Preserving our national treasures...
The Royal Botanic Gardens approached Think HQ with the idea of creating a beautiful book with which to gift existing and potential major donors. The piece was intended to be something tangible and memorable to leave behind after having fund-raising conversations with philanthropic individuals. Given that this calibre of audience is not easily impressed, the book needed to be produced to the highest quality – to feel like a beautiful keepsake rather than a piece of marketing material.
Working in partnership with one of our copy writers, we came up with three concepts:
Concept 1
Concept 1 was conceived as a beautifully produced coffee table style book, featuring campaign messaging delivered alongside lush reproductions of botanical art. The vintage styling of the illustrations referenced the history of the RBG and the tradition of botanical science. Using these illustrations in full colour made this piece a joyful celebration of that which we are trying to preserve.
Concept 2
Concept 2 was imagined to be a history of the Royal Botanic Gardens, its role in the culture of Melbourne, and its importance as a knowledge centre. It would describe some of the most significant specimens in the collection, highlighting the importance of what we are striving to save. This book was intended to feel significant, important... the historical style of the illustrations and the elegance of the design aesthetic, and the high level of production all emphasised the message that we are striving to conserve something of national importance.
Concept 3
Concept 3 was to weave the campaign messaging throughout a collection of poetry about the beauty of Australian nature. This would turn the book into a meaningful keepsake for recipients to treasure. The aesthetic style used in this concept is very tactile and personal, with hand written type used for titles and graphic texture, hand drawn illustrations and notes, snapshots, pressed flowers – all speaking to keepsakes and collections, the precious things we tuck away and keep safe.
With dust jacket
Without dust jacket
Unfortunately, due to unseen circumstances, this project did not move beyond concept phase.
CREDITS: I worked on this project as an employee of Think HQ.
