The styles of the different elements of the card (Bells, type, Santa) are so diversified that it is disturbing. It this an intended result?

Thanks for the post Scott. I see your point ;). It was intended result, but now you noticed it I am not sure of keeping it.

Any suggestions how can I unify the elements of the card? I would rather keep the typo-santa because it was time-consuming to portray.

Of course any other creative ideas and methods to delineate the chiristmas spirit on a piece of card would be highly appreciated ;).

Salute

Shake your creative juices

Santa says it all. Can you eliminate the other elements, except for the type which I think would seem even more clever if it were more subtle (smaller)?

Aloha!
Scott

Good advice, Scott. I have made some slight revisions based on the your suggestion for smaller font size usage.

The more I see my typo-santa the less original it looks. Please tell me your opinion about it.
The purpose of this assignment was to depict and capture the chrismas spirit without using the triteness of the x-mas designs. I would love to receive any suggestions for other ways of doing this.

Sincerely,
Galin Krasimirov

p.s
I hope that more people will get involved in that thread.

Galin, I love the typographic Santa. It's beautifully done.

The tagline, however, I don't like. In English, "merry" isn't a transitive verb, so "merry it" doesn't strictly speaking work. I could see it as a playful semi-pun on "marry it", but for that to work, you have to use the contraction "It's..." instead of "It is", which sounds somewhat formal. Overall, though, I'd drop it.

I think the Santa is strong enough to stand on his own. If you want words, I'd go with Merry Christmas (possibly also in Bulgarian or other languages). (By the way, what's Santa called in Bulgarian? Ded Moroz, Ded Nicolas?)

One odd idea, which may make the whole thing too cheap (or not) is that Santa's expression and pose make it look as if he's riding a surfboard. Of course, Santa is supposed to ride a sleigh, so how about putting him on a surfboard made from a sleigh?

These are beginning to work much better, but I am still struggling a little with the type at the bottom. The words don't bother me so much, as they do Galin, but there still seems to be a style issue. You have two distinct type styles and neither of them seem to be associated in any way with the typoSanta.

The following are some suggestions:

1 Try creating a typographic horizon line. With this addition the all white background works better than the design with the red swash at the bottom.

2 Try simplifying the type to involve only one face. Use a face that is as freeform as your Santa. Between the two you have already, the type used for "merry it" would be better suited.

3 Galin is right about the copy being improper English, but I'm not sure that it is wrong in this application. I realize that you are saying "merry it" while meaning "make it merry". I think most others will get it also. In order to emphasize this slang terminology enough to make it obvious, you probably should change "It is�" to the contraction "It's" as Galin suggested; otherwise, the line will start off too formal.

Aloha!
Scott

> "merry it" doesn't strictly speaking work.

Then loosen your Santa belt a little bit!
Don't you think it's a quaint brokenEnglishism?

hhp

Hrant, it depends on what's wanted, which is why I put "strictly speaking" in there. It could certainly be quaint, but it could come across as well as me writing Christmas cards in Armenian.

err.. i undestrand that the whole Santa typo was time consuming... but... waht if u would just blow it up 2-300% and use unly the chest the hand and the face and the hat? just as it would be the "we want u" poster? maybe ppl would rather recognise that it IS made out of letters... realy cool idea actualy... the merry it story - i like a lot, thanks for the laough!

Koszonom a tanacsot, gregory.

Here are some adjustments towards the direction of your advices.


Salute

Another idea ;-) Maybe too queer.

Stick with your type drawing. The last idea is a joke right?

Steve:

(By the way, what's Santa called in Bulgarian? Ded Moroz, Ded Nicolas?)

it's "Dyado Koleda", if I'm spelling it correctly

Galin, I've been watching this critique for a while now. I think the direction you're going in is good, and your type Santa's great.

My comments:

1. Get rid of the red curved area at the bottom and either just have Santa on a white background, or do what Scott recommended: a typographic horizon line (possibly in a light grey).

2. If you want to use a script I recommend you either use just the handwritten type with no effects, or use a more scripted and less handwritten one (like Linoscript, for example). The glowing and shadowing remove any sense of a 'true' handwritten feel.

By simplifying everything, you also put the emphasis on your Santa, which really deserves most of the viewer's attention.

<font class="dontLookLikeCrap">i disagree about the removal of the red curve.
but agree about the glowing effects removal.
Thank u for well..
for the hungarian greeting!
i liked that!
the "we want u" one is done for me. i bought it! </font>