Help me design a good looking advert?

September 14, 2006 9:37 AM

I'd love some help with designing a sort of 'antique'/'vintage'/'dated' advert for my services.

I'd like it to be Victorian/Edwardian in style, whilst advertising a modern service: IT work. So far I've got some photoshop brushes and have nice looking markers for the corners. I've got a couple of floral silhouettes dotted about - but am having trouble fleshing this out. The idea is to have a couple of question sentences followed by contact info. I'm interested in:
-Suitable example adverts
-Ideas, of any description
-Thoughts on period formatting, techniques
-Suggestions on what to include
-Recommendations on how to typeset it
etc

Thanks a bunch!

posted by dance to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Get thee to a bookstore and check out the Dover books in the design section...i.e.
posted by lovejones at 9:56 AM on September 14, 2006

For inspiration, search on "Victorian ephemera". Printed stuff like advertisements, packaging, etc are called "ephemera". Here's an image gallery that's the first google result for that phrase: Link. It's a big collectible category so I'm guessing you will find a ton of image libraries.

You might also check out some of cartoonist Chris Ware's stuff. His books often have several pages devoted to fake but gorgeously designed little advertisements; the style of these is more 1920s than 1890s.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:10 AM on September 14, 2006

Ditto on the Dover books. They also sell clip art CDs.
posted by mattbucher at 10:13 AM on September 14, 2006

I would suggest a hint of steam-punk flavour to it - that way you catch the eye of both techie and non-techie alike :)

You haven't really given any idea what kind of advert. How big is it likely to be? Does it need to work in monochrome? Does it need to work in black and white with no shades of grey? Is it colour? What kind of publication would it be in? Is it for other uses, such as bulletin-boards, magnetic decals for a vehicle, etc.
posted by -harlequin- at 12:21 PM on September 14, 2006

The Library of Congress has a bunch of great stuff (not only that page, but there's a start) to look at for inspiration.
posted by ruby.aftermath at 3:11 PM on September 14, 2006

You might be able to put Jason Gaylor's Brushes to some good use. Also check out Cameron Moll's Wicked Worn series.
posted by Famous at 3:21 PM on September 14, 2006

I recommend a search for "Printed ephemera". The NYPL has a wonderful site full of old ephemera (http://digitalgallery.nypl.org) The key here is to find good references so that even though people know your piece is contemporary, it looks like it could be an antique. One thing that really helps is to scan an older piece of blank paper from a book you have, or which you find online. If you lay your text on top of that in photoshop, say, you're halfway there. If you really want the type to look period, then you can find an old ad with type you like, and collage it letter by letter to lay out your text. Let your references suggest color palette choices, layout, even the wording of the text. Good luck!
posted by pantufla at 4:07 PM on September 14, 2006