I has a store front!!! (Need opinions on store flyers please)

[Pika...]

I am so thrilled. A friend of my mom is allowing me to use part of his store/thrift store for my goal of an ebay selling/buy storefront!

I am so excited. I have worked in such a store before, an know the workings of how to run one (I did it alone quite successfully for the owner, though he ripped me off...). I am about to start work on the posters, flyers, and business cards.


ps. Anyone know what size to make an image in photoshop to look good in a 30"x30" poster?

Thankes!



edit:

A 40in by 30in poster to explain how my business works that will be displayed by the cash register/store front:

1
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture4-1.png




edit: 2


2
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture6.png

3
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture7.png

4
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture8.png



edit 3:

5
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture9.png

6
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture10.png

7
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture11.png

8
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture12.png

[Fostire]

ps. Anyone know what size to make an image in photoshop to look good in a 30"x30" poster?
How about 30"x30"? :smalltongue:
I've never designed a poster or anything similar before but I assume that as long as you maintain the 1/1 ratio you should be ok. Although it's probably best to keep the size similar too.

Also, congratulations and good luck with your business :smallsmile:

[Trekkin]

As I recall, 150-300 DPI is a good range for prints, so probably around 4500-9000 pixels per dimension.

[valadil]

As I recall, 150-300 DPI is a good range for prints, so probably around 4500-9000 pixels per dimension.

I did one in the 4500px range once and it worked out fine. I think I had higher DPI settings though. I don't have the file anymore, but the poster was 20"x25".

[Lord Loss]

No idea for your question, but congrats on getting the store!

[Pika...]

Thanks for the congrats, and for the help.

Here is a 40in by 30in poster to explain how my business works that will be displayed by the cash register/store front:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture4-1.png



Any business majors/business savvy people here who can give me your thoughts on it? I will be making business cards and fliers soon.

[Anuan]

...This is actually a pretty cool idea for a venture o-o;

[Pika...]

...This is actually a pretty cool idea for a venture o-o;

It is quite fun actually. I enjoyed it, but then again I enjoy the ebay experience a lot. It is fun for me, so I guess I am a bit bias on the subject.

[LCR]

Thanks for the congrats, and for the help.

Here is a 40in by 30in poster to explain how my business works that will be displayed by the cash register/store front:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture4-1.png



Any business majors/business savvy people here who can give me your thoughts on it? I will be making business cards and fliers soon.

I've no thoughts on the business idea as such, but you should seriously think about redesigning that poster.
I'd use a non-serif font, another background colour (really, anything but purple), do without the low-res cliparts and discard the green bar in the bottom.
Good design is a great way to convey professionalism to the public and bad design (sorry to be so harsh) is a great way to make your legitimate business look fishy.

Edit: Oh and make sure you have the rights to the images you're using and it's not just something you've pulled off of google image search.
Make especially sure that the you may use the ebay logo to promote your own business.

[Pika...]

I've no thoughts on the business idea as such, but you should seriously think about redesigning that poster.
I'd use a non-serif font, another background colour (really, anything but purple), do without the low-res cliparts and discard the green bar in the bottom.
Good design is a great way to convey professionalism to the public and bad design (sorry to be so harsh) is a great way to make your legitimate business look fishy.

Thanks!

What colors would you recommend?

And how would you rearrange the font/art?

ps. What is non-serif?


Thanks again for your help!

[LCR]

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif) is much better at explaining serifs than I am.
In general, serif fonts are great for large bodies of text, like books, while non-serif fonts are better for posters and presentations and such.

For the background, I'd use a muted colour. You want this business to appeal to people who don't use (or don't want to use) eBay themselves, which means that you'll probably deal with older people a lot. So, use something conservative. You don't want to scare them away with flashy colours.
For example, stick with a white background. Or black.

Scrap the art unless you've the rights to use it. If this is not already yours, don't use it, as it looks cheap. Your best bet will be to find a professional (or semi-professional) who'll do custom art for you. Those can be quite expensive. But why don't you ask around on the Arts and Crafts subforum? Someone might be willing to help you over there.

[Pika...]

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif) is much better at explaining serifs than I am.
In general, serif fonts are great for large bodies of text, like books, while non-serif fonts are better for posters and presentations and such.

For the background, I'd use a muted colour. You want this business to appeal to people who don't use (or don't want to use) eBay themselves, which means that you'll probably deal with older people a lot. So, use something conservative. You don't want to scare them away with flashy colours.
For example, stick with a white background. Or black.

Scrap the art unless you've the rights to use it. If this is not already yours, don't use it, as it looks cheap. Your best bet will be to find a professional (or semi-professional) who'll do custom art for you. Those can be quite expensive. But why don't you ask around on the Arts and Crafts subforum? Someone might be willing to help you over there.


Thanks for the help so far!

I have switched to Ariel font.

And I see what you mean about the color. I have two versions of it below. One is a slight soft blue, and one white.

I also used free stock images for all except ebay's logo, which I just changed. There is a third version without any images if it still looks bad.

I made the "Just Bid Your Junk Away!" logo myself. If it is bad, well I am not sure what to do.


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture6.png

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture7.png

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture8.png

[Lady Moreta]

I agree that the poster needs some work... I'm not a business person by any stretch of the imagination, but I did Desktop Publishing as a subject in high school for four years (and was either 1st or 2nd in class every year) and my mother teaches it herself, so I've had a lot of practice.

Background
Go white or slightly off-white. Pure white can be quite harsh/hard on the eyes, so I'd make it slightly off-white to be less jarring.
The shadow box at the bottom looks quite good, but make it a black box with white/off-white text instead. The use of the ebay logo here is clever, but be careful that you're actually allowed to use it.

Fonts
Chuck the serif fonts :smallsmile: You're better off with plain old Arial to be honest - which will work quite well for a big poster because it's a pretty big font to begin with. The 'Bid Your Junk Away' font is actually a good choice. It's a nice, big chunky font... looks good, nice and eye-catching with the varied colours. That's probably your best bet, avoid the logo and just use the colours. I've never bought anything off ebay and probably never will, but I instantly recognised the colours as being ebay ones, so you won't have any trouble with product recognition in that sense :smallsmile:

And I had more to say, but I am about to knock off work and I need to get going!

[Pika...]

I agree that the poster needs some work... I'm not a business person by any stretch of the imagination, but I did Desktop Publishing as a subject in high school for four years (and was either 1st or 2nd in class every year) and my mother teaches it herself, so I've had a lot of practice.

Background
Go white or slightly off-white. Pure white can be quite harsh/hard on the eyes, so I'd make it slightly off-white to be less jarring.
The shadow box at the bottom looks quite good, but make it a black box with white/off-white text instead. The use of the ebay logo here is clever, but be careful that you're actually allowed to use it.

Fonts
Chuck the serif fonts :smallsmile: You're better off with plain old Arial to be honest - which will work quite well for a big poster because it's a pretty big font to begin with. The 'Bid Your Junk Away' font is actually a good choice. It's a nice, big chunky font... looks good, nice and eye-catching with the varied colours. That's probably your best bet, avoid the logo and just use the colours. I've never bought anything off ebay and probably never will, but I instantly recognised the colours as being ebay ones, so you won't have any trouble with product recognition in that sense :smallsmile:

And I had more to say, but I am about to knock off work and I need to get going!



Thankies for you as well!

Here are a few more versions (Were these what you meant by "off-white" and a "shadow box"?):


5
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture9.png

6
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture10.png

7
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture11.png

8
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/Picture12.png

[Fostire]

Thankies for you as well!

Here are a few more versions (Were these what you meant by "off-white" and a "shadow box"?):

*snip*

I like number 7 the best.
Number 8 would be better than number 7 if it had better/simpler images.

[Kuma Kode]

Number 7 pops enough to attract attention but remains professional.

Clipart never makes a business looks respectable, in my opinion. It's the visual equivalent of Comic Sans.

[Trekkin]

Number 7 pops enough to attract attention but remains professional.

Clipart never makes a business looks respectable, in my opinion. It's the visual equivalent of Comic Sans.

I agree. It's good for internal flyers and so forth if you want to be fun and flirty and several other words frequently and flippantly flung around by overly enthusiastic marketers , but on external work it's usually best to restrict oneself to a logo and text unless the image is especially relevant. One of the things I used to do in graphic design class was to work with the image with an etching filter applied. If everything was reasonably appealing when displayed like it was embossed on metal, I would go ahead and flip it back to black and white and add color. It usually meant big, clean-lined, easily understandable text, occasionally with abstract underlays.

EDIT: You might also want to lighten up the black box a bit, lest people think you're offering to buy from "e ay". The beige is nice, though.

[Trog]

ps. Anyone know what size to make an image in photoshop to look good in a 30"x30" poster?

For newsprint quality go for 200 ppi (6,000 x 6,000) and for magazine quality go for 300 ppi (9,000 x 9,000).

Keep in mind your poster should be able to be read from across the room - at least the headline. If you can catch someone's attention with a 10 word headline they'll come closer to read the next 30 words or so. If you keep their attention through the next 30 they'll read the rest. And, for the record, the name of your business should never be a headline.

"Want to sell your stuff online without all the hassle? We can help!" would be a good place to start. This will capture the attention of anyone who could be your potential customer. It describes their problem and offers a solution in the headline. If they want to learn more they'll read on.

The next biggest thing should be your logo, located at the bottom. If they read nothing else they'll read that headline and see your logo and get your message at a glance. The smaller text in between those two elements reels them in. A brief play on their emotions works well to clinch the deal and bullet points describing why they should use you reinforces their emotional decision to buy. So describe the problem further and explain how the problem is solved by your company. Your breakdown of the process makes it easy to swallow. Then hit them with the logical reasons why they should follow up on their emotional response to get rid of their old stuff and make money doing it.

If possible a photo of an attractive person using your service will get more eyes to look at your poster. If you can find one online okay for use for commercial purposes make this the second biggest thing and then your logo. [/professional advertising advice]

Good luck!

[Lady Moreta]

EDIT: You might also want to lighten up the black box a bit, lest people think you're offering to buy from "e ay". The beige is nice, though.

Ironically... I was about to say 'you know what? I prefer it white, now that I see them both' :smallsmile:

Personally, I like 6 and 7, but would make slight changes to both.

First - font again - you've changed most of the font to Arial, but not all of it. The 'Let us' and the location should also be in Arial. For something like this, you only need two fonts.

On both of them, I think the 'bid your junk away' needs to be bigger. This is the main feature of your poster, the attention-grabber... and it's not grabby enough. Your list of what you're offering could do with being a tad smaller, make the 'bid your junk...' bigger and also make the location bigger as well (though changing the font to Arial may take care of that. Like I said, it's a big font).

Yes, the black box at the bottom is what I meant by the shadow box :smallsmile: - if you decide to keep it though, I would change the background of the main poster back to white. Actually I'd change it back to white anyway... having seen the two different options, I prefer plain white. And the text on this box - change it to the same font as your main 'bid your...' heading. The shadow box is designed as another attention-grabber, you want to make it just that bit more different. Agree, however, with whoever said to lighten it from straight black to a dark shade of grey (try 80% grey, should be dark enough but not too light) - the dark blue 'b' is really hard to see.

Pictures - while I agree with those who've said that clipart should be avoided, I gotta admit, I like the pictures. I would suggest seeing if you can find some that aren't as obviously clipart and trying it again that way. Either way, if you keep those pictures or use different ones, they need to be smaller. They're meant to be visual reminders of what services you offer - and for that reason I think they're important. Some people will remember the pictures, some will remember the words, having both will be helpful. They're not however, the main point and they take too much attention away from everything else at the size they're currently at. Make them smaller so they're helpful visual aids, rather than the entire point.

Having said that, if you go with the shadow box option, nix the pictures, too much, too busy with the shadow box included. If you go with the plain black line as a divider, then I say keep the pictures.

And what I think is my final point... if you go with #7 (shadow box, no pictures), nudge your right margin in a tad. You've obviously got a fairly big left margin because of the pictures that you deleted... your margins should be even, each end of the longest line should be roughly the same distance from the edge of the page at either end. It looks good inset slightly from the edge of the page on the left, you need to do the same on the right (but only if you go with the no-pictures version).

[grimbold]

Ironically... I was about to say 'you know what? I prefer it white, now that I see them both' :smallsmile:

Personally, I like 6 and 7, but would make slight changes to both.

First - font again - you've changed most of the font to Arial, but not all of it. The 'Let us' and the location should also be in Arial. For something like this, you only need two fonts.

On both of them, I think the 'bid your junk away' needs to be bigger. This is the main feature of your poster, the attention-grabber... and it's not grabby enough. Your list of what you're offering could do with being a tad smaller, make the 'bid your junk...' bigger and also make the location bigger as well (though changing the font to Arial may take care of that. Like I said, it's a big font).

Yes, the black box at the bottom is what I meant by the shadow box :smallsmile: - if you decide to keep it though, I would change the background of the main poster back to white. Actually I'd change it back to white anyway... having seen the two different options, I prefer plain white. And the text on this box - change it to the same font as your main 'bid your...' heading. The shadow box is designed as another attention-grabber, you want to make it just that bit more different. Agree, however, with whoever said to lighten it from straight black to a dark shade of grey (try 80% grey, should be dark enough but not too light) - the dark blue 'b' is really hard to see.

Pictures - while I agree with those who've said that clipart should be avoided, I gotta admit, I like the pictures. I would suggest seeing if you can find some that aren't as obviously clipart and trying it again that way. Either way, if you keep those pictures or use different ones, they need to be smaller. They're meant to be visual reminders of what services you offer - and for that reason I think they're important. Some people will remember the pictures, some will remember the words, having both will be helpful. They're not however, the main point and they take too much attention away from everything else at the size they're currently at. Make them smaller so they're helpful visual aids, rather than the entire point.

Having said that, if you go with the shadow box option, nix the pictures, too much, too busy with the shadow box included. If you go with the plain black line as a divider, then I say keep the pictures.

And what I think is my final point... if you go with #7 (shadow box, no pictures), nudge your right margin in a tad. You've obviously got a fairly big left margin because of the pictures that you deleted... your margins should be even, each end of the longest line should be roughly the same distance from the edge of the page at either end. It looks good inset slightly from the edge of the page on the left, you need to do the same on the right (but only if you go with the no-pictures version).

ditto what she said :smallbiggrin:

i really have no clue
good luck Pika

[Flickerdart]

Designing posters in Photoshop? Ew. Can you get your hands on Illustrator or something?

The problem with your yellow background is that several of the letters in your header are also yellow. Make it a lot fainter, and I would also go with a cool colour (#F5FFFF is a nice one) since cool colours recede. Or at least a similarly pale yellow.

Make the poster vertically oriented. Reduce the column width of the numbered list significantly, and centre the column. This will give you a chance to make everything bigger while at the same time getting more negative space in there. You should also be able to get a smaller area this way (since Kinko's wide format printers charge by the square foot).

In general...why are you making this so big? It's going to be a lot harder to read than an 11x17 poster with the same content, mainly because you're blowing the text up so large. I would also advise getting some sort of image (high-res, of course, so best get a camera and think of something to photograph, or take advantage of halftone filter), since it's usually a lot more difficult to get text-only posters to look nice, especially if you're using ugly typefaces like Arial or Times.

[Juggling Goth]

I know less about design than accessibility and readability. There are no absolutes, but these are the general guidelines.

Pastel-coloured backgrounds, especially pale yellow, tend to be easier to read for people with dyslexia. (Too colourful, though, and you screw up the contrast, which makes it harder to read for people with visual impairments, and generally headache-inducing for everybody.)

Small print is hard for people to read; that's why they put the stuff they don't want you to know there. For big chunks of prose, don't go below size 12; for smaller chunks on posters etc, don't go below size 16. A bunch of people will come out without their reading glasses, and you still need them to be able to read it.

As someone said above, sans-serif fonts (without the embellishments on the end of letters) are much more readable on things like computers and posters. Arial, Helvetica, etc. Generally with fonts, don't use too many different ones, and don't mix serif and sans-serif. Try to use fonts from the same family.

For emphasising stuff, bold text is better than italics or underlining, as it doesn't distort or disguise the shape of the letters.

[Flickerdart]

At the sizes you're using on a 30x40 poster, it doesn't matter if you're using a serif or a sans. Many serifs also look a lot nicer at large sizes, while unimaginative sans serifs like Arial will look dull. Mixing serifs and sans is not something you should avoid, but it is something you need to give a lot of thought to. Generally, mixing a serif and a sans by the same designer (Joanna and Gill Sans, for instance, or Meridien and Univers or Frutiger) will produce good results. Using more than one of each (plus the serif's italic, if you need it) is generally unwarranted.

Looking over the posters again...be very careful with the weight of your elements. Right now, everything except one bit is bold, so you're saying "hey, our contact info, that's the least important bit here". Speaking of which, if the poster is hanging near the cash register, do you really need to tell people what state they're in? The big fat horizontal line also needs to be a lot thinner if you want to keep it at all.

Mind the proximity of the elements to one another - by having the top line closer to the address than the others, you are creating an association between the two that serves to hinder your efforts.

Oblique bold underline is completely unnecessary. Nobody uses underlines anymore, anyway, so just leave it oblique.

Never leave a line of one word. Drop another word down if you must have a second line at all. You will see that even though the tops of your lines are spaced evenly, the huge space left by the near-empty line makes it look like the spacing is off.

[Pika...]

Many thanks for the help so far! I will update it tomorrow.

I just made my first sale today for/from the store, so am happy. My commission was $21 on the single item, so not a bad start I think. :smallsmile:

[sandersjessica]

Check out 48HourPrint.com. It's a great online printing (http://www.48hourprint.com/) site, and they have easy instructions about how to upload images to ensure the best quality.

[The Succubus]

25% is a pretty hefty comission fee. How much are your competitors charging?

For example, someone wants to sell a PS3 for $500 (please don't quote prices, this is purely an example). Your ad says the customer pays all the listing fees - who deals with S & H? Either way, it may put people off bringing in expensive items if they're going to lose $125 on a $500 item. Perhaps some sort of fixed fee and a smaller percentage would encourage luxury items to wander into your store more often.

But mainly, see what your competitors are charging for their services and then scale your fees accordingly.