Project: Goalkeepers Invitation Package (2018)
Client: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Role: Lead Print Designer
Agency: POSSIBLE (Seattle)
Printer: DCG One (Seattle)
In 2015, world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development to achieve a better world by 2030. Started by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Goalkeepers is a catalyst for action toward these goals—bringing together leaders from around the world to accelerate progress toward ending poverty and fighting inequality.
It was important to both Bill & Melinda that the guests invited to Goalkeepers 2018 were familiar with Hans Rosling’s book Factfulness, which offers a new perspective from which to view the world. Their goal was to personally send a copy to each of the guests in a way that had meaning and relevance. With the desire to make the package a true gift for each recipient, they reached out to their creative partners at POSSIBLE for assistance.
Most of my partnerships with POSSIBLE are for digital work, and when I was approached to lead the design on the gift box packaging, I was delighted — even when the pressure of the fast turn-around was revealed. My writing partner, George Laney, and I got to work on concepts right away.
Right away we locked in on Hans’ key point in Factfulness: that to make positive change in the world, we have to stop looking at it in black and white. To prove his point, he uses a quiz format to reveal the truth behind the date: that we are making improvements in gender equality, that poverty is decreasing. Yes, a lot of improvements remain to be made, but as a whole we’re doing better than common perception leads us to believe.
The outside of the box is white with a spot-varnish of the Goalkeepers logomark. As the box is opened, a quote from Factfulness is revealed and sets the tone of the invitation.
Fully opened, the inside of the top box flap reveals the event name, a thank you, and the event hashtag, all in white type on a black background. Resting in the box, also black, is a flat sheet of heavy paper stock with text in white type reading “Important: Contents will change your worldview.”
When flipped over, the back side is a colorful pattern of words capturing the myriad ways Goalkeepers identify themselves: Politician, Founder, Educator, Athlete, Mother, Poet, Disruptor, et cetera. A message in the bottom right corner prompts the recipient’s first interaction with what’s under the flat sheet.
Removing the flat sheet reveals a panel of Building on Hans’ quiz format, we chose a series of questions that directly correspond to the 6 key Global Goals that are the focus of the Goalkeepers:
- No Poverty
- Zero Hunger
- Good Health & Well-Being
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Clean Water & Sanitation
The questions, presented in black & white, are printed on paper doors (like an advent calendar), that open to reveal the answer in full color (the color corresponds to its respective Global Goal). Each flap uncovers a compartment containing an object, the largest one being the Factfulness book.
The other compartments hold Goalkeepers-branded objects that will be useful while reading the book: a pad of paper, a pen & highlighter, a bookmark, a booklet outlining the 17 Global Goals, and a Goalkeepers pin (to be worn at the 2018 Goalkeepers conference in NYC).
In the center of the box is a square envelope, personalized with the recipient’s name and containing a card from Bill & Melinda Gates that explains the intent of the gift package.
Another personal touch that Bill & Melinda gave the package were 4 handwritten notes calling out points they found interesting in the book. Each was placed in the book on its corresponding page, so that the reader can see them along the fore edge of the book when they pick it up. If they were only to read these 4 facts, they would already be in a better position to participate in the Goalkeepers conference.
I could not be more pleased with how the project turned out, and our team was happy to hear that Bill & Melinda felt the same way. The real pleasure was seeing the guests share their excitement over the package with others — by engaging them in a tangible, interactive educational experience, we set the stage for the dialog and discourse they’d experience at the conference.
All photographs of unboxing courtesy of recipients William, Evans, and Alexandra. Thank you for sharing your #Goalkeepers18 experience with others.
As a well-organized, dynamic visual creative with over two decades of experience in agency and studio settings, Amy Redmond provides thoughtful design leadership to innovative non-profit and corporate clients focused on making a positive impact in our communities. To keep her creativity refreshed, Amy balances design work with time in her letterpress studio (Amada Press. She also teaches at Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts.
