Surprises are pretty rare these days – you’re lucky if you can even watch your favorite show without someone on Twitter giving away the ending first. Sensing the value of a good surprise, brand design house Giraff came up with an unassuming-looking leave-behind card that leaves potential clients in no doubt as to what Giraff is all about.
“One of the first questions when I arrive at a meeting is ‘Why do you call your company Giraff,’” explains studio founder Tal Huber. “I wanted to leave behind a surprising product that would convey the message of a highly creative company.”
And she wanted the very act of opening that card to answer that ubiquitous question: “Why Giraff”?
So…why DOES she call it Giraff? Let’s find out.
Picking up the card – a chunky Black 300 gram (110 lb. Cover) Favini Burano sheet – we’re presented with that question in white ink digitally printed by Hauser Printing in huge letters. Lifting the top flap of what will ultimately prove to be a tri-fold reveals another word, “discover,” in much smaller white-ink letters on the bottom tri-fold panel. Lift that piece and –
Surprise! The words “We aim higher” practically leap out at you in huge white letters inside a unique oyster fold!
Now I’ve seen my fair share of custom folds, but there’s something so unpredictable about the way this piece blossoms like a rose. If you’re any kind of print nerd at all – or even if you’re just someone who likes to fidget – you simply can’t resist opening and closing it a few more times to watch the bloom and contraction of the fold.
A closer look at the piece reveals that the “oyster” itself is actually a lighter sheet (90 gram or 60 lb. Text) of that same Burano paper, the folding lines laser engraved, glued to the outer card, and then hand folded.
