Building Design Portfolios

The printer punches one hole in the upper-left

corner of each trimmed piece, so the internal

design staff can insert a screw through the hole

and make a fan of samples. This system provides

a highly professional promo piece for relatively

little money. Between certain pages, Odgis

inserts a sheet of Mylar to offer brief pauses, or

breaths, in the presentation. The entire mini-

portfolio slips in a small bubble-wrap sheath and

then in a padded mailing bag sealed with one of

the firm’s square mailing labels.

Sometimes, less expensive promotional pieces

sometimes catch the most attention. A certain

amount of roughness can indicate a designer or

firm’s ability to do innovative work without a big

budget. London designer Milan Bozic’s hand-

made book falls into this category. Covered in red

felt with a distinctive yellow heart on the front,

the book includes samples of everything from

books, billboards, and packaging to posters,

Job no:70268 Title : RP- Building Design Portfolios Client : Pro-Vision

Scn :

#

175 Size : 171.45(w)254(h)mm Co : M1 C0 O/P: CTP

Dept : DTP D/O : 26.01.06 (Job no:70268.C1 D/O : 08.02.06 Co: CM8)

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Promotional pieces are in fact limited-edition

portfolios that many professional designers dis-

tribute as reminders or enticements. They can be

an effective means of catching and holding a

client’s attention. Often produced as little hand-

bound books, they have a perceived permanence

and personal appeal that keeps the art director or

client from discarding them.

For Janet Odgis, who runs a design studio in

Manhattan, promotional packets serve as both a

follow-up to client meetings and a vehicle for

informing existing clients about new projects.

Her firm has found a simple and effective

method for creating mailers. They select thirty-

five work samples, create reduced images of

them, and display them on a standard-size

sheet of coated paper. A printer reproduces this

one-sheet file in four-color process and trims the

images into individual envelope-size cards

measuring 7.5"

✕ 4.75" (19.1 ✕ 12.1 cm).

Promotions

Job no:7

Scn :

#

1

Dept : D

52 / Building Design Portfolios

Odgis + Company’s promotional piece fits perfectly

inside a bubble-wrap sleeve and simple corrugated

envelope. This inexpensive design choice is the perfect

solution for their mailing.

mailers

Portfolios_046_085_M1 7/2/06 10:10 AM Page 52

Odgis + Company distributes this elegant promotional

piece to existing and prospective clients. It has been

printed commercially and has enough polish to catch

the attention of big clients such as PriceWaterhouse-

Coopers, Elizabeth Arden, and MoMA, but because it is

hand-assembled in Janet Odgis’ office and printed on

only one sheet, it remains economical. The piece serves

as a reminder portfolio to companies she is already

acquainted with, as well as a method for showing new

work to prospective clients.

Job no:70268 Title : RP- Building Design Portfolios Client : Pro-Vision

Scn :

#

175 Size : 171.45(w)254(h)mm Co : M1 C0 O/P: CTP

Dept : DTP D/O : 26.01.06 (Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.01 Co: CM0)

p53

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