Christmas Card Evaluation

I really like my final design and I think it has met the requirements of the brief really well. It looks professional and respectable but is also an interesting design. I wanted to create something minimal that focused on the universities mosaic as this is a key part of the university and it’s branding and is where the logo is derived from. If I was to do this again I would make the design more physical and potentially do something 3D as I think this would have more chance of winning.

final design in context

Originally I was torn between the two ideas therefore I decided to do mock ups of them both. I went with the bauble idea as I think this is a bit less obvious and is more striking. It is professional looking yet still quiet quirky and fun.

Final design

Originally my design was just using different shades of green but I didn't think this looked festive enough. 

I added pink hints at the bottom of the bauble too look a bit like berries often found on holly around christmas time

colour research

for an idea of what colours to use I had a look at the existing colours used on the uni website. I wanted the card to related in some way to the university branding so it is recognisable and relates well.

as well as this I looked at pantone fall/winter colours.

existing ideas

to get an idea of how to design a professional looking business christmas card I looked into existing designs used by companies. These are designs that you can buy online and enter your own company name so are very generic however it gave me a good idea of how to make something professional looking.

christmas card brief

Christmas Card Design Brief
We want you to design and make 75 Leeds Arts University Christmas Cards.

Purpose
Leeds Arts University works with a variety of partners and stakeholders including governors, community groups, artists, suppliers, and creative businesses. As a seasonal gesture of appreciation and thanks, staff at the University would like to post a Christmas card to those that we work with.

Mandatory Requirements
The card must have a crafted feel, but look professional and artistic. It must also have the University logo on the front.
You will be responsible for the production of the cards. The final cards must fit inside an A5 envelope unless your proposal is more unusual and includes the production of bespoke envelopes. We will also send out a Christmas email so if you would like to include an email design in your proposal you can but it’s not mandatory.

Content
Inside the card must read: ‘Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Leeds Arts University’

Concept/Ideas
We want our Christmas card to be professional, considered, and innovative whilst portraying the University as a leader in art education. Please consider and reflect these words in your concepts and ideas: Christmas, friendly, creative, vibrant, specialist, independent, unique, innovative, quality, and contemporary. You can use our brand guidelines as inspiration if you like.

Entries & Timescales
• Friday 17th November, 12pm – All submissions should be sent to lucy.tee@leeds-art.ac.uk, or brought into the
marketing office, Geoff Hodgson House (Church opposite The Fenton Pub – buzz for marketing) by 12pm
• Monday 20th November – The Vice-Chancellor/marketing team will shortlist the designs
• Tuesday 21st-Monday 4th December – Production of the handcrafted cards. The finished cards need to be
delivered to Lucy by 4pm Monday 4th December).
• Tuesday 5th December – Cards will be mailed out.

Winning Design
The winning design will receive £200. We will cover the cost of any materials required. An estimate of the cost of
materials (approximate) must be submitted with proposed design so that we can make sure the cost is appropriate
prior to production.

Card stock

I chose to use this stock to print the cards on as I think it looks nice and christmassy. It is a recycled stock I found being sold on Ebay and I am really pleased with the quality and how nice it looks when printed on. I think this also makes the card stand out and be unique as not many cards are printed on a pearlescent stock. 

Initial ideas

Creating a christmas tree shape out of the mosaic pattern, shows creativity and all the pieces coming together like all the courses come together. 

Each piece represents a different course at LAU

Christmas Card Cost and Rationale

The design is inspired by the university logo and how this is derived form the large mosaic. I wanted to use this shape to create my own mosaic pattern which then fills the circle making a Christmas bauble. The colours are taken from the university website as I think this keeps things consistent but they are also quite christmassy colours as people often associate green and red with Christmas trees, holly, etc. 


The cards would cos 45p each therefore the total cost would be £45 for 100 cards on a pearlescent stock.