Designing a proposal cover that wins

Six rules for the only page of your bid the owner will actually look at twice.

The cover answers three questions before the owner reads anything else:

1. Who is this from? 2. What is it for? 3. Are these people serious?

That's it. It is not a marketing brochure. It is not the place for stock photos. It is not the place for a tagline.

1. Project name dominates. The owner's project name should be the largest type on the page. Bigger than your logo. Bigger than your company name. 2. Address under the name. Owners often bid multiple sites simultaneously. The street address disambiguates. 3. Your company is a footer, not a headline. Your name and logo go at the bottom or top corner. Quiet. 4. One accent color, used twice. Bedrock's default cover uses sienna for the project name accent and the page edge. That's it. No gradients. 5. No stock photos. Stock photos make your proposal look like a brochure. The owner discounts brochures. 6. Date and bid number in the footer. Auditable, professional, easy to file.

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