Surface Pattern Design Sell Sheets
If you are a surface pattern designer, you know how important a sell sheet can be when reaching out to new clients. Using a template to create your sell sheets can add consistency and ease your workflow, giving you more time for designing new pattern collections.
By creating a template with placeholders for each design element in the sell sheet, it will be easy to customize your sell sheet for each client and their varying product lines. Also, there are several types of sell sheets, from one-page sheets to a multi-page look book. Let's begin by discussing the bare bones template for a one-page sell sheet and then build on that foundation to design a multi-page sell sheet/look book.
The 8.5 x 11 Sell Sheet
Most sell sheets are 8.5 x 11 inches at 300 dpi, making it easy to print. You can include these sell sheets in your portfolio/website and print them for trade shows such as Surfex, Blue Print, National Stationery Show and Printsource New York. Also, the multi-page sell sheet can be exported as a pdf and posted to your website or uploaded as a look book to sites such as ISSUU.
Our first step is to collect the graphics from our pattern collection. This can range from just the hero (dominant) pattern and two secondary patterns filling a one-page sell sheet to a look book featuring each of the hero, secondary and blender patterns and multiple color ways. You might also want to include the spot graphics, such as the motifs, textures, icons and borders from the pattern collection.
As a surface pattern will be applied to the surface of some product, you might wish to include product mockups, showing how your pattern collection will look on products. Of course, your choice of mockups will be determined by your potential client. For example, you might have mockups of fabric bolts for a textile manufacturer and change these to mockups of cards and planners for a stationery company.
A bare bones sell sheet could include some or all of the following information about you and your collection.
A multi-page sell sheet may include the above items and also the following.
Our template will have placeholders for all of the text and graphics, making it a click and drag process to customize each sell sheet made with the template. We will first build the design on a blank page in Swift Publisher. Once the layout design is finalized, we will determine which elements we will place on a Master Page. These are usually items that appear on every page of the multi-page sell sheet, such as the copyright statement, artist's name and contact information.
By creating a template with placeholders for each design element in the sell sheet, it will be easy to customize your sell sheet for each client and their varying product lines. Also, there are several types of sell sheets, from one-page sheets to a multi-page look book. Let's begin by discussing the bare bones template for a one-page sell sheet and then build on that foundation to design a multi-page sell sheet/look book.
The 8.5 x 11 Sell Sheet
Most sell sheets are 8.5 x 11 inches at 300 dpi, making it easy to print. You can include these sell sheets in your portfolio/website and print them for trade shows such as Surfex, Blue Print, National Stationery Show and Printsource New York. Also, the multi-page sell sheet can be exported as a pdf and posted to your website or uploaded as a look book to sites such as ISSUU.
Our first step is to collect the graphics from our pattern collection. This can range from just the hero (dominant) pattern and two secondary patterns filling a one-page sell sheet to a look book featuring each of the hero, secondary and blender patterns and multiple color ways. You might also want to include the spot graphics, such as the motifs, textures, icons and borders from the pattern collection.
As a surface pattern will be applied to the surface of some product, you might wish to include product mockups, showing how your pattern collection will look on products. Of course, your choice of mockups will be determined by your potential client. For example, you might have mockups of fabric bolts for a textile manufacturer and change these to mockups of cards and planners for a stationery company.
A bare bones sell sheet could include some or all of the following information about you and your collection.
- Name of pattern collection
- One of the spot graphics used as a 'logo' for the pattern collection (optional)
- At least one pattern
- One mockup (optional)
- SKU numbers for each pattern in the collection
- Artist or company name and/or logo
- Copyright statement
- Your contact information such as email, phone, social and website
- Your agent's contact information
A multi-page sell sheet may include the above items and also the following.
- A tagline or short text about the collection
- Artist profile
- Color palette and hex numbers
- Graphics of each pattern in the collection
- Spot graphics from the collection
- Mockups
Our template will have placeholders for all of the text and graphics, making it a click and drag process to customize each sell sheet made with the template. We will first build the design on a blank page in Swift Publisher. Once the layout design is finalized, we will determine which elements we will place on a Master Page. These are usually items that appear on every page of the multi-page sell sheet, such as the copyright statement, artist's name and contact information.
Related Articles
Editor's Picks Articles
Top Ten Articles
Previous Features
Site Map
Content copyright © 2023 by Diane Cipollo. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Diane Cipollo. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Diane Cipollo for details.