Creative Firms Collaborate On Sixth Winter Book
December 11, 2006
(Orlando, FL) Every winter for the last six years, some of the foremost names in Orlando’s advertising and design community have taken a break from their daily work to collaborate on a unique annual project, a winter storybook. This year’s book, One city. One building. One winter, and the five previous creative gems incorporate the talents of the writers at Think Creative Inc., the designers at Lure Design, the web developers at Drive New Media, Scaletta Photography and illustrator Kim Fox.
Mark Freid, owner of Think Creative, who brought the project to life with Jeff Matz and Paul Mastriani of Lure Design in 2001, says he is somewhat surprised that the project is still going strong after all these years. “The funny thing is that I didn’t even know Jeff and Paul that well when I floated the idea by them,” Freid explained. “I just knew that I wanted to do something different as a holiday promotion from our firm, and I also wanted to pursue a more personal creative project. Fortunately, Jeff and Paul loved the idea, too.”
These limited edition books have allowed the collaborators to explore their creativity, mine the depths of their imaginations and create a truly original work of art that serves as a much coveted gift to clients and colleagues. Each book is unique except for the fact that the story Freid writes always takes place in winter and the book itself is always 6 inches by 7 inches. Other than that, each is as different from the last as the group can make it.
“The first book used layers of acetate pages,” Matz recollects. “One year, we screen-printed every page by hand. We’ve used exotic papers, mixed illustration and photography and basically ventured down whatever path the story leads us.”
Matz’ business partner and fellow designer, Mastriani, agrees. “We approach this book the way we would an ideal client,” he says. “It starts with a blank canvas and a whole lot of ideas. Everyone contributes to the initial brainstorming session. It’s wild, a little out of control, but fun. We’re all friends, so we can say anything to each other. And I mean anything.”
Starting in October, the group schedules regular brainstorming sessions between busy schedules working for long time clients in industries ranging from hospitality to financial services to professional services to non-profits. Each year, these sessions become a free-for-all of ideas and suggestions. Some of the ideas make it into the book; others get filed away, often finding their way into projects for actual clients.
For the past three years, Cliff Manspeaker of Drive New Media has created a complementary website for the book. Manspeaker and Kim Fox crafted an animated version of the 2003 book, Beatrice’s Birthmark, a virtual wishing machine for 2004’s The Wishing Machine, and last year, Manspeaker and the crew created a site for a fictitious city that was the setting for The Reds, the Greens, and the Sweetest Honey Anyone had Ever Tasted.
“I enjoy the collaborative effort between all the different members of the team,” Manspeaker added. “Each of us has a different skill set, but we all contribute to both the book and website, feeding off of each other’s creative ideas.”
Scaletta, too, focuses on the collaboration as the part of the project he most enjoys. “I approach each book as a traditional project,” he says, “in that the assignment involves all the aspects of the creative process from concept to execution. The difference is, while I’m working with the art directors’ vision and trying to represent the story in the best way possible, I don’t have all the other distractions that usually accompany corporate projects. I feel like my ideas and involvement are welcomed from the start and not treated like an afterthought.”
Freid agrees that one of the liberating aspects of the project is getting all the players involved from the very earliest stages. “This project is about the process more than the final product. This is about us showing our clients how amazing the results can be with a true collaboration.”
And it’s working. Over the years, the piece has evolved into a powerful marketing tool. Today, clients start asking members of the group months ahead of time how the project is coming and pry them for hints as to the story or subject matter of the new work. Equally important, clients see elements in the books that they ask about incorporating into their own marketing pieces, from photographic ideas to binding techniques to taking a more story like approach to how they communicate the features and benefits of their own organizations.
To celebrate the release of the book, the group hosts a party that draws on ideas and concepts from the story into the theme of the gathering. With the party, the collaborators not only want to show their clients and colleagues a good time, they also want to show them that they are creative thinkers in everything they do and most importantly, that creative ideas get noticed and remembered.
The books and websites have also been recognized in another way. They have won a number of awards, including local and district Addys and have been featured in two esteemed design publications, Print Magazine and Communication Arts.
When asked if he’d ever like to see the stories published on a larger scale, Freid hesitates, “I guess I’d have to say yes, I’d love to see them have a bigger audience. But I get so much satisfaction out of how we work as a team on this project, that it almost doesn’t feel right to wish for anything more.”
The group encourages people to find out more about the project by visiting the previous years’ websites at www.beatricesbirthmark.com, www.thewishingmachine.com and www.visitmasonville.com. This year’s site can be found at www.meetrogeradler.com. Freid says people can also contact any of the collaborators and, “chances are, we’ll gladly send you a copy of the book.”
In the meantime, these creative professionals are going to enjoy the fruits of their labor for a few months and then, Matz says, “we have to start thinking about what we could possibly do next year to top it.”
Think Creative Inc. (www.thinkcreativeinc.com) is an award-winning creative shop that specializes in providing thoughtful and thought-provoking advertising and marketing solutions to clients in diverse industries. Think Creative has also written, directed, produced and collaborated on several short films and documentaries.
Lure Design (www.luredesigninc.com) was founded in 1998. This celebrated design firm has been featured in numerous national and international books and publications including Communication Arts, GRAPHIS, Print, The Art Directors Annual and Swag-Rock Posters of the 90s. Lure is currently working on developing their own hand printed products including note cards, gift tags and journals.
Interactive developer Cliff Manspeaker Jr. is the owner and technical/creative force behind Drive New Media (www.drivenewmedia.com), a full-service interactive media company focusing on website development, site maintenance and multimedia solutions.
Scaletta Photography (www.scalettaphotography) has gained notoriety, awards, and a loyal client base by shooting stunning images of diverse subjects, from exotic locations to elaborate productions, from rich lifestyle imagery to documentary style assignments.
Kim Fox (www.kimfoxart.com) is a painter and illustrator whose work has been published in Communication Arts and Print. She lives in Pittsburgh with her cool husband, three dogs and 60,000 bees.
