It’s 2011, and if you would like to be sneaky about something, you’re going to have to pull out some unexpected tricks, because people aren’t phased by much of anything these days. Stereoscopy is a hundred year old optical illusion that everybody still seems to be enamored with. It’s participatory, lighthearted, and clever. I’d like to see photos of people’s reactions while wearing these big, orange paper glasses.
The challenge we faced with this project was to help a couple to actually surprise their families with the fact that they were expecting a baby. They didn’t know how to spring it on them without someone jumping to the conclusion and killing the surprise.
We figured that the root of the problem lies in the approach. So we thought it best to eliminate the approach all together. Sneak up on them. Ambush them with the great news.
To do this we created a letterpress printed announcement with the message hidden from view, as well as some custom printed and die-cut glasses to help decode the hidden text. The simple monogramed letterpress card features a pleasant but ambiguous illustration printed only in red ink. The card politely asks that you adorn the accompanying glasses, which at first resemble classic 3D movie shades only both of the lenses are red. When the card is viewed with the glasses the red lenses cancel out the red illustration and reveal the great news that’s printed beneath.
A custom blue and red ink were mixed in-house to get the exact result needed when viewed through the red lenses.
Former intern at UnderConsideration LLC.
More: Online / On Twitter
FPO (For Print Only), is a division of UnderConsideration, celebrating the reality that print is not dead by showcasing the most compelling printed projects.
FPO uses Fonts.com to render Siseriff and Avenir Next.
FPO is run with Six Apart’s MovableType
All comments, ideas and thoughts on FPO are property of their authors; reproduction without the author’s or FPO’s permission is strictly prohibited
Twitter @ucllc
Mailing list managed by MailChimp
UnderConsideration is a graphic design firm generating its own projects, initiatives, and content while taking on limited client work. Run by Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit in Bloomington, IN. More…
blogs we publish
Brand New / Displaying opinions and focusing solely on corporate and brand identity work.
Art of the Menu / Cataloguing the underrated creativity of menus from around the world.
Quipsologies / Chronicling the most curious, creative, and notable projects, stories, and events of the graphic design industry on a daily basis.
products we sell
Flaunt: Designing effective, compelling and memorable portfolios of creative work.
Brand New Conference videos / Individual, downloadable videos of every presentation since 2010.
Prints / A variety of posters, the majority from our AIforGA series.
Other / Various one-off products.
events we organize
Brand New Conference / A two-day event on corporate and brand identity with some of today's most active and influential practitioners from around the world.
Brand Nieuwe Conference / Ditto but in Amsterdam.
Austin Initiative for Graphic Awesomeness / A speaker series in Austin, TX, featuring some of the graphic design industry's most awesome people.
also
Favorite Things we've Made / In our capacity as graphic designers.
Projects we've Concluded / Long- and short-lived efforts.
UCllc News / Updates on what's going at the corporate level of UnderConsideration.
Related entries
Cyrus Clark Coleman’s Graduation Announcement
Pharmacy School Graduation Announcement
John B. Connally Senior Graduation Announcement
Rosine Birth Announcement
Birth Announcement Card for Baby Charline