Presidential Holiday Card for MIT
Creative Direction
Barbara Malec
Art Direction
Elizabeth Connolly
Writer
Melissa Marshall
Editing & Proofreading
Evanthia Malliris
Barbara Malec
Art Direction
Elizabeth Connolly
Writer
Melissa Marshall
Editing & Proofreading
Evanthia Malliris
Art Direction & Design
Melissa Marshall
Paper Engineering
Melissa Marshall
Origami Pattern Provided by
Brian Chan
Stamp Illustration
Melissa Marshall
Melissa Marshall
Paper Engineering
Melissa Marshall
Origami Pattern Provided by
Brian Chan
Stamp Illustration
Melissa Marshall
Designed for MIT President, L. Rafael Reif, and Mrs. Christine Reif, this card embraces craft and encourages curiosity.
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As the recipient pulls on the silver string attached to the center of the card, a delicate paper engineered cobweb ascends, revealing a hidden silver-foiled message reading “May curiosity rule your world in the new year!”
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Foil stamped in a bright, lively blue, the front of the holiday card features the MIT seal and an origami crease pattern created by MIT alumnus, Brian Chan. From the information printed on the back of the card, we learn that Chan’s pattern folds into the figures featured in the MIT seal that represent MIT's motto of "mind and hand." Recipients were directed to view a video of Brian constructing the origami: alum.mit.edu/holiday2018/origami
A custom stamp illustrating MIT's Great Dome was also designed to reflect the design of the card. The card was mailed to over 800 of MIT's closest friends.
As the recipient pulls on the silver string attached to the center of the card, a delicate paper engineered cobweb ascends, revealing a hidden silver-foiled message reading “May curiosity rule your world in the new year!”
Foil stamped in a bright, lively blue, the front of the holiday card features the MIT seal and an origami crease pattern created by MIT alumnus, Brian Chan. From the information printed on the back of the card, we learn that Chan’s pattern folds into the figures featured in the MIT seal that represent MIT's motto of "mind and hand." Recipients were directed to view a video of Brian constructing the origami: alum.mit.edu/holiday2018/origami
A custom stamp illustrating MIT's Great Dome was also designed to reflect the design of the card. The card was mailed to over 800 of MIT's closest friends.
Project Duration
April 2018 through December 2018
Specs
6.25” Square Card: This card is duplexed together with 105# Smooth Stardream in Crystal for the front panel and 100# Cover weight Stardream in Silver for the back panel. The interior (underneath the cobweb) and the back of the card were printed using an HP Indigo Digital Press at Puritan Capital.
Special thanks to our Print Production Liaison, Jake Faiola at Puritan Press for working with us bring this card to life!
April 2018 through December 2018
Specs
6.25” Square Card: This card is duplexed together with 105# Smooth Stardream in Crystal for the front panel and 100# Cover weight Stardream in Silver for the back panel. The interior (underneath the cobweb) and the back of the card were printed using an HP Indigo Digital Press at Puritan Capital.
Special thanks to our Print Production Liaison, Jake Faiola at Puritan Press for working with us bring this card to life!
This card's cobweb technique was inspired by a collection of cobweb valentine cards that live in The Metropoliton Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints. The Met originally shared the collection in a blog post in 2017 which featured several particularly rare and delicate cobweb designs from as early as the 17th century.
After production, I became obsessed with making cobweb cards and started PapercutApothecary.com in March of 2020. When you're amidst a pandemic...might as well jump!
About
Studio Skiffle, shorthandedly referenced here as §, is the playful and improvisational award-winning design and art practice of M. Marshall. Marshall has passion for color, smells, culture, the real, the surreal, the known and the unknown. The work of § reflects the curious and processual methods embraced while exploring and improvising with both digital and analogue technologies.
Studio Skiffle, shorthandedly referenced here as §, is the playful and improvisational award-winning design and art practice of M. Marshall. Marshall has passion for color, smells, culture, the real, the surreal, the known and the unknown. The work of § reflects the curious and processual methods embraced while exploring and improvising with both digital and analogue technologies.
What’s a Skiffle?
The name of § was influenced by the music genre, Skiffle. Familiar to few, Skiffle music is often played using improvised spirit and music instruments alike. When happening upon the word and musical world of Skiffle, Marshall felt a great kinship between the essence of Skiffle and her own design processes which often involve improvising, playing and exploring different mediums and techniques.
The name of § was influenced by the music genre, Skiffle. Familiar to few, Skiffle music is often played using improvised spirit and music instruments alike. When happening upon the word and musical world of Skiffle, Marshall felt a great kinship between the essence of Skiffle and her own design processes which often involve improvising, playing and exploring different mediums and techniques.