case studies prince's trust 30th birthday auction brochure

Not only is the Prince's Trust an honour to work for, but for this particular project they gave RPA the opportunity to design their 30th birthday auction brochure. Getting the design right would mean having a direct impact on the amount of money the Trust raised for its excellent cause. The previous year's brochure had been designed by the worldwide critically aclaimed design agency, Atik, so this was quite an outfit to follow. No pressure then!

Due to the nature of the cause, we decided to get involved beyond mere design and so looked for opportunities for the Trust to place in their auction. Through our contacts we managed to get them The Kaiser Chiefs; they promptly went on to sell personal apprearances with them four times! That was almost as rewarding as hearing the final tally raised.

 

The brochure was to go to the wealthiest business people in the North and needed a shelf-life of around six months. The design was 50 page A4 portrait, printed five colours on uncoated Tauro paper; an FSC certified stock that the Prince would have approved of. We slightly tarnished the environmental credentials of the brochure by applying a matt laminate and spot varnish to the cover, but we had to strike a balance between being responsible and being practical. The challenge was to work with images sourced from a variety of locations and make them all work together and appear to be of the same quality of origination. We also had to make them work at full page size, so we applied subtle filters to create a hint of watercolour. The paisley design on the front cover was hand drawn and was worth the effort, creating an opulent interiors-inspired feel.

 

 

So that's the visual, but that's not what we're all about, bottom line is what interests us. The previous year's brochure raised £64,000, but we managed to eclipse that with £125,000 raised for the cause.