Direct Mailer Drafts
This week we were asked to design two separate direct mailers for OU Recruitment services directed at two separate stakeholders.
How has your first stakeholder help define your second stakeholder?
For my first stakeholder, I kept it simple. I wanted to target college bound high school juniors and seniors. Since it wasn’t so long ago that I fit into that demographic, getting into the mind of my stakeholder was fairly simple. I thought back to my college search experience and thought about who had the most influence on my decision. The answer was obvious–my parents. My parents were huge in helping me make my college choice, so I chose parents of college bound high school juniors and seniors as my second stakeholder.
Has your design changed since the last draft? What influenced the changes?
Yes. Very much so. I wish I had saved a version of my first draft to post here. Most of my changes were to enhance readability. Transparency has become my best friend and is a huge help in toning down an otherwise overwhelming image. I like to get my first drafts done all at once, let them set for a day, and come back to them. It’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can do to a design!
3. What similarities and differences have you found between Photoshop and InDesign?
Photoshop and InDesign are similar in the way that lions and tigers are similar–both are cats, but at the end of the day, they are very different animals. From what I gather, InDesign is more used for creating print materials rather than actual image manipulation. However, I was surprised to discover that Photoshop can also be used to create print materials, such as direct mailers. However, I think I prefer InDesign when it comes to creating print materials because of that super handy framing tool.
Like I said above, this week we were asked to create two separate direct mailers on behalf of OU Recruitment Services. At first, I was very overwhelmed with this task. It is still somewhat overwhelming to have to create something from scratch. Trying to condense my thoughts into one cohesive design has proven to be no easy task. Despite that, I’m pretty happy with my final products. I’m sure they could still use some more work, but not bad for my first 100% Photoshop production! I’m proud of the work I’m doing, not because I can see a drastic difference in my actual products, but because the process is becoming easier. Photoshop and InDesign are finally beginning to feel familiar, which is a welcome relief! 
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