I put on my moon boots in May this year and listened to ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham, my absolute favourite song! For me, the magical Advent season begins in spring, because I start looking at the Bookfactory photo Advent calendar in May. In this blog post, I’ll show you how I planned and implemented the new design of the ‘Advent Calendar Elegant’.
Define the target group
First of all, I decide on the target group for the advent calendar. I think about who is most likely to order one from us. Photo advent calendars are often bought as gifts for family and friends and more often ordered by women than by men. In the next step, I take a look at the designs from the last few years, because the new design should stand out from them. This year, I have come up with a simple, gender-neutral and elegant design, inspired by last season and ideas on Pinterest. The designs ‘Festive’, ‘Snowrabbit’ and ‘Winter Wonderland’ from previous years were much more playful and dreamy compared to the new ‘Advent Calendar Elegant’.
Determine design
I always create several drafts for new designs. I usually develop about three ideas up to 50% and make sketches of them to give a first impression. I then present these drafts to the team, which decides together which idea will be implemented.
The final design is determined in June or July. As soon as the decision has been made, I start the detailed work and finalise the design. This year’s simple design is characterised by a monogram-like pattern. The words ‘Merry Christmas’ are written in eight languages on the photo Advent calendar: German, English, Dutch – my mother tongue – Italian, Spanish, Rhaeto-Romanic, Portuguese and French. We want to wish all nationalities a Merry Christmas.
Processing by Sonderegger
Since the introduction of our Advent calendar, we have been working closely with our partner Sonderegger AG. The company specialises in paper finishing and has its production site in Bronschhofen, in the canton of St. Gallen.
If you have ever held one of our Advent calendars in your hands, you will know that each calendar is finished with loving details and shiny highlights in hot foil stamping. Sonderegger is responsible for precisely these details.
Of course, the ‘Advent Calendar Elegant’ also has hot foil stamping again. So, the next step was to order a sample book from Sonderegger and paper samples from paper suppliers. This allowed me to see a wide range of paper and embossing options. I stuck small pieces of the embossing foil onto the paper so that I could better visualise the paper and embossing in combination. At the end of this process, I decided on Sirio Pearl paper and gold and copper embossing. Sirio Pearl is a high-quality, gold-coloured fine paper with a metallic, glossy surface.
What I learnt from the first design
I also created the design for the very first Bookfactory Advent calendar, called ‘Advent Calendar Festive’. At that time, in 2022, I was still working as a freelancer for Bookfactory. The photo Advent calendar was a new product for Bookfactory and accordingly, a few things had to be clarified. I was able to learn a lot from the planning of the first photo Advent calendar and apply it to the new design. For example, that you have to start planning early or that you have to consider certain technical aspects when creating the design, such as the punch line of the embossed surface or the interplay between the cover and the poster (content with your photos and texts).
Delivery of covers
It gets really exciting as soon as the photo Advent calendars are delivered by Sonderegger! Before that, I have to rely on my imagination. It is only on the day of delivery that I know what the final result with the finishing really looks like. But once again this year, we were more than thrilled with the end result.
As soon as the Advent calendar cases are in-house, I order the first posters (content) for the photo shoot. After the production team brings me the poster, I go to our photo studio and take photos for the software, social media, brochures, leaflets, posters and website. I then send these photos in the correct format to Reto, who is responsible for the website/online editor, and Anika, who is responsible for the software. They then upload the images accordingly. At the same time, Claudia from marketing delivers the texts for the software and website.
Last steps
After that, everything happens very quickly: Stéphanie (a freelancer responsible for influencer marketing and PR) informs our influencers about the new Advent calendar. Claudia schedules the release in the newsletter and then we’ve arrived in the present.
After that, I design new card and calendar templates for the Christmas season, but for me, the Advent season ends a little earlier than for the others. I put on my water wings as early as November, because that’s when I start preparing for spring and summer.
How do you like our new Advent calendar Elegant? Who are you giving an Advent calendar to this year?
Larissa Nieuwland, Graphic designer
