project: course catalogs.
Advertising pieces are fun…there's a brief, some must-haves, and then you can be as creative as you'd like to be. A lot of design work isn't like that though. Most design work is about presenting information in the best way possible, and nothing is more rigorous than a catalog.
I led the 2023 catalog redesign, refreshing the templates, layouts, and working with the design director to modernize the look and feel, while still satisfying all of the (many, many) stakeholders.
2023 CSRE Course Catalog. AD: Jourdan Wooden. CW: Trent Kennedy. CD: Phil Hammel.
poster: real estate conference.
I created this poster for the INMAN Connect 2023 real estate conference in New York. The copy is direct but hints at a greater truth: the viewer was one among thousands of real estate agents crammed into a hotel in midtown Manhattan. Real estate is competitive—ultimately everyone was there to improve their own prospects.
The design closely supported the copy and message. The subdued color palette was appropriate for the audience, and the headline was in the line of sight for passersby. The unusual photographic perspective and skyscraper theme complemented the New York City location, but also subtly conveyed climbing to a higher vantage—rising above the crowd.
2023 CSRE Course Catalog. AD: Jourdan Wooden. CW: Trent Kennedy.
product: poetry book.
This was labor of love. My great-aunt wrote poetry in her life. In 1967, she had a publisher lined up, ready to distribute a collection of her work. Then her husband died, and the project never came to fruition.
My father inherited all of her poems after she passed away in 2005. He spent years collecting and editing them, and put together a comprehensive book of every poem she had ever written. I designed and published the book, personally handling every aspect of layout, design, typography, printing, and self-publishing.
Fountains Within, by Virginia Jourdan Wooden Modell, is available for purchase on Amazon.
email: flash sales.
Perhaps the least sexy direct marketing, e-blasts nonetheless have among the best ROI. Designing a flash sale blast for e-commerce sites is a careful balance of eye-catching graphics and providing the Goldilocks-amount of information (not too much, not too little.) Copy on these should be clear and direct, since you only have a moment to grab attention and—with any luck—the sale is good enough to speak for itself. Upwards of 80% of emails are read on a mobile device, so designs must be mobile-forward, and any animations should be subtle and lightweight enough to avoid
Left: '21 CSRE Cyber Monday E-Blast, AD/CD: Jourdan Wooden. Right: '22 CSRE Cyber Monday E-Blast: AD: Jourdan Wooden, CD: Phil Hammel
print: magazine ad.
It's always best to craft an advertisement while accounting for context. A billboard or bus stop is easy—you know exactly where it is! But with a magazine, there are no guarantees. I realized that our ad placement had run opposite to a "Realty Report" in this community magazine for 12 months without changing. What better way to convince someone to pursue a career in real estate than showing the possible rewards? The real estate agent in the image is showing off a listing, but her gesture draws the viewer's eye-line to the sales prices in the neighborhood.
3% of $3,000,000 isn't too shabby!
AD/CW: Jourdan Wooden.
case study: direct mail.
I spearheaded a strategy overhaul where we segmented the audience more effectively, and redesigned the entire messaging schedule around the fine-tuned audiences. They received postcards first, followed by an email a few days later. Trackable revenue from direct mail QR scans increased by more than 300%! Harder to quantify were how many customers were primed by the postcards, then converted when receiving the email, but we suspected it was significant.
As part of this project, I used Microsoft Excel to build out the needed segmentation and automation tools, which—despite the increased number of unique designs (from 3 per month to 15) and massive uptick in revenue—slashed the monthly hours required for the project by half. Using these tools I was responsible for overseeing roughly 10,000 postcards per month.
CSRE Direct Mail Campaign. AD/CW: Jourdan Wooden. CD: Phil Hammel.
campaign: bumble bizz.
Spec campaign for Bumble Bizz. Bumble Bizz is a networking tool from the dating app Bumble, designed to connect people—especially women—with mentors in their chosen fields.
CW/AD: Jourdan Wooden, CW/AD: Sofía Gonzalez
email: newsletter templates.
High-quality newsletters can be very important for businesses, especially those who position themselves as thought leaders. The newsletter is not supposed to be flashy. It needs to be informative, reinforce branding, and provide click-through opportunities that might lead to conversions.
The following are templates I made for B2B client newsletters. They were designed to read well on desktop or mobile, match existing client branding, and have maximum flexibility. These were handed off to a contract developer to be converted to Mailchimp format. Since the client was ultimately responsible for the content, the templates needed to be straightforward, attractive, and turn-key.
e-books, white papers, and worksheets.
Inbound marketing is all about lead generation, and one surefire way to collect a potential customer's contact information is by giving them something for it. Viewers who are genuinely interested will happily give you their email address if a high-quality document waits on the other side.
AD: Jourdan Wooden, CW: Jon Anderson
logos.
Logos are the bread and butter of graphic designers, but it's seldom a good idea to make one on its own. Logos are the capstone of a company's visual identity, and a capstone without a foundation is just a rock.
social media.
Social media is an essential part of any successful business's advertising strategy. When you're ready to move beyond Canva templates, hiring a pro is…well, it's a pro move.
The best social media content will be viewed in many unexpected ways. Tailoring your content to the platform, optimizing images to be viewed across devices, mobile web vs. app, by followers and non-followers, and the balance of text to imagery are all considerations I make when designing for social.
web design.
