Call it the Christmas spirit – that overwhelming urge to send your clients something completely over-the-top during the holidays. And yet while a nicely crafted package containing assorted chocolates or teas is always welcome, does it really get across who you are as a designer? More importantly, is that message likely to last into the new year? Montreal studio Design is Yummy decided instead to play to the scrumptiousness suggested by its name in a wholly unexpected way.
In the usual avalanche of business envelopes and shipping boxes that December brings, the design studio’s clients discovered a small gray envelope (made from 80 lb. LUXPaper) with their name and address nicely hand-lettered in Gelly Roll gold metallic ink. Opening it revealed a fruity treat against the backdrop of an equally luscious, letterpress printed card.
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“Business can be bananas,” the soft, 6.25-x-3.25˝ notecard states in English and French, “but no matter how you slice it, we love what we do. Wishing you a happy, healthy and nutritious New Year. Thanks for being part of our bunch!”
Between these bi-lingual felicitations, at the card’s center, is a banana-bunch lapel pin affixed inside a printed circle, the vivid yellow of the pin popping spectacularly against the Pink of the 20 pt. Mohawk Strathmore Impress cotton paper [Get Swatchbook]. The single color letterpress imprint – perfectly matching the color of the envelope – makes the tasteful, intricate design details really stand out against the soft pastel background of the stock.
(Not only does the banana motif link back to the “yumminess” of the design studio’s name, it also echoes one of its views on the industry itself, neatly summed up on its FAQ page:
“Will You Design Free Samples?
If you hire monkeys, expect bananas. Just as you wouldn’t expect an accountant to file a free tax return, designers shouldn’t be expected to provide free work. As professionals who take our craft seriously, we strongly believe that spec work is unethical and devalues the graphic design profession.”)
These are real limited-edition artworks: Just 225 were made. That’s certainly understandable considering the patience and dexterity necessary for the Design is Yummy team to center these pins on the paper as precisely as the design requires on each and every one.
Which is why we are so grateful to the Design is Yummy team for going back on press – and to pressing pins through cards – for our VIP members for a special print run. That’s right – if you’re a PaperSpecs VIP member, you will find one of these delightful pieces in your Winter 2019 VIP Box!
Sabine Lenz is the founder of PaperSpecs.com, the first online paper database and community specifically designed for paper specifiers.
Growing up in Germany, Sabine started her design career in Frankfurt, before moving to Australia and then the United States. She has worked on design projects ranging from corporate identities to major road shows and product launches. From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, her list of clients included Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Deutsche Bank, IBM and KPMG.
Seeing designers struggle worldwide to stay current with new papers and paper trends inspired Sabine to create PaperSpecs, an independent and comprehensive Web-based paper database and weekly e-newsletter. She is also a speaker on paper issues and the paper industry. Some refer to her lovingly as the "paper queen" who combines her passion for this wonderful substrate called paper with a hands-on approach to sharing her knowledge.