American Patchwork & Quilting magazine has partnered with quilt shops across the nation to run an ongoing promotion — asking its readers to make and donate 1 million pillowcases to children in need. They have promised to continue until they reach their goal of 1 million donations. The campaign is updated and promoted heavily once a year. So the challenge becomes, how do you maintain the core elements of the campaign while making it fresh year after year?
For this project, I worked in tandem with a member of the Meredith creative team. She was struggling to come up with new directions and asked me to help. We brainstormed options, then got to work. She coordinated the set and models. I art directed as photos were taken on site at the Meredith facility with staff photographers. I did all initial design, creating the first online ads and full page print ads. When I handed off files it provided a template for the Meredith team to create the remaining ads in the series, along with other coordinating pieces.
We worked like this for a few years. The first year I utilized a bright colored border to add a pop of color that would tie all the campaign pieces together. We look photos of kids sitting on various wooden chairs, stools, and rugs to add just a hint of environment to the ads. I also added a white pillowcase shape behind the existing campaign logo to add dimension and contain such a complex element.
One of the following years the copywriter was using a "Brighten his/her/their world" headline. It made sense to run the ads mostly in black & white, leaving just the headline, the kids, and their pillowcases in full color for impact. While we liked the concept, the ads seemed a little too bleak — so I superimposed subtle patterns onto the walls with Photoshop (stripes, polka dots, chevrons), which added some fun personality.
