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.
“Business can be bananas,” the soft, 6.25-x-3.25 inch 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. 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:
Question: “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 pin cards 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.
What was the response rate? I cannot see any call to action, it just looks like a feel-good piece. How do you measure the value of the expenditure? I also was curious how you had them in the envelop so that it would not cause a problem on the mail processing machines. I realize that with the gray envelope and gold metallic ink you could not get any postal discounts and would have to pay the penalty for mail that was not machinable, so maybe that covered the problem.
It is an impressive piece, but I would have liked to seen some numbers, it might have been more cost effective to send chocolate.
Hi John – thanks for writing. I think this is one of those instances when ROI takes a backseat to simply reminding your clients that you’re great at getting people’s attention, and can do the same for them and their products. As you point out, it probably would’ve been more cost-effective to send chocolate, but the gesture would’ve likely been forgotten by the time their clients returned to work after the holiday break, the chocolate long since eaten.