In January 2020 we were assigned to design an invitation. Well an invitation to the end of the world, but still, pretty straightforward right? Wrong. See at that time, a time before masks, quarantines, a time of innocence to the horrors ahead, I decided that I wanted to make this an invitation to the end of the world caused by a massive pandemic. A party where masks were not only required for entry, they were provided.
That’s right folks, 3 months before we entered a pandemic I had started a project about the world ending because of a plague, more specifically ending on December 12th, 2020. To tie into the inclusion of a fabric plague mask, these invitations are printed textured paper with a vellum overlay. The cards are also sealed with a wax stamp. This makes the whole unboxing experience very tactical and makes the overall invitation feel thoughtful and special, just a little something nice before the world ends.
The invitation is a combination of set type as well as hand-lettering in the callouts. The hand-drawn poison drink illustrations tie into the hand-lettering and hand-drawn logo. Did I mention this party is a mass-suicide party?
The invitation includes a simple RSVP card for the invitee to fill out and return. Now, this project clearly did not age well as the year went on. However, the delicate patterns sourced from the 1800s, muted colors and elegant type is, in my opinion, timeless.
project specifications
PROGRAMS: Procreate, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop
FONTS: Adorn Engraved, Mrs Eaves, Brandon Grotesque
Patterns: Old Design Shop, A Handbook of Ornament by Franz Sales Meyer, circa 1877
ART DIRECTION: Scott Laserow