Christian Care Ministry / Medi-Share is a health sharing organization, connecting Christians who want to live out the biblical mandate to carry one another’s burdens by sharing in each other’s medical expenses. Besides sharing medical bills, members encourage and pray for one another. They are supported by an organization that provides health education and promotes biblical living. Since 1993 more than $775 million in healthcare costs have been shared or discounted.

As part of the educational mission of Christian Care Ministry, they produce a quarterly newsletter filled with encouragement, tips for healthy living, testimonies and ministry information. When I started designing their newsletter it was a 2-color, 8-page, 8.5″ x 11″ document. After a few issues I suggested a redesign with a 4-color, 12-page, oblong 6″ x 11″ booklet. Color printing has become extremely affordable in recent years, helping to keep the print production costs roughly the same as what they had been for 2-color, even with adding 4 pages.

When mailing bulk pieces, the U.S. Postal Service uses seven classifications to determine the postal rate: letters (machinable and non-machineable), flats (machinable and non-machineable), postcards, machinable parcels, irregular parcels, marketing parcels and outside parcels. Don’t let the names fool you, the classifications are determined by size and shape more than content; for example, a postcard is classified as a letter if it is a rectangle and larger than 4.25″ x 6″ or a flat if it is square instead of rectangle. A postcard is the most economical rate, then letter, then flat.

By redesigning the newsletter to a 6″ x 11″ booklet instead of an 8.5″ x 11″ booklet, the ministry saved almost 50% in the cost of mailing their newsletter. I redesigned World Hope International’s newsletter to this money-saving format as well.

To see other examples of my publication design, click here.