- As designers, we often forget there is more
than a flat, two-dimensional surface.
Yes, we live in a material world
surrounded by three-dimensional objects.
So, how can we use that
when we create branded communications?
Like every other good design solution,
the media should match the message.
First ask, what is the message?
Then, who is the recipient?
The answer to these will help guide your solution.
Years ago, McCoy Paper used a Cadillac as a promotion
at a design conference.
It was a huge hit.
The message, McCoy was extraordinary
and unlike other paper companies, was made very clear.
The designer audience was thrilled to see something
more than a paper swatch book.
Margaret Larsen was a genius at three-dimensional work.
In the 1960s, she designed for the high fashion
department store, Joseph Magnin.
Rather than a plain box with a logo for the holiday season,
Larsen created boxes that became buildings, games,
and highly sought collectibles.
Customers purchased items specifically to have the box
for their own collection.
To celebrate a milestone anniversary,
I purchased a bulk of colored pencils in craft paper tubes.
Everyone at the office stayed late one evening,
we ordered pizza and we stuck a series of labels
to the tubes.
The colored pencils connected to my message
about creativity and individuality.
The unused, brand new pencils also signified
the start of a project, challenging the recipient
to make their own kind of music.
A three-dimensional promotion does not need to be
as elaborate as a Cadillac or as time consuming
as my tube of pencils, but it can be unorthodox and fun.
I made a limited edition skate deck as a promo
that I wish I kept.
The design from office designed a series of products
for a store catering to pirates.
Actually, a front for a nonprofit reading center
for children and teens.
And even though this is close to packaging,
hot dog on a stick delivers items for a party
in a beautiful bright box that doubles as serving items
and a billboard for the brand.
Expensive and elaborate
does not make something good, it just makes it costly
and complicated.
Find a solution that is elegant in its usefulness
and production.
The idea is to create something that delights.