H2D Productions Presents: a Record Year for Giving
As an ongoing tradition, at the end of each year we send our clients a combined gift: a donation in their name to a given charity, paired with an inspired promotional piece that we create to enjoy all year round. This year clients received not just one but a series of mailpieces in six bimonthly installments: a lovingly-produced, super-realistic faux 45-rpm record which doubles as a calendar, complete with the yellow center adapter for easy wall hanging. The first mailing was January (Side A) and February (Side B), and so on. We selected charities for each record/calendar to parallel the story being told by our song choice.
Each record label design was inspired by the artists and songs we selected and each has a level of historical accuracy. It was important for us to represent different genres in the series to tell our story. Regarding the tactile realism of the execution: because we produce for ourselves what we are selling to our clients, we felt it mandatory to push the aesthetic to the highest level. The resulting pieces were so authentic and realistic that — we kid you not — more than one person contacted us with an issue of the record not playing properly when they had put it on their turntable and dropped the needle on it. We took that as the highest praise to all involved in creating a successful, dimensional experience!
*** Click the thumbnails below to see the collection and read the individual charity pairings ***
“How2Design proudly welcomes you to the first installment of our Record Calendar Series: a unique six-part mailing that brings you a collection of music-inspired design, for use and enjoyment all year round. Each piece has a flipside, so it stays in rotation for two months, then you can look forward to new hits to come… But with H2D, there’s always more! As accompaniment for each piece in the set, we are continuing our agency’s important tradition of goodwill by making donations in your name to six different charitable causes throughout the year. This year, we chose multiple causes to illustrate the strength and impact of long-term planning — just as you should consider H2D for your immediate and ongoing communication needs. Hang your calendar with joy, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!”
Mohawk Fine Papers, the company that manufactures the sheet used on the promotion, caught news of our mailing and decided to cover the story for their national, consumer-facing blog Felt&Wire. Pam Williams of Felt&Wire sat down with Principal and Creative Director Noemi Zelanski Kearns of Ink&Pixel (formerly How2Design) and they had the following to say about the piece…