STEP Off: The Results Are In
by Bennett Holzworth, (11 comments)
It has been a good six months since eight of us BADG authors put it all out on the line and designed a cover in real time for the world to watch (and rip apart). While the process was both rewarding and trying, we all learned a great deal.
We recently received word from STEP Inside Design’s new editor, Tom Biederbeck, that the March/April 2006 issue has officially become the Best-selling STEP cover in the magazine’s history!
Thank you to everyone (the readers, commenters, the STEP staff and the BADG design teams) for making this experiment a huge success. We also want to give a big thank you to Emily Potts for making our crazy idea a reality, and we wish her luck in her future endeavors!
Comments (11)
Kyle said:
That’s incredible! Yeah!!
Posted on September 15, 2006
PixelHustler said:
Haha, awesome. That’s a great achievement for the BadG guys and everyone involved. Since this was so successful, could this design-off become an annual event?
Posted on September 15, 2006
jwh said:
that is fantastic! congratulations…
Posted on September 15, 2006
zjgray said:
I rescind most of my critical remarks of that STEP cover. Sales don’t lie.
You guys rock.
Posted on September 15, 2006
Nate Voss said:
oh gawd. And here Donovan was just about done holding that cover over my head.
Posted on September 16, 2006
JonSel said:
Nicely done, guys.
Posted on September 16, 2006
zjgray said:
I said MOST. Not ALL.
The controversy continues…
Posted on September 16, 2006
Thomas Jockin said:
I think the Step off is a really good example how blogs and openning up the process of design can result in very very good results.
By opening up the designs to the target audience ( designers), we all fell a bit of ownnership over the end product, and makes buying the magazine logical.
so congrads I hope to see more of this as a trend.
Posted on September 21, 2006
ChrisM70 said:
A comment above said: “I rescind most of my critical remarks of that STEP cover. Sales don’t lie.”
Because it had great sales, that means if you were critical, you were wrong? Perhaps…
However, I will admit that I was one of the people who did not like the winning design, and even with the great sales (congrats, by the way) I can’t back away from my design belief - To me, the winning cover was not the best cover.
Sure, selling issues is the goal of cover design. But perhaps just the act of having the STEP Off contest was enough by itself to boost sales regardless of who won? Of course, maybe one of the other designs might have sold MORE copies? Obviously, we don’t know, and we will never know. If there was only one design that would work, the magazine would use the same cover every month!
I am still glad that this contest worked for all parties involved and that a great, striking design helped boost sales. I am also glad to get a sneak peek into the process.
I would LOVE for you guys to do this again, and maybe STEP could create SEVERAL different covers and see which one sells the most? :) Hey, TV Guide does it…
Posted on September 24, 2006
Drew Davies said:
It’s hard to imagine how many more copies would have sold with that irresistable little piglet on the cover….
Posted on October 3, 2006
Jules said:
“I just don’t dig on swine, that’s all … Pigs are filthy animals.”
Posted on October 3, 2006