From the course: Print Production: Folding

Visual tricks

From the course: Print Production: Folding

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Visual tricks

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- This is a fun one! Folding offers interesting ways to reveal information, and sometimes the way to create impact with a folded piece when you're on a budget is to do so with a snazzy visual trick. I love visual tricks because they're fun and simple and very inexpensive. I get a lot of requests for cheap ideas that offer a lot of bang for the buck, and visual tricks really fit the bill. If you're unfamiliar with the technique, a visual trick is when the imagery becomes the focal point and the format decision supports the imagery in a way that invites the audience to interact with it. Here's how it works: Let's say you want to have an image change from a sad face to a smiley face. To apply that to a folded format, maybe you use a short panel, also called a flap, to interact with the images. The face of the flap has a sad face on it, and when lifted the smiley face is revealed. The result is fun and non-expected, and it peaks the interest of the person who is opening it. Here's another one: Maybe it's a promotion for a five-star hotel, a simple gate fold with the image of a glamorous, overstuffed bed on the front, and when opened, there's a lovely room service tray with breakfast in bed. You can do some really neat things with interactive mechanisms like peek-a-boo perforated windows that can reveal images or a game, and zip strips can rip open to a wild surprise. There are no rules and the fun is in how far you want to take it. When you use a visual trick, the experience of receiving and opening the folded piece becomes memorable, intriguing, and can lead to increased response and further investigation.

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