• The border down the side was very distracting and the butterfly didn’t fit
• The sunset/sunrise image was grainy. Mary needed a crisper image up there
•  Title and tagline need to be more prominent and the the title could be bigger
• The spacing between the words in the content was odd,  like everything was forced to spread out
• The bullet points needed to be indented under the sub headers instead of lined up against the border decoration
• The title “After the Grief” and the contact information at the top was very small. For the most important part of the whole flier, it needed to be much larger.

Wendi also took a look at the copy itself and noted a few places for improvement. One of the most important bits of Wendi’s side of the critique was this:

“If you do nothing and send it out just like it is, it will work, but it sends an impression of a quickly tossed together flyer, and I know that isn’t what it was. So a few tweaks would make a big difference.”

*Smack* I Coulda Had A V8!

At this point, Mary had two choices. She could take our advice and try to revise the flier herself or she could take us up on our offer to do it for her.

Here’s the thing that our clients forget; we do more than just the BIG projects. We do small ones, too. We’re as happy to do a flier or simple template as we are to do a whole site with all the bells and whistles. This is our genius work. We will gladly take it off your hands so you can focus on YOUR genius work!

What did Mary say?

“Yes … please take it off my hands and work your magic!!!”

What We Did

The very first thing we did was ask Mary what elements of the design were important. Was the butterfly a logo she already had made for the group? Did she want a sunset in there?

The butterfly wasn’t a logo, it was clip art. But…the image of a butterfly was important and a symbol for the group. I knew if I found the right butterfly image, the sunset wouldn’t be necessary for an embellishment.

I decided the fonts I chose and the right picture would be enough. This had to be clean, classy and quietly tasteful. It had to show that beneath the grief of losing a loved one there was hope.

After a brief search on iStock, I found the perfect image. The bright blue butterfly was a lovely spot of color for a classic black and white layout. I also chose a flowing font that wasn’t overly ornate and had just the right amount of movement.

The final result was stunning. Click on the image to the right to enlarge. The whole look and feel of the flier was transformed and Mary was very happy about it.

Simple Solutions

When done properly, critiques are great opportunities for brainstorming. The give and take of both sides can take a project and elevate it far beyond what the creator first envisioned. For an artist, the critique is something to be embraced and recognized as a valuable tool in the old paintbox.

What do you need help with? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you.