Levi Mandel
Who printed it?
A friend who has a sign shop in Seattle makes most of my promos. He only does internal corporate work so he’s doing me a huge favor.
Who designed it?
I initially went to school for design and print, so I create and layout all my own material (including my website). It’s refreshing to use a different part of my brain and I actually find the work fantastically mindless and enjoyable. I like the challenge of making something simple, like black text on white, feel precise and strong and subtle at the same time.
Tell me about the image?
I was on a drive-about in a city called Mercer Island, which is like the rich, quiet, forgotten neighbor to Seattle. A lot of the neighborhoods feel like they stopped evolving after 1980, this vignette proving my point. I was actually with my cousin at the time, who patiently smoked a cigarette while I laid in some bushes to get the low perspective.
How many did you make?
500
How many times a year do you send out promos?
Usually 2, sometimes 3.
I really like single image postcard promos. Why did you choose this format and do you think it’s effective for marketing your work?
First of all, they’re cheaper than making more expensive booklets. More importantly, I like to think about who I’m sending them to, specifically art directors and photo editors. It’s important to me that anything I send out is something I’d personally want to keep at my desk or on the bulletin board. Ideally, the recipient will dig it as well, and choose to display it or share it around the office, which hypothetically will lead to an assignment. I don’t really see the point of putting time and energy into something that you’re not super stoked on yourself. The card is also a great leave-behind at meetings – they’re always a huge hit as I usually have several different images. I only ever let the editor pick one, like a Pokemon. Gotta collect them all.