When I first set out to design the multi-format marketing campaign for Aura on Elm, I honestly felt a bit overwhelmed. Graphic design and digital layouts do not come naturally to me. I often feel like I lack that innate “artistic eye” required to make things look effortlessly chic. However, diving into this project pushed me out of my comfort zone, and comparing my initial draft to my final submission shows just how much I have learned and grown throughout the process.
Rethinking Visual Hierarchy and Placement
The biggest structural shift between my draft submission and my final project involved the placement of the primary branding elements and imagery. In my first draft, the main social media asset featured the “Aura on Elm” logo positioned over a solid, vibrant pink background block, while the clothing photography sat separately. While it worked okay as a starting point, the composition felt rigid.
When I moved to the final version, I placed the logo directly over the top of the photography, which immediately created a more cohesive, modern editorial feel. Furthermore, my initial logo in Illustrator suffered from sloppy, unrefined lines. Cleaning those lines up made a massive difference, giving the typography a crisp, professional edge that anchors the entire visual narrative.
Refining and Overcoming Blank Space
Working with the social media formats presented its own difficulties for me. While putting together the Instagram and Facebook posts, I ran into a common dilemma: figuring out how to fill empty space without making the layout look cluttered or chaotic. I felt like the composition had too much dead space in the Instagram piece, so I experimented by adding a skewed “Fall BOGO Sale” text to break up the space.
To gain inspiration, I looked closely at examples from real-world clothing boutiques online. I noticed that many successful brands used a lot of obscure layering with overlapping text and semi-transparent photos to create depth. I was inspired by this trend, so my final draft incorporated similar overlapping techniques. I also noticed that some boutique campaigns utilized distinct borders to frame their content, so I introduced subtle borders into my final layout to tie the multi-page presentation together cleanly.
Fine-Tuning Brochure, Colors, and Typography
Beyond the social media materials, my multi-page brochure underwent significant polishing. In my draft version, the accent colors felt a bit disjointed from page to page. For the final design, I standardized the color palette so that it remained entirely consistent throughout every single page of the spread, creating a unified brand identity.
I also re-evaluated the typography. Some of the fonts I initially chose did not quite capture the upbeat boutique vibe I was going for. By swapping them out for fonts that better complemented the “effortless style” tagline, the text became a core design feature rather than just an afterthought.
Embracing the Learning Process
Stepping into the world of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign to build a complete campaign is no small task. As someone who constantly second-guesses their creative instincts, putting yourself out there can be daunting.
Yet, looking at the side-by-side progression proves that design is truly an iterative process. By cleaning up my vector work, embracing intentional layering, refining my color consistency, and taking inspiration from industry standards, my final draft transformed into something I am genuinely proud of. I might still be building my confidence, but this project taught me that with patience, attention to detail, and a willingness to revise, you can bridge the gap between where you start and where you want to be.
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