CHALLENGE

This booklet was a promotional piece for Partners on Demand (POD) to showcase their sustainable printing techniques and their commitment to environmentally sound printing. The piece needed to speak to how POD really is a partner that can help their customers come up with sound solutions that don't ring false.  

My partner and I were hired to conceive of the piece, structure it, design it, and write copy.  They wanted to speak to graphic designers especially, who might not think of sustainable design solutions as beautiful, or POD (known for digital printing) as capable of high-end printing.

By playing off their name abbreviation, we created a booklet that told the story of POD's values using a pea pod metaphor and words that started with the letter "P"—literally "Ps" in POD's values.

Visually, the illustrations became a second story of a seed being planted into the ground (not unlike an idea at it's initial state) eventually being harvested as the fruits of labor.

Like many print brochures, POD wanted to throw as many techniques as possible at this brochure in order to show off their capabilities. We chose to show AND tell how clients might be able to choose these "sexy" techniques and still be environmentally responsible.

Each colorful spread in the layout represents one of the "Ps" in the pod, and one of POD's core values. The story builds from simple to more complicated as the book unfolds, and each layout is a combination of custom digitally-drawn illustration and hand-altered type, with analog painted textures overlaid digitally.

Vellum overlays were printed with line drawings, opaque white, and sometimes colored ink to show off the illustration and highlight the manufacturing notes and sustainability credentials printed on the opposite page. 

To showcase POD's printing capabilities, we used processes that didn't require harmful chemicals or glues like embossing, water-based coatings, soy inks, entirely recycled and recyclable metal part bindings, FSC-certified, wind-power manufactured papers sourced locally, and more. The specifications were noted within each layout throughout the brochure, in tiny type on the back of the colored pages. 

IMPACT

POD used this brochure for three years to market their authentic, designer-friendly solutions for sustainable printing. They have worked with AIGA Portland and PSU's Graphic Design program to promote sustainable printing and design partnerships following our work together.

We continue to do freelance work with POD.