EP 74: 8 tips on Product Design and Busting through Creative Blocks
Lessons learned about designing a calendar:
Accomplish your goals! It feels really good to do things on your bucket list. I have wanted to design a calendar for the last 20 years but never got around to it …until I started working with Iris flower essence. More about that later.
Start early! I printed my calendars December 22 and then was out of town for about 2 weeks so I didn't start selling them until after the new year- not ideal timing but It was a great project and now I know for next year to release them in October or November.
Stay focused Choose a theme-I focused on The flower of the month as I thought it fit with my work as a sometimes florist and always flower essence practitioner. Flowers have the ability to transform a situation like none other.
Choose a format-I could not decide if i wanted to do a vertical or horizontal format and ended up going with a vertical option and having them printed as a postcard for each month. I love snail mail and while I don’t send goodies to my friends as I once did in the 2000’s, I still love the practice. It s also a versatile format and could function as a desk calendar or a wall calendar. (Postcard calendars are also relatively affordable to print.)
Proof positive. A proof is worth the time and money! Proofread, and double check your files for any errors before you send them to the printer and be sure to ask for a proof. With printing things you want to know what they will look like and make sure you are on the same page as the printer. I learned this the hard way and had some miscommunications that cost me more money.
Give yourself time. Designing, Printing, packaging, and shipping will take more time than you expected- and it’s worth every minute. I got so excited with every order that came in and could hardly contain my joy. It feels so good to share your work with the world.
Accomplishing your goals is FUN! This project gave me a sense of purpose and accomplishment and got me drawing and making art again. I was on a hiatus for a bit and felt so good to jump in and create a cohesive body of work.
Repurpose. You can repurpose the images. I started a society 6 shop with the floral designs I made so people can have them printed as a timeless poster or bathmat. Or use images you already have to gather them into a calendar. This is a great excuse to look at your work and be a curator and notice which pieces work and how they can fit together.