Great Design in Surprising Places

Occasionally a flower pops up in a field of weeds and sometimes you find great design in unusual places.  This week I reached into my mailbox and from the great wad of waste therein (most bound straight for the recycled bin), a sliver of direct mail caught my eye – the goal of every direct mailer, right?

I typically write about social and environmental impact with occasional forays into branding when it moves me: strategy, design, positioning, messaging.

One of the last places I find good design is the realm of politics. Doesn’t matter which party, either.  Occasionally there are gems and when there are, I write about them – such was the case last year with an artful yard sign.

My mailbox yielded another instance of strong design. It comes from Nikson Mathews, a candidate for the Idaho State Legislature.

And no wonder the design is so smart – turns out Nikson is associate creative director at a crackerjack creative agency here in Boise called Against.

 Here’s what I like about this direct mailer.

• Bold use of type. The first thing I saw in my mailbox was a slice of that big “YOUR” and it immediately piqued my curiosity.
• Information design. It’s got a great flow that guides you quickly and efficiently through the front panel. Clean, clean, clean.
• Messaging. I’m a big fan of “threes.”  Triads, trinities, troikas, triangles, tequila shots – and three key points to convey the messages (body, books, rights) you want to stick with your audience – again, bolstered by use of strong type.
• Bare bones copy. As a writer, I know how much gnashing at the keyboard it takes to distill copy to its essence, which Nikson has accomplished. And I love the line broken out in boldface on the mailing panel: Advocacy is not a substitute for representation.
• Great use of infographics.  In this case they present statistics that ladder back to the three key messages and make you WANT to read the copy.
• Color palette. Oh, oh, oh – It’s so different and pleasing and positive! It combines to create a sense of hope. Don’t underestimate the power of breaking out from the traditional reds and blues!

Full disclosure: I know Nikson, but not all that well.  As luck would have it, two days later they landed on my front porch, doing the door-to-door knocking thing around the neighborhood.  We had a good talk, I complimented them on the direct mailer, and wished them well in their campaign.

Don’t you just love good design wherever you find it – even if, or especially when, it’s in a political campaign?

Godspeed, friends.

Russ

💬 Quote of the Week

“All the goodness and the heroisms will rise up again, then be cut down again and rise up. It isn’t that the evil thing wins — it never will — but that it doesn’t die.” John Steinbeck

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💥 Quick Hits

• Fueling Ultra-Fast Fashion – Sounds kind of funky, but have you ever heard of the "Deminimis Loophole"? Smart writing on the unsustainable cycle of cheap, disposable clothing from our friends at TS Designs.

• "We are not made to sit in a rocking chair and knit" – In an update to a story we wrote about last year (Power to the People), a powerful European court has ruled that climate inaction by Switzerland violates human rights in a lawsuit brought by senior citizens.

• Consolidation in sustainable consumerism – Karma Wallet, known for its sustainable financial products, acquires an early trailblazer in sustainable shopping, DoneGood. Wishing Cullen Schwarz well on his post-DoneGood endeavors.

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