Brief:
TMG (Threat Mitigation Group) Target Systems creates target systems with built it locking and reset targets. You'll never have to walk out on the shooting range and reset your targets by hand again.
The Founder, Jim Hoy, needed updated images and print collateral for his booth at SHOT Show 2020. This information would show three of TMG's products in a side by side comparison.
Role:
Photographer and Graphic Designer
Tools:
Goals:
Photography: Create new consistent images (both in style and size)
Design: Clean and easy-to-read layout on a 5.5"x4.5" postcard
Challenges:
Photography
1. Product Delivery
We asked TMG to ship the hundred pounds of $$$ hardware to us. Once arrived, the reset silhouette (RS-1) and small rifle system (SR-1) were received, no long rifle system (LR-1). UPS ultimately lost it. A week later, when UPS finally brought us the LR-1 system, it only had half of the parts and UPS were never able to recover them.
2. photographed at different times
The first time I photographed this setup, everything was fresh and new, but the legs were five feet long. Although it's ok to have the legs at that length, it was way too tall for something like this to photograph.
As a month goes by, we needed to figure out how to photograph the LR-1, and I wanted to reshoot the target systems with the right height. The new problem was that the SR-1 was already shot up. Now I have to find a way to clean the SR-1 but also make the LR-1 from scratch. Easy.
Solution:
To make this work. I need to first make paths and cut everything out before clean up and reference photos of when it was not shot up. This process has a lot of work upfront, but the end result is worth it.
1. Create paths for the legs, frame, targets, the cams, and ballistic shield.
2. Use the center reset gong's information to create the remaining targets and the wooden legs from the older SR-1 photos shoot.
3. After cleaning up the rest of the components, I could duplicate and flip the legs and frame to finish the other side.
4. Then I added the shield to complete the SR-1 system.
5. For the LR-1, I doubled the targets 2" neck and 6" gong size to 4" and 12". I also made the adjustments needed for the shield.
6. I used the same frame since the LR-1 has the same frame structure as the SR-1.
7. Updated the shield path to match the three targets and placed everthing together.
Challenges:
Design
1. Typeface
I wanted to use the font that is used on the shield. I discovered it's Trajan, and after testing it out, honestly, it's ugly.
2. Layout
This was going to be tricky because these images are not tiny. I wanted the front side to feel big and the back side have a three panels with the descriptions below.
3. Copy
Our copywriter did a fantastic job breaking down the text to be short and to the point, but it was still too long.
Solution:
1. I wanted to use one typeface and I chose Helvetica Neue. It has a better looking quality and it's solid. With its variety of weight options, I can create a lot of visual contrast. This typeface perfectly reflects the quality of the product.
2. The 3 grid layout was tricky because of the amount of copy I had to squeeze in. I saw a pattern in the information and opted to create a way of hierarchy for the viewer to read.
3. I took the shortened names (SR-1, LR-1 & RS-1) and made them 3x the size of its full name. This type of contrast helps drive you eye down each of the columns. I placed a short description under each image describing what each product can handle and its product details broken down by targets, ballistic cam shield (if applicable), and it's total weight.
