Mayo's Welding

Project Overview:

Project Type: Multi-size newspaper ad campaign from full-page to mobile banners

Publication: Dothan Eagle (Dothan, AL)

Client Industry: Industrial Services / Welding

Role: Graphic Designer & Visual Creator

Stakeholders: Kelly Bexley (Manager), Client

In 2020, as one of three in-house graphic artists at the Dothan Eagle newspaper in Dothan, Alabama, I was tasked with creating a complete advertising campaign from scratch for a new customer—Mayo's Welding in Alford, FL, who came to us through a referral from a relative who does business with the newspaper. This wasn't a single ad project but rather a comprehensive campaign spanning multiple formats: a full-page print advertisement and various digital banner sizes for web and mobile placement. Unlike most projects where I could reference previous advertisements in our system, this was a fresh start: the only visual reference the client provided was a screenshot of what appeared to be one of those corrugated plastic yard signs with wire stakes that you stick in the ground. I researched the business online hoping to find established branding or style guidelines, but what I found wasn't particularly inspiring or cohesive—however, I did notice that their building had metal exterior side paneling, and just under the roof apex spanning almost the full length of the storefront was a metal section painted in a distinctive teal color.

Given that I was told I had free range on the project, and knowing the owner was a young blue-collar man in his 20s with no previous advertising history, I decided to create something that would appeal to a younger, working-class male demographic. My approach began with designing the 300×250 web ad first, establishing the core visual identity before expanding design elements for the full-page print advertisement where I had significantly more real estate to work with. I developed a design featuring a purple and indigo color scheme with dynamic angled bars suggesting speed and efficiency—and when I tested the teal color from their building's facade, it contrasted beautifully against the dark gray and indigo-purple palette. This created a modern, energetic aesthetic that would stand out and resonate with the target audience while establishing a fresh, cohesive brand identity for this emerging welding business. For the final touch, I used an image of the owner and applied the ubiquitous "white outline" sticker cutout effect to give it a modern touch.