional collaterals included:
11x17 inch signs (50)

8.5x11 inch fliers (75)
Quarter-page handbills (200)
Web ad (1; shown right).