Archive for the ‘Displaced’ Category

Feb

2011

Designing Effective Marketing Pieces

I have seen a ton of marketing pieces lately — brochures, postcards, small catalogs, etc. from designers and artists alike. I thought I would take a little time to share some pieces that I recently designed and printed. I’ve gotten wonderful feedback on these, and I think what I’ve learned in the process of creating them could be applied to almost any kind of promotional marketing piece.

I have used two online printers for most of my printed pieces, Modern Postcard and PS Print. I vary who I use based on the kind of job I’m printing. For the most part, I go with Modern Postcard because the printing is more accurate and predictable, their quality control is better, and they do a much better job printing black and white images (which is difficult). Modern Postcard is definitely more expensive than PS Print, so I go with PS when I want a piece that may have a higher likelihood of being discarded, or when my budget is extra tight.

Step 1: Defining the Goal
The first step in designing an effective piece is defining what the goal of the piece is. Is to advertise a show opening? Is it to announce a new body of work? Is it a catalog of images? When you can clearly define how you’ll be using the piece, certain conclusions may be able to be made about size, quantity, even paper stock. Other questions to consider include Will this piece be mailed on it’s own or included in an envelope? Does it need to be in color on both sides or can you save a little money and have just black ink on the back? Answering these basic questions will set you on the right path to Step 2, designing the actual piece.

Step 2: Designing the Piece
This step will be a challenge for those of you out there who are not designers. If you are not a graphic artist, the best solution is to hire one. Many of you probably have friends that are graphic artists or can ask for recommendations from friends or family to find one. Other resources include the AIGA (former acronym for “American Institute of Graphic Arts”) Designer Directory where you can search for a designer by state or discipline or if you visit Craig’s List’s category “Creative” which is listed under the “Services” heading, you can find designers there as well. If you’ve never hired one before, there are definitely some issues to consider. The advantages of working with a designer are numerous. First, you’ll get a piece that coordinates with your existing materials, you won’t have to worry about whether the printing will be done correctly (the designer will coordinate and prepare files properly for your chosen printer), and a second pair of eyes looking at your writing and images is always a good thing. When talking to a designer for the first time, you should definitely ask to see samples of pieces that would be a similar match to what you’re looking to do, what the price will be (do they work hourly or by flat fee?), what their schedule or timeline is, and who their preferred printer is. It may be that a designer is familiar with a particular printer and can guarantee better reliability and quality from a company their work with regularly.

Example 1: Multiple Pieces in One
The first example I wanted to share was for a postcard I needed to advertise two separate upcoming shows. But, I also needed some new business cards. The challenge was to figure out how to do all of that in as cost-effective way as possible. I decided to print a 5″ x 7″ postcard into 4 parts, 2 long narrow individual postcards, and then two sets of business cards. So, the front and back looked like this, with the red lines indicating separate pieces. I had Modern Postcard print the overall piece, and then I took the cards to Kinko’s and for $1 a cut, they trimmed out all 4 different pieces. SO, for $175, I got 500 postcards (250 of each version) and 500 new business cards. Not bad, right? If I had bought these individually, the cost would have been $325. Combining a few different pieces into one card is a great way to save money and double your quantities. So, something to think about might be What will my printing needs be for the next 3-4 months? Can I combine some pieces?

Multiple Pieces Postcard Front

Multiple Pieces Postcard Back

Example 2: Promoting a Project
The second set of examples I have to share are two brochures I designed and printed again with Modern Postcard. Each brochure used the same template and featured one of my books, the first one for Displaced, the second for Silence is an Orchard. I wanted to use them as an informational mailer to university librarians, and giveaway at the Codex Book Fair where I was exhibiting both works.

As to the design of the brochures, I knew that I wanted to accomplish the following:
• Showcase the images that were in each book
• Provide a description of each project
• List specifications about the book including pricing and availability
• Drive traffic to my primary website and the new website I created specifically for my book projects
• Build excitement about these new offerings

I decided to populate the cover of each brochure with one large signature image from each book and as an announcement of the project. The front of each card looks like this.

Book Promotion Postcard Displaced Front

Book Promotion Postcard Silence is an Orchard Front

In thinking about the interior, I wanted an explosion of imagery, and to give a sense of what is inside each book. I kept the text minimal and let the images speak for the project. This was a good place to introduce the work more fully, reveal the price and include the website to learn more about each project. The interiors were the down and dirty of each project: the images, the description, the price, and where to buy—all presented in as clean, simple, and beautiful way as possible. The interiors look like this.

Book Promotion Postcard Displaced Inside

Book Promotion Postcard Silence is an Orchard Inside

Finally, for the backs, I included all of the specifications, the who, what, where, when, and hows of the projects. The top parts included information about the book itself with yet another image as the background. I used a dark background with white text to differentiate from the rest of the card, to convey that this is important, and to give the cards some more pop. The bottoms contained address, website, and sponsorship details.

Book Promotion Postcard Displaced Back

Book Promotion Postcard Silence is an Orchard Back

The size of this piece is 6″ x 8.5″, big enough to feel substantial, like a small catalog, but small enough to still be easily portable. The cardstock with aqueous coating helped make them very durable.

I have gotten such good feedback on these that I plan to use this same layout/format for many pieces to come. I would remind you to design materials that reflect the mood of your work. My work is quiet and meditative. If I used outrageously bright colors, it would have negatively impacted the mood of my imagery. Apply whatever aesthetic principles you use for other presentation methods (portfolios and/or website) to your printed materials. Remember, these are extensions of you, they often go where you are not able to. Design them to represent you well and I guarantee at some point you’ll be surprised at the marketing power of a little postcard.

Happy designing…

Posted in Displaced, Education, General, Marketing, Silence is an Orchard | 1 Comment »

Feb

2011

Codex 2011: Entering the World of Book Arts

When I began the process of publishing Displaced, nearly 2 years ago, I learned of a world that I never knew existed, that of fine press and handmade artist books. Inge Bruggeman, who did the letterpress printing for that book, had shown me other projects that she completed herself or worked on for others. I was immediately engaged and inspired by what I saw—the most beautiful books I had ever seen, all made by hand.

I knew then that I wanted to explore that world, to delve and challenge myself to make something that was equally indicative of what fine craft could be. There weren’t many examples to see in the photography world. I knew of Ray Meeks’ beautiful handmade books, I also saw what Vicki Topaz had been able to accomplish with her book, Silent Nests, which started as a handmade publication which eventually led to a book deal with a European publisher.

I produced Displaced with the help of a grant, and without much planning, became more and more immersed in the fine press world.

This past week, I exhibited Displaced and Silence is an Orchard at the international Codex Book Fair, held in Berkeley, CA. It was a convention with about 125+ exhibitors from around the world. There were many artists from the United States, but also represented were Russia, France, Mexico, Germany, England, and other countries. I was truly blown away by what I saw—works made to look and act like books, but crafted to levels I never imagined.

It was a grueling event, a 10-12 hour investment everyday, standing, talking to people, networking, and learning. I had never been in a position of showing my work in that kind of setting before, a trade show for for printmakers. I was sharing a table and trying, in the 30 seconds or so that you have with buyers, to communicate who I was, why I do what I do, and why they should care. We should all have to go through that exercise.

I wanted to show you in some of the images below what I discovered there (please forgive the poor imagery) as well as my thoughts on what I ascertained, in case any of you would like to join me in trying to infiltrate this market. What I learned was vast, some of which left me optimistic, some of which didn’t.

I went to Codex for a few reasons: to learn from other artists, sell some books, expose my work to a completely new audience, and leave with some sense of how to move forward.

Who Exhibited
It seemed that the vast majority of artists exhibiting would classify themselves as ‘printmakers’ in some fashion. It felt mostly like traditional printmakers, artists producing etchings or woodcuts or simply working with typography. From what I could tell, there was only 1 other photographer there like myself, showing their own book of photographs. There were others using photography, but not as their primary medium.

Who Attended
Attendees were primarily other artists from printmakers to bookmakers to letterpress printers to binders to hobbyists to papermakers. Beyond that group, there were also university librarians, individual collectors, material suppliers, and educators. It was a diverse group, filled with people that I would not normally have been exposed to. I had many wonderful conversations with people interested in bookmaking and unique methods of storytelling.

What I Learned
There was an obvious lack of photography represented at this event. The people I presented my work to who were not photographers seemed to wonder what kind of prints they were, platinum? photogravure? etchings? When I explained that they were inkjet prints they seemed surprised. I don’t know if it’s because of the quality of the prints or that inkjet could live up to their expectation of what ‘fine printmaking’ was. I honestly felt, for the first time in my career, like my prints, because they were photographs were ‘less than.’ In fact at the end, someone said to me, “I heard the other photographer was ‘having a hard time too.’” Hmmm. My fear was that this was actual evidence of how a decline in our community’s commitment to the craft of printmaking will effect us in the long term—being further segregated.

I also learned that is indeed a difference between what photographers expect to see in their books compared to followers of fine press. In the photography community, I’ve made what is expected, a book with a series of images, without much text, that lulls the viewer into some other world which I’m sharing with them. In this fine press/book arts world, there was clearly an emphasis on the relationship in every spread between text and image. Simply put, I felt that I had lost a lot of interest simply because I didn’t have enough text in my book, especially poetry. It was a clear difference that I noticed. I was visited by Luis Delgado, an artist I met briefly last year in San Francisco. He looked through the book and said he thought it was great… He commented that it had just the right number of image and I could sense that the lack of text appealed to him and the other photographers I showed the book to… but in this market, it was a negative.

For those of you who might be thinking about simply inkjet printing text in your book, I would advise you against it. The letterpress printed text pages were definitely a must there, and in my own experience, it has really added to the quality of my books. The cost to add letterpress printing was about 10% of the total project, a minimal investment when you consider the number of buyers you will turn off with inkjet printed text.

I was extremely excited and inspired to see alternative printing techniques. I wished there had been more of it and that new printmaking techniques would be as accepted and embraced as the older methods. I do not feel it was the case, but still, there were examples that I felt certain would be new to the photography community. One in particular was employed by Peter Koch in a book titled The Lost Journals of Sacajewea. In this book about one of the most famous American Indian women, he employed the services of Magnolia Editions, a print shop out of Oakland, California. They chose to print using Magnolia’s UV Flatbed printer which, in the case of Koch’s book, printed beautifully onto Japanese kozo paper where the image bled through to the other side. Magnolia describes this type of printing as, “using a durable pigment/solvent ink cured with UV light, this printer prints on almost anything flat. The media is stationary, held down with a vacuum, and can be overprinted multiple times in perfect registration.” It was something I had not seen before and the bleeding through to the back of the kozo in this case was very effective.

In addition, I was finally able to see some 21st Edition publications. One of my favorite photographers, Masao Yamamoto, has just released a book with 21st along with some platinum prints. The printing was well done and while I think it’s difficult to reinterpret Yamamoto’s work in book form, I was definitely interested to see what would qualify a publication to enter the $9,000 price point. The book was housed in an elegant wood box that I really appreciated. It was delicate, like his work, and as a package, it seemed successful.

I took a number of images throughout the fair of books or presentations that I thought worthwhile to share. This is just a small sampling of what was there, truly inspiration objects.

Codex 2011

My setup at Codex.

I did not sell anything at Codex which was a disappointment. I felt, at times, that it just wasn’t the right audience. I did meet a dealer who seemed very interested in selling the book which could lead to multiple sales, so it may end up being a worthwhile investment. As I’ve said many times in the past, it is always hard to know what will come from these events, whether it’s a book fair, a portfolio review, an exhibition, or competition win. It can take years to truly know whether I will feel that attending this event had value. I know this—I was happy to come home to my community of photographers, I will continue to push ahead with my own work, and strive to learn from as many other artisans as I can. I hope seeing these images will also give you some inspiration in your journey…

Posted in Artist Books, Displaced, Education, General, Marketing, Publishing, Silence is an Orchard | 3 Comments »

Feb

2011

Presenting Displaced at Codex 2011

Here’s a quick video of me presenting my work to Suzanne Ahearne of the Fine Press Book Association. If you are producing books and are not a member of this organization, please consider joining. They do wonderful work for those of us trying to spread the word about fine press publishing. They’re also publishing a review of Displaced in the upcoming Fall issue. Thanks Suzanne!

Lauren Henkin at Codex from Suzanne Ahearne on Vimeo.

More soon…

Posted in Artist Books, Artist Talks/Lectures, Displaced, General, Media | No Comments »

Feb

2011

Silence is an Orchard

I’m very pleased to announce that my second book, Silence is an Orchard, is now complete. The 14 images in the book were taken during the summers of 2008 and 2009 in Maine, a land filled with a beauty only believed when seen.

I began traveling to Maine in 2003 and have gone back nearly every year since. This book is my tribute to the place that taught me to see. The portfolio was started in the summer of 2008. I was photographing along some of Acadia National Park’s carriage roads and came upon this very sculptural tree. I found it so full of life that I went back in 2009 to photograph the field around it. It was a place of ultimate peace and quiet.

I am especially proud because four other Northwest women artists contributed to this project. Sandy Tilcock of lone goose press bound the books, Inge Bruggeman of Textura Printing did the letterpress printing of the text pages, writer Kirsten Rian provided an amazing poem, Fieldnotes, and Sarah Horowitz, a Portland printmaker, produced an original etching as the cover. I feel incredibly lucky to share this work with them.

Silence is 11″ x 15″ in an edition of thirty + 5 artist proofs. Images were printed by me on a beautiful Japanese kozo paper. The cover is clothed in Bhutan Mitsumata. I am pricing the book at $650.

Here are images of the book:

© Lauren Henkin. All rights reserved. Photos by Stephen Funk.

Here are images in the book:

To purchase a copy, you can do so via paypal by clicking here.
For more information on the book itself or my other book projects, please visit the new site I’ve developed dedicated to books only at www.laurenhenkinbooks.com.

I have many thanks to give to those of you out there who helped me, behind the scenes, work out the details for this project. Thank you to Kirsten Rian for helping with editing and sequencing, Tyler Boley for the expert guidance in printing on such delicate paper, Hiromi Paper and Portland Bindery for providing financial support, and Dale Schreiner, for providing moral support. Finally, thank you to everyone who purchased Displaced. Without you, my ability to publish this next book would not have been possible.

Posted in Artist Books, Displaced, General, Inspiration, Publishing, Silence is an Orchard, Vela Noche | 1 Comment »

Jan

2011

What’s ahead for 2011…

Well, I came through 6 hours of surgery in good shape and I’m so happy to have that behind me. So happy am I, that I am now focused on what’s ahead for 2011 and thought I’d share some, not all (don’t be greedy) of what I’m thinking.

Silence is an Orchard
I am getting ready to release my second artist book, titled Silence is an Orchard. The book should be completed in about three weeks and as soon as it is, I will post detailed images of the book which is the result of contributions from five Northwest women artists. I’m so thrilled about this being done. You never know, especially when working with so many people on a handmade object, that what you originally imagined will actually be completed true to the initial vision. I can say that this surpassed my expectations—it is a lovely journal of meditation and peace in the fields of Maine.

Codex International Book Fair
Thrilled cannot begin to describe my excitement to be participating in the third biennial Codex book fair that will take place from 2/6 – 2/9 on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. This fair attracts an international audience interested in learning about as well as purchasing fine press and artist books. This will be my first opportunity to really immerse myself in the book arts community. I can only imagine the what I will learn from other book artists and get a sense of how many photographers are representing their work in this kind of venue. I will be sharing a table with Sarah Horowitz, the artist who created the original etching for Silence is an Orchard. I believe our work is very complementary, and that anyone interested in my work will love hers and vice versa. I hope those of you in the Bay area will make use of how wonderful it is to have an event like this in the area and come by for a chat. To find me, look at the directory of exhibitors for ‘Vela Noche Press.’

The dates of the show are:
Sunday, Feb. 6 12:00 – 4:00
Monday, Feb. 7 12:30 – 6:30
Tuesday, Feb. 8 12:30 – 6:30
Wednesday, Feb. 9 12:30 – 4:30

I hope to see you there…

Photo Radio
I am about to post the recent interview I did with Todd Tubutis, the Executive Director of Blue Sky Gallery. In 2011 I will be interviewing many types of professionals in the visual arts with more frequency. I will be, in a sense, ‘covering’ the upcoming photolucida portfolio reviews here in Portland. My goal is to conduct between 6-10 interviews of both reviewers and photographers. I will be promoting this jointly with photolucida and hope it will give people around the world a sense of what this specific event, as well as portfolio reviews in general, are all about. My hope is to provide audio coverage like this for other events. If you have suggestions on how I might be able to do that, or on photographers who might be interested in being interviewed, please post a comment. I would appreciate your thoughts. To visit Photo Radio, go to www.photoradioblog.com.

Workshops
I have two upcoming workshops that might interest you or other photographers. They are both in March, the first on the 12th which I will be teaching with fellow artists Ray Bidegain and Fritz Liedtke, and then on the 26th in Victoria, British Columbia at Lúz Gallery. Details about both are below.

The Artist’s Job: Making a Life and a Living as an Artist
Date/Time: March 12/10am – 5pm
Place: My studio on N Mississippi in Portland, OR
Cost: $180
Description: Why do most art school graduates fail to become active, successful artists? How does one balance work and art and all the other responsibilities of life? Portland artists Ray Bidegain, Fritz Liedtke, and I are offering a one-day workshop on how to create a life that makes time and money for your artistic passions to flourish.

My part in this workshop will focus on “Getting Exposure: Marketing that Works”. I will be presenting tools and specific marketing methods you can use to boost your exposure and sales of individual artworks. Topics will include: defining your goals, identifying a target audience, creating the optimal marketing piece, knowing when to scrap the trends and think creatively to get your work out, traditional methods of marketing (juried shows, portfolio reviews, web sites, etc.), and expanded methods (blogs, social media, multimedia, etc.)

I’m really excited about this workshop. We’ll cover many issues that artists face on a daily basis, but are rarely able to get practical help with.

For more information on this workshop click here.
To register, click here.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marketing for Fine Art Photographers
Date/Time: March 26/10am – 5pm
Place: Lúz Gallery in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Description: I will be returning to Lúz to teach another one-day workshop on how to better market your work to the fine art photography community. Topics covered include the following:
What is marketing?

Before you start…
1. Setting short term goals
2. Figuring out long term goals
3. Materials to gather to start

Getting started with traditional methods…
1. Email campaigns
2. Portfolio reviews
3. Juried shows
4. Publication submissions
5. Gallery submissions

Moving forward with expanded methods…
1. Setting yourself apart
2. Social media
3. Submitting to blogs
4. Self publishing
5. Blogging
6. Going beyond the photography world

Pushing ahead

Questions

Thank you so much to Lúz for inviting me back, I’m very excited to see my new friends in Victoria again!

For more information or to register for this workshop click here.

Featured Publications
My work will be published in three wonderful publications in the next few months. Displaced: Part I will be included in the third issue of Landscape Stories which should be released in March. I am very excited to be a part of this online magazine dedicated to visual storytelling which focuses on the land.

In April, I will have a feature in Diffusion Magazine. Displaced: Part II will be featured, but even more exciting (for you anyway) will be a big, big, comprehensive article I wrote titled Adventures in Publishing. I am so proud of this piece for a few reasons. The first is that I have never published an article before and I’m pretty damn excited about that! I’ve been doing more and more writing (in part because I’ve gotten used to it doing these blog posts) and I hope to write for more publications. Second, most of the articles I’ve read recently barely scratch the surface of the topic presented. I’ve tried to go beyond that and believe I’ve succeeded. I hope you will support the magazine and let me know what you think of the piece. You can preview the next issue and subscribe at their website, www.diffusionmag.com.

Finally, in the fall of 2011, the Fine Press Book Association’s beautiful journal called Parenthesis will review Displaced. Photographer David Evans will be writing the review. Parenthesis presents reviews, essays, commentary, news, how-to articles, and profiles of fine and private press printing as well as bookbinding, typography, collecting, publishing and related areas. It is published twice a year and alternates between North America and Europe. If you are interested in what is happening in the fine press book community, it is a thoroughly enjoyable way to learn.

Upcoming Shows

From January 27 – March 12 Displaced will be showing in an international exhibition of artist books incorporating photography as a primary element which debuted at Abecedarian Gallery in Denver in November and will move on the 27th to 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland. The show, titled Photo Book Works was juried by Mia Semingson, a photographer, book binder and educator. For this exhibition, Semingson selected the work of 31 artists from the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland and Australia. The opening for the show will be on February 4, 2010 from 6–8 p.m. Unfortunately, I will not be able to be there as I will be en route to the Codex fair, but please take a look at the great books showing. For more information, click here.

I will also have a solo show most likely in November of 2011 at Newspace Center for Photography. The content for the show will be determined later, but I believe, right now, that it will mostly present Present Tense, Past Lives. I have to figure out what that will mean, as I’m envisioning something radically different than what I’ve done in the past. I am uncertain if I will finish that body in time for November, but I will most likely present that as well as my Urban Growth portfolio which I am actively working on.

Thank you all, so very much, for your support. Working through the many issues that arise in creating art, books and marketing, along with a consistent dose of rejection makes your optimism all the more valuable. I hope you will continue on this journey with me into 2011…

Posted in Artist Books, Displaced, Education, Exhibitions, General, Marketing, Photo Radio, Silence is an Orchard, Workshops | 3 Comments »

Archive for the ‘Displaced’ Category

Designing Effective Marketing Pieces

Codex 2011: Entering the World of Book Arts

Presenting Displaced at Codex 2011

Silence is an Orchard

What’s ahead for 2011…

Pages

Categories

Archives