In Creativity We Trust
Cardboard, paper, wool, polyurethanes, canvas, leather, cardboard... In our craft, we have a huge variety of materials at our disposal that can be transformed into functional and design-sophisticated packaging, bookbindings or even promotional sets thanks to a creative idea. We produced one of these for our participation at the Brand Management conference in Prague in October 2024, and we're launching the first part of our new "Material Spotlight" section. We need to start with a bang!
The motto of the conference was "Married to Creativity" and it was definitely not just an empty attraction! The programme itself sounded great and amongst the speakers you could find such big names as the living advertising icon and founder of the Bartle Bogle Hegarty agency, Sir John Hegarty himself. So the spectrum of visitors from advertising agencies, marketing and PR was really diverse. And we at Hässlers CZ are proud to have been able to partner and introduce our production to the people behind the creative processes of many small and large companies.
We created a luxury give away set for the participants to showcase the unbridled possibilities of our production in a compatible form. We used the title as a pun on the conference motto: "In Creativity We Trust". For the set we deliberately chose very unusual materials and graphic techniques, which we mixed in a perhaps a little crazy way. But the response was just great, thank you!
Our set full of contrasts was hidden in a simple design. The lidded box wasn't even sophisticatedly coated - the subtle first effect was taken care of by the Eska Black cardboard coloured in the mass with a simple but stylish binding sewn with silver wire. The purposefully banal old-school technique contrasted with the high-end black and bold holographic embossing, immediately piquing interest in the contents. When you open the lid, a snow-themed pausak by Art Dreep from Japan appears. We embossed the lettering with a provocative black embossed screen print and capped everything off with a round sticker. You can only guess something strange and soft inside under the transparent paper.
But even if you move on, you may not be clear. One of the conference attendees thought there was a metal ornament inside. Oh, no! It's a stylish little notebook covered in a flimsy material from Giardini in Italy. But it's what makes it shine like a mirror, so at first you probably wouldn't think it could be something to do with bookbinding. We went for a material that shoemakers use, but used it as a soft cover for a notebook. The outside is decorated with a minimalist embossing, while the inner "mossy" side is completely inviting to cuddle. It's quite impractical, of course, because you can see every print on it. But that wasn't our point this time. Each product has a different purpose. We wanted to stir emotions, arouse interest and leave a strong impression. And we certainly did that.
The entire contents of the set are housed in a white microfiber interior from Lessebo, covered with textured cardboard. There is also our business card, which we made using our favourite - Kuro Kihoushi 330g cardboard from Takeo in Japan. It's a totally dark black paper that differs from all the others in the world in that it's slightly, but really only slightly, glossy. And it has a clean white embossing and a positive emboss of our logo. All just 0.5mm from the edge! Because we like working on the edge.
"That's beautiful, give it to me too!" We were delighted that our give away set was such a success. But it's not just a wild combination of techniques and materials. It's always and everywhere about ideas, pushing boundaries, boundless creativity in service of the goals and purposes of that product and brand. We wanted to arouse interest, create tension and surprise.That we succeeded in doing so is a testament to the creative concept of production. This is reflected in the design, the choice of materials and the workmanship. Creative energy must form an integral part of our production. As a result, we are never satisfied with the standard and are always looking for new materials, new processes, new applications of proven forms. Every client deserves a wow effect!
