Harbinger HC Promotional Ideas

[ManofTheAtom]

I already sent X-Omatic a copy of the higher res image so he can do with that what he did with this one.

I can't use the one he posted here to make the shirts because it's too small.

[Dr. Solar]

Simple = Bland.

The promo should capture people's attention.

Have you ever looked at some dude in a death metal shirt were the band name looks like it is written in splattered blood and is pretty much unreadable? I have. Many time. No matter how cool the picture of the viking with the giant axe fighting the demon on top of the glacier is, I say "SQUEE it. I don't care enough to figure out what band that is".

That is what the writing is like with all the shadows, non-black coloring, etc.

Simple = effective = sales = more new VALIANT comics.

Yes it may be bland, but do you want exciting shirt with funky effects that you like and NO VALIANT books in the future, or do you want a bland shirt and MANY more VALIANT books to read in the future?

Any shirt made for marketing and advertising purposes should follow sound marketing and advertising principles.

[ManofTheAtom]

Simple = Bland.

The promo should capture people's attention.

Have you ever looked at some dude in a death metal shirt were the band name looks like it is written in splattered blood and is pretty much unreadable? I have. Many time. No matter how cool the picture of the viking with the giant axe fighting the demon on top of the glacier is, I say "SQUEE it. I don't care enough to figure out what band that is".

That is what the writing is like with all the shadows, non-black coloring, etc.

Simple = effective = sales = more new VALIANT comics.

Yes it may be bland, but do you want exciting shirt with funky effects that you like and NO VALIANT books in the future, or do you want a bland shirt and MANY more VALIANT books to read in the future?

Any shirt made for marketing and advertising purposes should follow sound marketing and advertising principles.

That's what I don't get.

The first design I did was just that but then I was asked to modify it, which I did, yet those modifications don't reach the level you're talking about.

There's the image, the two logos, and the clear/readable text, which says the same thing as the ad that appears in Previews.

It's not flashy, it's not confusing, and it's not unreadable.

Now, if you think it is then tell me what you want me to change (font, color, style), don't just ask me to change it, explain what you want.

Do you want a color other than gold?

Do you want me to take out the drop shadows in the title at the top?

Do you want me to take out the 3D effect?

The only thing I do refuse to remove is the shadow behind "In Stores August 2007", that looks really cool without making it unreadable.

[Dr. Solar]

That's what I don't get.

The first design I did was just that but then I was asked to modify it, which I did, yet those modifications don't reach the level you're talking about.

OK, I'll be more specific.

There's the image, the two logos, and the clear/readable text, which says the same thing as the ad that appears in Previews.

The grey/gold text with the 3-D effect is VERY unclear. Not only is it hard to read, it makes my eyes hurt and it makes me want to LOOK AWAY and NOT read it.

It's not flashy, it's not confusing, and it's not unreadable.

It is gawdy, tacky, confusing, and unreadable.

Now, if you think it is then tell me what you want me to change (font, color, style), don't just ask me to change it, explain what you want.

Do you want a color other than gold?

Yes.

Do you want me to take out the drop shadows in the title at the top?

Yes. I want you to change the font so it doesn't get lost in the image also. It should be something blockier with a lot of contrast, like solid white.

Do you want me to take out the 3D effect?

Yes.

The only thing I do refuse to remove is the shadow behind "In Stores August 2007", that looks really cool without making it unreadable.

My opinion is that it makes it look neither cool or helps it to be readable.

August 2007 should be right below HARBINGER at the top in BIG block letters. Why? Things at the bottom of t-shirts get read less than things at the top. The purpose of this shirt is going to be to raise general awareness that something called "Harbinger" with a cool image is coming "August 2007". The bit about the new Jim Shooter story secondary to this information from a marketing perspective. The new Harbinger story by Jim Shooter is a good sales point, but if people are thinking "WTF is a Harbinger", then that sales point is moot.

I think it should look like this:


The only change I would suggest is to make the lettering at the bottom solid black instead of black outlines.


Listen, MOTA, I want to make sure that you don't feel like I am picking on you personally, I am only offering these suggestions in order to create the most effective shirt in terms of helping sales of the book.

I want a future filled with peace, love, sexy women and new VALIANT comics.

[leonmallett]

To be honest I think Dr Solar has nailed this in terms of trying to communicate a message. Keep it recognisable, simple and not confusing. It is about the message and not the medium. The latter should not obscure the former.

[ManofTheAtom]

This is the last version of the image I can do, I have some work to finish that I'm falling behind on.

If it's not good enough then maybe someone else should handle the t-shirts. Sorry.

[ManofTheAtom]

To be honest I think Dr Solar has nailed this in terms of trying to communicate a message. Keep it recognisable, simple and not confusing. It is about the message and not the medium. The latter should not obscure the former.

Well, I don't see how the image I did is confusing. You'll have to explain that to me because it really does go over my head.

It has the name of the product, hype for the people who did it, a promo for what's inside, and info on how to get even more information online.

I don't see how that's confusing.

I made the image thinking that people who may not know Shooter and Lapham or what VALIANT was will see it. It's my understanding that the con has grown to welcome people from outside the comic book industry.

I used the same words that appear in the ad from Previews because clearly VE wants to use Shooter's "legendary" status and Lapham being a prize winner as selling points. I don't see why the t-shirts shouldn't do the same.

The ad also includes info on the new story, so I think the shirts should too.

I don't understand why the text has to be black or white. There's nothing wrong with using the technology at hand to make sure that the words can capture people's attention.

The text should be bold, it should leap OFF the shirt so that people who want to read it will stop the person who's wearing it so they can take a second look at it.

[whovianone]

I want a future filled with peace, love, sexy women and new VALIANT comics.

Doth say we all my friend, doth say we all.

[Dr. Solar]

To be honest I think Dr Solar has nailed this in terms of trying to communicate a message. Keep it recognisable, simple and not confusing. It is about the message and not the medium. The latter should not obscure the former.

Well, I don't see how the image I did is confusing. You'll have to explain that to me because it really does go over my head.

It has the name of the product, hype for the people who did it, a promo for what's inside, and info on how to get even more information online.

I don't see how that's confusing.

I made the image thinking that people who may not know Shooter and Lapham or what VALIANT was will see it. It's my understanding that the con has grown to welcome people from outside the comic book industry.

I used the same words that appear in the ad from Previews because clearly VE wants to use Shooter's "legendary" status and Lapham being a prize winner as selling points. I don't see why the t-shirts shouldn't do the same.

The ad also includes info on the new story, so I think the shirts should too.

I don't understand why the text has to be black or white. There's nothing wrong with using the technology at hand to make sure that the words can capture people's attention.

The text should be bold, it should leap OFF the shirt so that people who want to read it will stop the person who's wearing it so they can take a second look at it.

I don't know what more to say. Black and white lettering jumps out more than the gold lettering with black shadows because of CONRAST.

THat is why school buses are painted yellow and black, so they have a lot of CONTRAST and jump out at you. You can't NOT notice a school bus.

You aren't making this shirt for the 5 people that will stop someone to look at it and closely read it. You are making this shirt for the 500 people that will glance at it for 1/3 of a second, and you better make sure that they get some vital information in that brief moment.

All of the colors and 3-D effects make the text HARDER to read. If you want people to have this information so badly, don't make it HARDER for them to get it, make it EASIER by making it black printing on a white background.

What is easier to read:

THIS


~or~


THIS?

That is the principle at work here. Glance at the screen for a quarter second. Can you even read what the cyan writing says? I couldn't.



I don't know what more to say. I hope this helps.

[ManofTheAtom]

That's the thing.

We're talking about shirts that people will be looking at for MORE than a 1/3 of a second.

The lines at the con are MASSIVE (I doubt that in the 10 years since I was there that's changed), so anyone wearing a shirt will be stared at by everyone else of hours.

The point of the shirt is to produce a promo that people will be hard-pressed to miss.

I'm gonna wear one, so everywhere I got at the con people will see it.

They'll see it when I sit down for lunch.

They'll see it when I'm in line for a panel.

They'll see it when I walk down the halls.

They'll see it when I'm sitting down to read a comic.

There's no way people will be able to miss a shirt with clear, eye-catching text.

The image itself is the first thing people will notice, that's what's going to draw them in. Once they're within the shirt's radius they'll notice the massive text and read it.

As for the comparison, I'm not using bright unreadable colors. I'm using dark colors against a light background. How is that not easy to read?

[Dr. Solar]

I've said all I can.

[ManofTheAtom]

Someone else should definitely do it.

[Chiclo]

I don't really think surface area will be much of an issue. Kind of like getting these t-shirts in size small, not much to worry about there.

Evil Greg raises a good point, though. T-Shirt printing does not produce nearly so sharp an image as making a jpeg. So, you'll have a sharp drop in clarity to begin with.

I'm not using a JPEG/JPG for the shirt, I'm using a higher resolution BMP in which the text doesn't look as blurry.

If the problem is the font then tell me which font you'd like me to use. I have almost a 1,000.

1. Thanks for proving my point even further - the silk screening process will not provide as clear or sharp an image as a bitmap (bmp) either.

2. It's not so much the font, it's the effects that surround the font.

[Chiclo]

Simple = Bland.

The promo should capture people's attention.

Have you ever looked at some dude in a death metal shirt were the band name looks like it is written in splattered blood and is pretty much unreadable? I have. Many time. No matter how cool the picture of the viking with the giant axe fighting the demon on top of the glacier is, I say "SQUEE it. I don't care enough to figure out what band that is".

That is what the writing is like with all the shadows, non-black coloring, etc.

Simple = effective = sales = more new VALIANT comics.

Yes it may be bland, but do you want exciting shirt with funky effects that you like and NO VALIANT books in the future, or do you want a bland shirt and MANY more VALIANT books to read in the future?

Any shirt made for marketing and advertising purposes should follow sound marketing and advertising principles.

Doc Solar, meet Man of the Atom.

The answer might not be as obvious as you think.

[ManofTheAtom]

1. Thanks for proving my point even further - the silk screening process will not provide as clear or sharp an image as a bitmap (bmp) either.

2. It's not so much the font, it's the effects that surround the font.

They make their shirts using a laser printer. Is that the same as silk screening?

[Chiclo]

1. Thanks for proving my point even further - the silk screening process will not provide as clear or sharp an image as a bitmap (bmp) either.

2. It's not so much the font, it's the effects that surround the font.

They make their shirts using a laser printer. Is that the same as silk screening?

It's not the process, it's the medium.

Pictures don't translate well - no matter the printing process - to cotton.

The laser printer will produce a clearer image than silk screening, but it will still not translate a busy image well.

[Dr. Solar]

[snip]

Yes it may be bland, but do you want exciting shirt with funky effects that you like and NO VALIANT books in the future, or do you want a bland shirt and MANY more VALIANT books to read in the future?

Any shirt made for marketing and advertising purposes should follow sound marketing and advertising principles.

Doc Solar, meet Man of the Atom.

The answer might not be as obvious as you think.

Have I met my doppelganger?

[betterthanezra]

Did you guys NOT hear me...I will have SDCC Valiant Harbinger shirts made for the show.....

It will be cool....

Trust me...

-Brian

[Zero]

Did you guys NOT hear me...I will have SDCC Valiant Harbinger shirts made for the show.....

It will be cool....

Trust me...

-Brian

I won't be lucky enough to be at that show, but I'd love to get a shirt from you if at all possible.

[betterthanezra]

Did you guys NOT hear me...I will have SDCC Valiant Harbinger shirts made for the show.....

It will be cool....

Trust me...

-Brian

I won't be lucky enough to be at that show, but I'd love to get a shirt from you if at all possible.

Since I am getting the shirts made (like I did 2 years ago) I don't have a super deep pocket book but I'm hoping to make 50 shirts for SDCC with the idea that leftovers will be made avalible to the board like they were before.

-Brian

[myron]

Did you guys NOT hear me...I will have SDCC Valiant Harbinger shirts made for the show.....

It will be cool....

Trust me...

-Brian

nice, Brian...hopefully this will also END the unwinnable arguement as well...

[whovianone]

Did you guys NOT hear me...I will have SDCC Valiant Harbinger shirts made for the show.....

It will be cool....

Trust me...

-Brian

I won't be lucky enough to be at that show, but I'd love to get a shirt from you if at all possible.

Since I am getting the shirts made (like I did 2 years ago) I don't have a super deep pocket book but I'm hoping to make 50 shirts for SDCC with the idea that leftovers will be made avalible to the board like they were before.

Dude, you rawk. Put me down for one. Finances don't allow for a flight. But, they do for a shirt!

[ManofTheAtom]

Did you guys NOT hear me...I will have SDCC Valiant Harbinger shirts made for the show.....

It will be cool....

Trust me...

-Brian

Sign me up for one.

[ManofTheAtom]

[snip]

Yes it may be bland, but do you want exciting shirt with funky effects that you like and NO VALIANT books in the future, or do you want a bland shirt and MANY more VALIANT books to read in the future?

Any shirt made for marketing and advertising purposes should follow sound marketing and advertising principles.

Doc Solar, meet Man of the Atom.

The answer might not be as obvious as you think.

Have I met my doppelganger?

You're the Silver Age version and I'm the Heroic Age version.

[Dr. Solar]

You're the Silver Age version and I'm the Heroic Age version.

I'm the 21st century, baby!