If you’re in the market for new business cards or a cutting-edge new advertising medium, you should take a look at this brilliant idea – your message or logo etched right onto a real leaf, no paint necessary! The resulting leaves are simple, stunning when looked at against the sunlight, and the best part is that if they are thrown away, there is no adverse effect on the environment. Design Firm Tatil Design of Brazil came up with the elegant marketing idea, which they recently used in 2008 during the 55th Cannes Advertising Festival to promote their “Designing Naturally” workshop. Natural Medium, which is what they call their amazing laser cut leaves, was so popular and well received at the festival that it won the Bronze Award for the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards in Eco Design.
The purpose of the “Designing Naturally” workshop was to discuss the role of design as a tool to transform the future, giving examples of solutions with low environmental and high sensorial impact. Wanting to find a way to naturally promote their design workshop back in 2008, Tatil Design came up with a simple idea that not only demonstrated the purpose of their workshop, but was elegant and beautiful to look at. The designers collected fallen leaves and then selected images that expressed the intent of the workshop. Designs varied from animals to dancers, burgers to planes, and ants to a soup can. The images were then laser cut into the dried leaves, which left a beautiful silhouette of the picture and the wording to advertise the workshop.
The leaves were a big hit at the festival. Steve Latham, contents coordinator of the 55th Cannes Publicity Festival, said: “I must say that in my 3 years organizing the Cannes Lions Festival, the work put into the marketing for this workshop has actually been the best I’ve ever seen, in the seminar program and the workshop program. It was so creative and simple, environmentally friendly….it’s just been fantastic. I’ve seen people playing with these things, with the leaves, trying to understand what they are…and, of course, there’s a message in there inviting people to come to workshop. I found it just amazing and innovative. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the making of this project and it is something I would recommend as an idea for future seminar and workshop holders. So, congratulations!”
Photos via Tatil Design
It doesn’t get any greener than this! I remember seeing the business card of a carpenter carved in wood a couple years ago. I though that was very original and appropriate for the business.