ProjectFLEX – Planning and Design

Written by: Courtney Lesley

Showing the industry what we can do

I got the idea for ProjectFLEX from working on promotional print projects with my employer. It was our way of “putting our money where our mouth is.” What better way to show the industry what you can do than to design and create the exact products that they expertly craft every day? So, when the Women of Flexo team was discussing ways to be more involved with our industry, this felt like the perfect opportunity.

We started by outlining what the project would look like, asking ourselves questions like,

• What material sponsors will we need?
• Who is already involved with the Women of Flexo and would like to be involved?
• What will our timeline look like?
• Can we turn this into an annual project?

After getting a firm grasp on our goals we presented ProjectFLEX to the subcommittees of Women of Flexo and they loved the idea! Several women reached out immediately to volunteer as sponsors and contributors to the project. We couldn’t have pulled it off without the help of:

• Laura Wright (CSW)
• Kiersten Borden (XSYS)
• Paige Sokolnik (Anderson & Vreeland)
• Michelle Suki Bost (Clemson)
• Katie Graham (BOBST)

Finding a partner

During my first brainstorming session for ProjectFLEX, I thought Amor Artis Brewing would be the perfect partner. They had just opened a second location in an old label printing facility, which they aptly named The Print Shop. I also knew they brewed a special edition beer called Boss Lady every year for International Women’s Day, which uses a unique hop blend curated by the Pink Boots Society. Much like the Women of Flexo, this organization focuses on supporting and educating women in the beer industry. What I didn’t know was that Amor Artis had never designed a label for Boss Lady, so when I approached them about Project Flex it seemed like a perfect fit!

Bringing the designs to life

After meeting with the brewery to learn more about them and their Boss Lady beer, it was time to create design concepts. I typically start by browsing design websites like the Dieline to see what’s trending in the packaging space. From there I took some of my favorite elements and created 5 design concepts. I presented those to a small group of WoF leaders and we chose a favorite, which I then presented to the brewery. Thankfully they loved it! Then it was time to select the final images and design elements and start placing them into an existing label template from the brewery. Once we all signed off on the final design files, it was time to pass the baton to Laura and her prepress team at CSW.

Stay tuned for the next post in this series to learn more about every step of our process and to see the final results!