Instagram – BRITTA FOCKE

by Britta

When asked for an individual design job for a single medium, I always remind my clients to use their final artwork for different platforms in order to make the most of what they’ve paid for.

The creative part of a design job often takes up the most time and budget. After researching the target group and competitors, it involves creating the look and feel, coming up with an innovative idea, developing different layouts, discarding some of them and tweaking others. The next step – transferring the final design onto the print or online target media – is often much less time-consuming.

Every campaign requires advertisement on various platforms. While most channels are included in the concept up front, adding even more is comparable budget friendly, as the main part – creating an idea and design for your campaign – is already done and will only be multiplied to another format. The same applies to most other media: If you have a magazine, get a printed version as well as an e-book. If you place an ad, create an animated google-ad using the same elements. When your annual report is final, also offer a digital version for download on your website. If you advertise with flyers, use the slogan you came up with for a newsletter …

Example of a small project with a simple solution: A christmas card goes digital

Recently, one of my clients asked me to design their christmas card. They wanted a four-page card in an A6 format with a modern and fun design to send out to their 1.200 employees.

I presented three initial concept ideas. The design versions went back and forth between me and the client as well as within their department until the final text and layout was chosen. The biggest chunk of the budget went to this creative process, followed by printing and direct addressing by the printers. Then, once the decision for a final design was made, it took little time and budget to also create a gif for my clients facebook page and a small mp4-video for their instagram account.

Not every print design is as easily transferred to an online platform as this card. Sometimes the content needs to be further developed to accompany existing channels and to suit the medium. Normally it’s worth it – make the most of what you’ve paid for!

If you are interested in a breakdown of costs for your next project, drop me a line at info@brittafocke.com

Thanks for stopping by. Please stay in touch by following my blog here.

by Britta

I’ve been a long-time fan of the NY City Ballet’s creative use of the three-column grid on Instagram. One image continues onto another – sometimes right next to it, other times on top – requiring several other posts in between and therefore some well-ahead planning. If you like to create a similar feed, you could try this app.

I’ve often used a similar concept for newsletter designs. This method triggers the reader to scroll down and reveal the full content and newsletter information.

Here are two examples of newsletters I’ve created for fashion-webshop Luxengo. Instead of one image for each category-link, I’ve used only one main image, split up into several smaller ones. Nice little side effect: We only had to buy one stock image instead of six.

There are many platforms where this concept might work well. Have you tried it on any other social media channels?

info@brittafocke.com

Thanks for stopping by. Please stay in touch by following my blog here.