It really is amazing what you can get away with in the name of charity, especially when you have somewhat notorious designers involved. Last week saw the introduction of “Halftone Satisfaction,” a new collection of business-card size calling cards designed by Stefan Sagmeister and partner Jessica Walsh. The cards were produced for The Luxe Project, which pairs designers with MOO.com’s Luxe Business Cards, with all proceeds going to the charity of a designer’s choice – more than $20,000 to date. (Sagmeister and Walsh chose New York’s Coalition for the Homeless.)
The couple, remembered mostly these days for publicizing the new name of their studio – Sagmeister & Walsh – by circulating nude postcards of themselves, have turned their flare for the controversial to this project. The $35 collection features those joy-to-hold Luxe cards (Mohawk Superfine paper + Quadplexing = 32 pt. cards) with all-black fronts emblazoned with short phrases that, in Sagmeister’s words, are “To be handed to anyone you meet who delights or annoys you.”
The seven phrases are:
- It’s a Delight to be Around Someone Who Loves What they Do
- Your Eyes are Lovely
- A Picture is Worth a Thousand Stares
- Rude!
- You Have Too Many Mouths and Not Enough Ears
- You are a Waste of Time
- F*** You. Eat S***.
The backs of the cards range from solid white to black dots to solid black. The lighter the back of the card, the more complimentary the phrase; the darker, the darker the sentiment. (But it’s for charity!)
