This press kit is intended to communicate news of an upcoming release of The Best Australian Stories 2016 from Black Inc Books, and invite the recipient to a celebratory pre-release event. The pack aims to inform them of the story collection, encourage them to attend the event, and share the book’s existence to others, all in a way that is engaging, interactive, exciting and memorable.The designs take inspiration from one of the stories in the collection, Coca-Cola Birds Sing Sweetest in The Morning. Such design works to support the intentions for the pack, as well as provide a glimpse into the underlying concept - that is of holding onto the ghosts of the past (in relation to time) through retaining items of memorable, personal value. The protagonist in the story does this, and it is anticipated that with the nature of my applications that they will be treated in a similar way.
Aside from the external sleeve and envelope, all kit contents are devised so that they can be repurposed, rebuilt or kept. A postcard / invite combo application makes the recipient aware of the book event, and also encourages them to share the collection with friends by way of a relevantly designed postcard that can be torn away from the invite. The invite additionally has a magnet so that when placed on say, a fridge, the viewer is reminded of the collection and event. The last applications work hand in hand with one another - first is an interactive activity that requires you to build a 3d standing bird. This is then wrapped up in a diagonal wrap paper that doubles as a nice piece of art as well as a poster for the collection, and the other stories and authors included.
All stronger visuals from the narrative are more detailed, but contrast and balance well with simplistic clean design to hold the pack together. Through playing out small glimpses of a select narrative, the viewer can be enticed into reading into the full collection.
