It's a Wonderful Holiday Card
The Van Winkle Law firm is well known in our region as one of the premier and longest-standing firms in Asheville. Over the years, their annual holiday card is one place they choose to push the envelope. It is always a fun project to work on. It serves as a great example of a brand highlighting what makes them unique.
In this case, some of the unique qualities of their brand are:
Its longstanding place in the market.
Their commitment to the community
Supporting community service and pursuit of life outside of the law firm.
Each year they record a holiday song. They publish it in conjunction with delivering a unique card design that features all of the attorneys. It’s an interesting design challenge as there are usually at least 30 of them to represent. Usually, law firms are perceived as a little stuffy and buttoned up. While it’s true that the Van Winkle Firm are consummate professionals, they also are real locals who like to have fun. Their holiday cards are known to be something to look out for each year.
This year they sought inspiration from another holiday classic. It’s a Wonderful Life.
Some of our inspiration
When we initially began conversations around this year’s card we started to explore the idea of the classic Bailey Mansion. It promised to provide a stage for their team to perform in fun ways. So we began to brainstorm how we might approach that.
Ultimately we landed on referencing the movie poster for the outside of the card. We replaced the actors with the founding members of the firm. We also recreated the classic type and similar layout of that poster. Through some photoshop magic, we performed head transplants. (No lawyers were harmed in this delicate operation.)
For the inside, we proposed taking a pop-up card approach to the card design and construction. We sought some inspiration from other architecturally based pop-up cards ranging from home crafts to a card from the White House. We also explored different stylistic approaches and ultimately landed on a size and construction to fit the budget. Stylistically we wanted a friendly hand illustrated feel.
More inspiration
We invited local emerging illustrator and fellow AIGA Asheville member Saige Hopkins to collaborate with us. She applied her skills on the inside illustration and layout. Together we worked to create a cohesive final design.
We also coordinated the sourcing of the actual printed cards, envelopes, and mailing of about 3000 cards. So if you want us to lasso the moon for you on your next project, we’re standing by hot cocoa in hand.
