As a creative it’s important that you market yourself well, and not only through self branding and websites. Creative duo ‘Dr. Me’ challenged us to design and make something that would be physical and could be sent to studios and creatives alike, with the intention of telling them a little something about ourselves, and the kind of work we enjoyed making. In essence it celebrates the lost practice of physically mailing something to a person, something that’s tangible and meaningful, that has more to it than simply an email or invitation, which is far too arbitrary these days, the aim was to create something that gets the attention of the recipient.
At the time, myself and peer James Horrocks were operating under the collective duo “Bracket”, and decided to take the brief on together, marketing ourselves as designers that specialise in tackling creative needs within the music industry, targeting mainly musicians.
To sum up, our job was to design and assemble a package, box or pack that could be easily replicated, and sent out to studios in order to let them know about what we offer as designers. The brief explicitly stated that the produced work be sent to DR. ME’s studio in Manchester, by the 23rd of October, including our name, contact details and ‘personality’. Other than that, we had free creative reign.
Research:
The research undertaken heavily revolved around the limitations we were set to, and how much we could offer without breaking them. Looking into the British standards for mail boxes were beneficial, we since learned that we could create anything that was up to 4.8cm deep before having to pay extra postage prices, meaning we could produce something quite substantial. The research gathered suggested that most creative individulas attempting a similar project opted for a simple envelope pack. Wanting to stand out, our research led us to alternatives where technique research came in handy; plastic shrink forming was a processes I thought could be utilised from early on, to allow for custom objects to be added to our box.
The inclusion of a digital USB drive within the pack opens up the possibilities of the content to be delivered, which was a consideration on our part. We mentioned how we were targeting musicians, so this would give us the option of expanding to audio as well as visuals.
While this style of pack is easier to manufacture, you're limited in what you can include. Whereas a box can facilitate a much wider range of material to be sent.
With our audience being primarily those in the music and design industry (and everything in between such as producers, promoters etc.), we were aware that our content had to be centred around this. To begin with we brainstormed, putting ourselves in the shoes of the potential recipient of our mailer, and trying to empathise with their needs. The two of us have a large background in music, so this wasn’t too much trouble; understanding what we’d appreciate being sent to aid our musical practice was a good starting point. In that respect we thought blank pages of tablature and sheet music would be a good option, as well as plectrums for guitarists.
Considerations to our design had to made, as we wanted a substantial size box that was capable of storing a large amount of promotion material, it was also important that it fit through a UK letterbox to minimise cost. I set about researching the size limitations and we started designing around those. The processes used reflect our design capabilities and versatility as designers. Screen printing, binding techniques and box making were used to show use of our range, our consideration towards cost effectiveness, as well as our willingness to use traditional methods of design making, which again paralleled our tone of voice and suited the theme of the product. I purchased a plectrum maker, and started cutting acrylic ready for our designs (featuring quotes from famous musicians and designers alike) to be printed directly onto them. The screen we exposed was useful for creating large amounts of patterned stock that we could use throughout.
Artwork & Evaluation:
As featured above, the complete Bracket music box includes:
- Plectrums
- A Manifesto/Musical Poem
- Blank sheet music templates
- Limited run screen printed posters
- Personalised handwritten letter
“We care about the middle, and make it stand out, we encapsulate information, to avoid any doubts. Round, square, or a mixture of the two, our distinct purpose is to distinguish you. Together we can design, and make all kinds of racket, we are designers for music, and our name is Bracket.”
The striking pattern design paired with our brand considerate use of Typography (Gotham Bold) makes for an eye catching piece, and fits a surprisingly large amount of content considering the size and depth limitations. The plectrums, while exceptionally valuable to those in the music industry, could have been executed better. A thinner and more opaque acrylic would be a better option. The personal, hand written quality of the letter adds a tangible and pleasant feel to the work. It connects well with the target audience of musicians due to our understanding of musical knowledge.
Considerations & Improvements to Manufacturing:
While the box was successful in it's execution, and certainly was engaging with the audience it was intended for, the mass manufacture of a box like this would be difficult to produce on mass. Smaller packs would be more more cost efficient, using die-cutting techniques at a cooperating reprographics business. However while this method would certainly produce a finished piece that would show more finesse and professionalism, the hand made method certainly adds a bespoke quality to it. Ultimately, I think it depends on the size of your audience. As part of our research we considered arranging a 'black book' on contacts compiled of studios and creatives, this collection would give a rough estimate as to the amount of runs you'd need, which in turn would influence the manufacture method.
