I’ve completed my 28-Day Creative Challenge and even have room to spare in my file drawer. A big “Thank You” to everyone who followed along as I sorted, trashed and organized my creative morgue. Would I do this again? I don’t think so because it was more work than what I had expected. Thank goodness it’s over and that I’m no longer tripping over a big box full of files in the middle of my office. I think I may have just enough space in the back of this file drawer to store my new best friend “Jack Daniels,” lol.

Day 28, last day of my 28-Day Creative Challenge.

The envelope on the left was printed on translucent clear vellum. Shown on the right is the same envelope but with a matching, color coordinated letter stuffed inside. See how it changes the design and the color? I can see this being a cost saver for sure. Letters can be easily updated, personalized and used with this envelope again and again. I hope that they planned ahead with this in mind and had plenty of these envelopes printed!

I’ve had this extremely creative brochure for ages. What I love about it is the surprise that I got when I first opened it. The small goldfish bowl on the front cover is really inside a much larger goldfish bowl that’s on the inside. The story line tells us that a goldfish will grow in proportion to the size of the tank you place it in. Next it tells us that the same is true of people and your world and goals. This is a brochure for Dale Carnegie Training, of course!

This 2-sided, 4-fold brochure has found a permanent home in my creative morgue. Today is Day 27 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge. One more day to go!

This brochure is one of several for Sikkens that I snagged at the local hardware store. The subhead reads “Simply Beautiful” and I must agree — this brochure is just that! This series of brochures will be going into my creative morgue and filed under “Inspiration.” My files are becoming more manageable, thanks to my 28-Day Creative Challenge which is nearing an end.

Day 25 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge.

I live in a multi-cat household so this direct mail piece caught my eye. It uses minimal copy to tell the benefits of PETsMART’s brand of cat litter and shows it in a strong visual, too. Wonderful concept!

If this is the first you’ve heard of my 28-Day Creative Challenge, you may want to learn what it’s all about by reading: My Challenge: 28 Days To Clean Up My Creative Morgue. It’s a short post, only one paragraph.

Wow, what I thought was going to be a short, one-week break in my 28-Day Creative Challenge was almost two weeks! That just goes to show us that we never know when life is going to throw a curve ball. In my case it was a hot project for a client AND a niece who is now on her 5th day in ICU with an illness of unknown cause and origin. She is stable at this time and prayers for Jamie would be appreciated.

Let’s resume at Day 24 with this wonderful brochure for a weight loss drug. It’s designed to look like a tape measure and opens out with an accordion fold – very clever. I’ll be keeping this one but have thrown lots of others away that didn’t make the grade.

Remember that you can join me in my 28-Day Creative Challenge by letting me know if you agree or disagree with my selections or if you can you provide a better example. I’d love to hear from you!

I’ve got to take a short break and with only 5 days left to go in my 28-Day Creative Challenge. I’ve got a client deadline so HOT it would make the devil sweat.

Watch for Day 24 sometime next week. Have a great July 4th Weekend!

Day 23 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge.

I’ve been keeping this direct mail piece because it was fun! They say curiosity killed the cat and it’s the same principle at work here. Who could resist looking behind each of the three windows?

Whew! What a busy day I have going for me — I jumped into Monday with both feet running. Remember, you can be part of my 28-Day Creative Challenge by sending me links to download or printed samples of creative work that inspires you, and if it inspires me as well, I’ll feature it here along with a link to your blog or website. Gotta run!

This creative insert promoting Peru must have came from a travel magazine. We see what appears at first to be a straw camel’s head peeking through the die cut window. Curious, we open the insert  to see more — and discover this wonderful photo! I’ll be keeping this for my files as a reminder that advertising can be fun and full of surprises.

You can be part of my 28-Day Creative Challenge by sending me links to download or printed samples of creative work that you find inspiring. If it inspires me too I’ll feature it here along with a link to your blog or website.

It’s Day 21 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge and I’m well over halfway through sorting and organizing my creative morgue files. The ad that I selected for today is from March 1994. It shares a variation of a concept also used on the Day 11 ad. Both ads feature a powerful photo of two people who at first glance are very different from each other. The copy tells us that they ARE very different people but with something in common — the PowerBook.

The writer kept the copy to a minimum, giving us two easy-to-read lists to quickly skim. Subliminally speaking, because nowhere is it written, we understand that the PowerBook is liked and used by both the young and the old. The designer’s use of color for the Apple logo and white space to frame the photo works to make this a strong ad and a real keeper for my collection.