 "We want something different"; the key line that features in many a customer brief.
Poole based design agency and long standing customer of Penguin Products, DSM Design, were given such an outline when asked to create something special to house tender documents for a number of exclusive Rugby World Cup contracts.
"There were two ways to look at it," Managing Director Barry Moore recalls, "either you see it as a problem in terms of having no definite direction, or as we did, see it as an opportunity to fully exploit the freedom that the customer has given you and come up with something special."
The initial meeting between Penguin and DSM proved invaluable. Although the proposed product had none of the shackles of preconceived ideas in terms of design, there was still the reality of the deadline to contend with. Penguin's account handler Morgan Leadbitter explains; "Important for both parties was the ability to mould design concepts around what was possible in terms of production times. The budget allowed designs to be expansive but it was my job to consider how long in reality that idea would take in terms of tooling, cutters, printing etc. This in turn would influence which materials would be suggested and branding methods that could be used.
DSM set to work and came up with what would be the final product. The subsequent product description was then given to Penguins production team:
A4 Landscape binder 230mm high x 226mm wide. 90mm flap to extend from back cover, fastening onto front cover by way of nickel press-stud.
Both front and back cover to be made from 2mm clear acrylic panels riveted to PVC over board spine. Full colour process printed card flysheet to be fitted inside by way of 4-D-25mm mechanism. Black moulded handle fitted to spine.
From those who conceived it, the production team who made it and the end user
who finally would use this product to make their all-important pitch, everyone involved was well pleased with the result. "It was very satisfying to put the final product into my customer's hands and see instantly that they were impressed with what we had come up with. The project enabled DSM as a design agency to work with a manufacturer who was there every step of the way, making what could have been a headache, in reality a very satisfying process to go through."
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