A little job for me

Producing my new mailer has proved something of a tortuous process, as self-promotional jobs often are.

Initially, the idea was to do something for Christmas '07, and my erstwhile design clients at 300million very kindly offered to help. But when I saw their ideas, I had a feeling this could take a while.

They gave me some options, but there was only ever one real contender. And it was fiendishly complicated to produce.



The idea began as a bit of fun. I've lost track of the number of times clients (and others) have told me you can't start a sentence with 'And'. (Usually because they were told so at school.) This is a fallacy, but it's incredibly persistent.

What amazes me is that clients will often accept all manner of challenges from me on their tones of voice, and on other issues of style or grammar, but become quite intractable on this one point.

So I decided to produce a booklet full of quotes on the subject, from revered authorities on written English. And 300million thought it would be nice to produce a booklet that somehow opened up again and again, in active reflection of the conjunctive theme.



Their most ingenious solution meant folding strips of paper in such a miraculous way that what appeared to be a four-page booklet would keep opening along the spine to reveal new, hidden spreads. They managed to do it, and gave Gavin Martin Associates the hugely complex task of printing it.

Both designers and printers worked like Trojans. Gavin Martin actually ran their presses on this four times, having found that the only way to check it properly was to actually print the damned thing. To me, they described it as 'a labour of love'. I suspect they used less polite language in private.



Nevertheless, we got there. And I'm incredibly proud of the result. It's turned from a bit of fun into something surprising, unique and memorable. That's what I reckon anyway, and I'm delighted to say the responses (look here and here) seem to bear me out.

If you haven't had a copy, I'm very sorry. Please drop me a line, and if there are any left I'll get one off to you. (I'm not made of money, and only printed 300.)

(To see the mailer in action, have a look at the video clip here.)