Kim Stuart Branding: Promotional Pack

One of the final outcomes Kim requires is a promotional pack for her work.

Kim expects to be going to interviews and companies with a selection of her work, as well as sending out packs to companies etc.
My task is to work with Kim to create a promotional pack which includes

- her creative CV
- her business card

- postcard size prints

- an extra item of Kim's preference

After brainstorming and researching with Kim we decided that we would work on the pack that would be sent out, as I could design more within this specification as opposed to a portfolio/presentation box. The pack will be contained within an envelope for ease of mailing.

In research, we came across a few ideas that we loved the concept of. 

Kim loved the idea of using a transparent folder or similar item to package all of her items similar to this (fig 1). 

fig 1

I liked the idea of letting her photographic style speak for itself within this transparent case, and this could be put across in some sort of folder instead of a bag - as the bag would not be used by large companies. 

An idea we both loved was taken from this design for Anthropologie's gift card "envelopes"(see fig 2). The handmade style of the envelopes, using scraps of fabric perfectly echoes Kim's love of using media within her work. The actual contents of the promotional pack would be presented like this.

fig 2

The envelope that the pack will be contained in will be an A4 plain envelope so the pack will be to an A4 size too. This means the content of the pack will need to be smaller than A4 in order to fit within the fabric envelope. This includes the creative CV.

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As this promotional pack will be sent out in more of a professional context than the gift card envelopes, the materials it is made from will need to be of a much higher quality, and more sturdy, to dure being posted.
The back piece of the pack could either be made from thick card or mountboard. Mountboard will be more durable, but still will be able to be printed on. The fabric will likely be scraps, so do not need to be durable, but fit within the chosen colour scheme. As long as they in the same colour range, I think a mismatch of fabrics could work really well together. I also like the appearance of the raw edges of the fabric in the reference picture, as opposed to clean cut pieces. Again I think this would reflect the crafty aesthetic Kim likes so much.

One issue that I highlighted is that the items within the pack need to be visibly displayed underneath the fabric. As the business card is fairly small, it may slip down and get hidden under the fabric, which makes it possible that the company could miss all of Kim's vital contact information.

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To counteract this problem, Kim's contact information could be printed onto the pack itself in a similar way to above (fig 6), instead of a business card. This also reduces the risk of her information being lost or misplaced and is a different way of presenting a business card.

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Digital mock-up. Adding a yellow bar to the bottom of the board reflects the overall colour scheme better and ties in the yellow thread that will be used to sew the fabric to the mountboard. The bar also makes the pack look cleaner and more put together, as well as complimenting the grey.

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We decided instead of the overlapping pieces of fabric that the pocket will be made of one singular rectangle of fabric. This will make the contents more secure and the fabric will be less likely to move when sewing the fabric onto the mount board, meaning fewer wrinkles on the final product.

Test product

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Using the failed print of the mountboard, I sewed a piece of fabric into the mountboard to judge the size and stitches needed to make the envelope and its contents secure. In this test piece, the pocket was too large and it spanned from edge to edge. It was also too close to the bottom bar on the mountboard, in the actual product, I will need to make the pocket less wide and raise it up on the board a few centimetres.

Actual production

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In the actual final piece, the stitching was a lot neater, by using a running stitch I was able to secure the fabric to the mountboard. The edges will still need to be neatened up - but having the slightly rough edge of the fabric keeps the handmade aesthetic Kim wants to convey in her branding.