PaperSpecsGallery.com Presents: Trust & Will Color Coded Legal Docs

When you think “legal documents,” chances are you imagine reams and reams of white paper stuffed into endless Manila folders ... zzzzzzzz. Not Trust & Will. Since most states still require an actual signature and in-person notary to make documents legally binding, this online estate planning company decided to make the paperwork they send to their clients as vibrant and on-brand as possible using colored inks and Mohawk’s Keaykolour line of papers. The end result is anything but boring.

The documents arrive neatly tucked inside a simple 2-pocket folder. And “simple” is the selling point here, because there are many of us who freeze at the sight of any legal documents, desiring nothing more than to be told what to do next. This folder clearly lays that out, both in a removable checklist held in place by two diagonal diecuts, and again on the margins of the opposite panel.

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But what if you need to make some important changes to your paperwork? Wording at the bottom prompts you to sign in to your account on Trust & Will’s website. In short, they’ve done everything but print the words “Don’t panic” on the cover.

But as hinted at earlier, what really sets this collateral apart is its bold use of color. Each type of legal service offered by Trust & Will has its own unique color! The “My Will” folder, for example, is printed on Mohawk Keaykolour Baltic Sea, “My Health Plan” on Old Rose, and so on.

And all of these folders slide neatly into a larger overall “Estate Plan” folder – Azure, for those following along at home. (This last detail was inspired by The Mohawk Maker Quarterly’s own propensity for sometimes including various materials in one loosely bound package.)

This folder closes tightly with a Velcro dot and, thanks to a diecut window that wraps around the spine, you can see the individual category folders clearly marked by their colors. Breathe a deep sigh of relief as you never have to hunt for your important documents again.

“We wanted everything about the packaging to feel premium and professional,” explains Trust & Will’s Brian Lamb, who designed the pieces. “I was able to select paper colors that aligned closely with our brand as well as utilize the full sheet to gang up additional cards and supporting materials to help accentuate the complete package. I love how the colors work cohesively together, but are vibrant enough to stand on their own.”

The biggest challenge? “It was really tricky to land on the right ink color that worked well across all of the different Keaykolour papers we used,” he admits. “For cost purposes, we were trying to keep all papers to the same 1-color offset print. I wanted to use a deep Navy to align with our brand. It worked beautifully on the Azure and Baltic – really popping off the paper color. The Matcha Tea, Old Rose and Indian Yellow were a little trickier.”

After numerous ink drawdowns and tests, they finally settled on PMS 288, with printing on Indian Yellow proving to be the real nail-biter. “Overall, once we got on press the colors were much richer crisper and the paper accepted the ink beautifully.”

In other words, the lesson learned was “Don’t panic.”