If there’s anything I’m a sucker for, it’s design and history. And the fabulously named Moo.com stationery company just won my heart with a promotional collection they created that combines both.
Their Famous Stationery collection features business cards and letterheads for a bunch of famous folks like Winston Churchill and Benjamin Franklin. The structured each design around the figure, letting the individual’s work and personality guide the aesthetic.
The results are a total embodiment of the influential figures, but with a fresh, modern touch:
Charles Darwin’s set looks like it could have been torn from one of his notebooks. The business cards feature delicate pen drawings of animals like cheetahs and butterflies that have a scientific feel. The animals are split in half — matching up with others in the set — which hints at the evolutionary process.
Jane Austen’s are printed on muted pastel paper. Both the stationery and business cards feature silhouettes that are reminiscent of the Victorian times. However, some include Austen quotes in the shape of her silhouette. The text is curvy and thin, exactly what I would imagine her script to be.
I think the designs really excel here because it manages to create a recognizable brand for each of these individuals in a subtle, tongue-in-cheek sort of way. Vincent van Gogh’s set doesn’t include any of his paintings, but the simulation of his painting style is unmistakable. Albert Einstein’s cards are stark and simple, a nod to his scientific mindset. The only hint of Einstein’s accomplishments is the bolding of e = mc2 in his address.
Everything from the iconography to the font choices reflects the people in question. Many of Moo.com’s designs don’t even list the people’s titles, but it doesn’t have to. Even if I had no idea who these people were, I’d get a pretty good idea by looking at this collection. That’s exactly what business cards should do. But somehow, in a world obsessed with personal branding, most of the cards I’m handed are painfully generic. Customizing stationery is a huge undertaking, but Moo.com shows just how worthwhile it is.
And that, my friends, is why this is a brilliant advertising strategy on the website’s part. The company shows what’s possible with carefully crafted design work and lets customers know they can have it, too.
As someone who has struggled through designing and redesigning business cards and resumes, I’m majorly impressed by Moo.com’s design team. Now, to come up with the unmistakable Shayna aesthetic…
Shayna Posses 