Design brief: McGraw-Hill - Book Cover , a Print design proj...

Dates

Starts:31-Aug-10 11:42 p.m. GMT

Ends:7-Sep-10 11 p.m. GMT

Awards: Award 1: $500, was awarded to grafismo

Formats: Vector EPS, JPG,

Contract: Preview: crowdSPRING Contract

Materials

File 1: 88_MCGRAW-HILLLOGO.ai (1009.9 KB)

File 2: PITCH_-_Chapter_1_1.pdf (84.6 KB)

Creative brief

The buyer added updates to the brief. Read them.

Business Name

Oren Klaff

What do you do?

Author of the McGraw-Hill book "PITCH" which is being published in Feb. 2011 and will be in Borders, Barnes & Nobel, Amazon etc.

How many pages of print design do you need?

Front Cover, with back.

List the size requirement(s) for your print design

6x9 (inches)

What is your industry?

Publishing. Sales and Marketing.

Describe the target audience for your print design

20 - 35 year olds business executives and sales people who want to learn how to present better.

What 3 things would you like to communicate to your audience through your print design?

1. This is a break through method. By a long shot, this is not the same old sales stuff.
2. This book is an interesting read - Exciting
3. Fresh, Edgy, in-synch with popular culture, fun

What print design styles do you like?

Here are some cover designs with good concepts and solid design elements: http://picasaweb.google.com/orenklaff/01COVER#

What colors do you want to see in your print design?

We should stick to high contrast, primary colors, for example: red/black, black/white, blue/white. I am open to something adventurous if it works - Look at how they pulled off green/orange with Freakonomics, which was a best seller.

What colors do you NOT want to see in your print design?

avoid soft, non-business colors.

What adjectives should best describe your print design?

Aggressive, New, Intriguing, Fun, Breakthrough

How will you use the print design?

Major market publication.

What content must be included in the print design?

1. title of book: PITCH
(lowercase ok too, eg. pitch)

2. author name: Oren D. Klaff
3. McGraw-Hill logo
4. Tagline: Position, Present and Promote Anything — a Product, Idea, or a Deal — by Taking Advantage of How Our Minds Really Work
5.Secondary tagline, smaller: Giving a Pitch is one of those business skills that is heavily dependent on the method you use and not how hard you try. Better method, more success. Much better method, much more success.

NOTES:
1) I have uploaded a possible logotype in the attached file "cover basics.ai" - but I'm not committed to it.
2) In the attached file "pitch elements" are some additional copy and elements that can be used on the front or back.

Brief updates

1-Sep-10 12:39 a.m. GMT: The primary tagline may work better as "How You Can Position, Present and Promote Anything — a Product, Idea, or a Deal — by Taking Advantage of How Our Minds Really Work"
1-Sep-10 3:52 a.m. GMT: 1. If you read chapter one, you could get the idea that an image of a brain would work for the cover. It doesn't. Let's stay away from brain imagery, it's becoming cliche and overused in the market.

2. Also, let's avoid any baseball metaphors because this is a business book about SOCIAL INFLUENCE.
1-Sep-10 5:06 a.m. GMT: THESE are covers and designs that are FAIL. Avoid at all cost.
http://picasaweb.google.com/orenklaff/BOOKCOVER...
2-Sep-10 8:23 p.m. GMT: THANK YOU for these submissions - the top guys (you know who you are) are ROCKING this project. This has become a real talent contest. I will take the best five to McGraw-Hill for final selection. Two quick notes...

1. I guarantee additional work the winning designer [within a year] (we do a lot of ongoing design) You can see my ongoing work here: http://www.intersectioncapital.com/portfolio/

2. I will provide a personal e-mail introduction to my literary agent in New York and to my editor at McGraw-Hill, for the winning designer AND the two runners-up. (these people need good designers)
3-Sep-10 2:18 p.m. GMT: Designers: I commit to scoring every submission THE SAME DAY IT IS POSTED. I will give thoughtful, direct and specific feedback, and I will answer any questions posted. You guys are amazing and I will do as much as I can to help you win. Again, Same day feedback will be given. THANKS, OREN KLAFF
6-Sep-10 5:46 p.m. GMT: Creatives: THANK YOU. I have 30 designs to score and provide feedback to today. I WILL get to all feedback today. THE DESIGNERS ON THIS PROJECT ARE AMAZING. I will invest the time to provide feedback on each design, and if anything is not clear, please: oren@intersectioncapital.com. For the newer submissions, I ask that you read the PDF and creative brief because there are some four and five star designs here that are INCREDIBLE and you will need your A+ game on to compete. OREN KLAFF
7-Sep-10 8:25 p.m. GMT: Designers, thank you for the continued work. I'll be making my final choice and submit options to my publishing partner - although they are under no obligation to go with my choice, I'm hopeful they will.

For some reasons out of my control, I'm going to have to close this project sooner than I'd expected but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up and a HUGE thank you. We'll absolutely be awarding a winner and I apologize for the late notice about closing early - although it is just 2-days ahead of schedule. The response has been incredible.

McGraw-Hill - Book Cover a print design project by orenklaff