Sometimes the CafePress newsletters baffle me. I'm puzzled why designs are featured that don't meet the basics. Why choose a design that has a big square black background on apparel? Are we lacking in designs that present better than that? Why choose a design that is a square with a colored background, and then proudly published in the newsletter on a button?

I really don't get it. I'm not talking about the merits of the design itself, but how it is presented to our potential customers. Can't the person responsible for making up the newsletters have a small checklist.
   Design fits product shape well
   Design has appropriate background, transparent or colored as best suits the product.
   Design colors are printable
   Design does not infringe on intellectual property

What is sent out in a promotion should reflect some of the best that a business has to offer. I'm OK with the everyman approach and not necessarily looking for the most skillfully rendered designs. Still, I'd like to see what is sent out at least meet the elements that are covered in CafePress tutorials on creating images. Those were created to help improve product quality, I believe, so let's show the shoppers and the shop keepers that we can meet those minimal design qualities.

I'd love to have one of my products in a CP newsletter, but I agree that if it doesn't meet the minimal design standards suggested by CP it should be rejected. Is this something for the CP Voice team to look at?

I absolutely agree that there should be a minimum standard, but have to admit that I am reluctant to see design selection move toward anything that involves opinion.

A great topic for discussion, Tanith, thanks for bringing it up.

MP

I agree that the newsletters could often be better, but it's not something currently within the Q-group's scope of involvement.

YOUR voice carries a great deal of weight. Don't drop it on someone's toes, but threads like this are valuable.

Diane, I've also wondered why CP chooses to showcase designs that are sub-par. As you said, it's not the design itself, it's the poor presentation.

I've seen images that shouldn't be placed on certain products because they simply don't fit correctly, images that have huge black squares (should be transparent), etc., etc.

I understand that this happens, but I don't understand why CP showcases it. I would think that the CP staff members who work on the newsletters have some sort of guidelines, so I don't get why this happens. And it's not rare. I see it a lot.

- Deb