The award winning entries that make up the UCDA Design Awards Show consistently inspire and amaze. Wouldn’t it be nice to know some of the backstory in how these pieces came to be?
In this post, I had the pleasure of talking to senior creative director Barbara Malec and senior design lead Eric Keezer, from MIT’s Office of Resource Development, about the MIT Top Donor Milestone Gift, recipient of a 2020 Judge’s Choice award. They were kind enough to share their experiences and insights gained in the development of this intricate and multifaceted project.
Could both of you tell our readers a bit about the path that brought you to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)?
Barbara Malec: I took a typical Gen X/liberal and fine arts path. After graduating from Boston College in the late 90s, I worked in the BC libraries while I completed a masters in English literature and taught myself how to design and code websites. After that, I shifted into advertising as an interactive designer/developer, but I also kept one toe in higher ed, teaching a course on the WWW at BC for many years. After almost a decade in advertising, I was looking for more meaningful work, less competition, and fewer crazy hours, so I looked back to higher ed and found myself at MIT’s Resource Development office, where I am now Senior Creative Director after building an in-house design team focused on fundraising marketing and communications.
Eric Keezer: I graduated from SCAD in Savannah, Georgia—and it opened my eyes to the field of graphic design. After college, I was hired with a team of creative freelancers including an art director, film director, and photographer for a capital campaign branding project at MIT. Six months later, after being offered a full-time position, I learned working at MIT is like seeing the future. That fun, spirit of tomorrow finds its way into our fundraising projects. It gives us a lot of creative material to work with and inspires me everyday.
What was your reaction when you learned that your MIT Top Donor Milestone Gift was awarded a Judges Choice prize in the 2020 UCDA Design Awards?
Barbara: I was extremely proud of the work and the team and probably blushing to myself in my home office/porch. I was most excited by the comments of the judges, which confirmed to me that the work spoke for itself, and they understood how challenging it was to execute. It really is one of the most meaningful and collaborative projects I’ve worked on.
Eric: As Barbara said, I feel the judges realized how much collaboration and teamwork went into the design. I felt honored when they appreciated the complexity of the design process.
Can you describe the creative process that helped you arrive at this design solution? What was this origin story of this piece?!?
Barbara: Well, it certainly helps that the story of the glass tiles from the oculus of the Great Dome, the most iconic element of MIT Building 10, is so fascinating in itself. After MIT restored the oculus in 2013, replacing all of the glass tiles and returning light to the library beneath it for the first time since WWII, the facilities department handed a number of the old tiles to our then-director of Donor Relations and Stewardship, thinking that they might make a good gift for donors someday. That day came as a number of our donors approached giving milestones.
The tiles had originally been clear but turned a lovely amethyst color over the years, and they featured the pattern that the architect of MIT’s main buildings, MIT alumnus William Welles Bosworth, included in many of his designs. We’re no strangers to the Bosworth pattern, so it was clear to us that we should continue that motif through the design of the book and packaging. Serendipitously, MIT has a metal foundry, and we were able to work closely with their artisan instructors to execute our sculpture design. The fact that the sculpture’s frame was forged on MIT’s campus was a compelling story. But to me, it’s really the first section of the book, which is customized for each donor’s impact, that I think is most meaningful to both MIT and the gift’s recipients.
Were there any challenges in pitching this concept to your “client”?
Barbara: Everyone loved the idea from the start. The devil was in the details of actually executing on our concepts.
Eric: Often times we develop “preview sets” to help pitch new ideas. These PDFs include multiple ideas with mock-ups, sketches, material textures, font choices, and sample pictures. These visuals help our colleagues see what we imagine. As a rule of thumb, the clearer we make our preview sets the more clarity and confidence our colleagues have in moving forward.
Michael Hutzel (the awarding judge and chief creative officer at FoxFuel Creative) described the Top Donor Milestone Gift as “... memorable, simple in concept, complex in execution, and just beautifully done.” Speaking to the complexity of this piece, there is quite an extensive list of people credited with having a hand in its creation; was it challenging to manage all of the moving parts? Are there specific project management tools you utilize to keep everyone informed and on task? Are there any tips to our readers you could offer on managing complicated, multi-faceted projects?
Barbara: So many vendors! I’ll let Eric talk about the production details, but it was a challenge to time everything and coordinate with so many partners. While we do have a project management system, we also kept track of the small details in a Google Doc. Now we use a product called AirTable to keep track of projects that have so many individual pieces. Our colleagues and vendors at MIT all contributed their special skills—design, production, bookbinding, writing, donor relations, fundraising, logistics, photography, and metal fabrication—and it would not be such a successful project otherwise.
Eric: Finding U.S. manufacturers was somewhat of a challenge. We reached out to many large and small businesses! Luckily, long-time manufacturers have go-to vendors and were happy to share their reliable contacts. When it came to production, it was important to pay for samples. Seeing something in person corrected issues that would not of been found in photos.
From concept to completion, how long did the project take?
Barbara: While we had been talking about it for awhile, and we’re still producing books as needed, I’d say about a year.
Are there any memorable challenges you faced in the creation of this piece? You know, like a global pandemic?
Barbara: The challenge that comes to mind is how heavy it is and making sure the foam structure in the box would hold the book and sculpture snugly. We also had to design and produce a custom bag in order for the gift to be transported. Once the pandemic hit, that did add a lot of complication, as the gift presentations went virtual. The logistics of shipping are especially challenging.
Eric: I learned a lot. For instance, art shipping is really called “freight forwarding.” Bookbinders make beautiful boxes. Soft foam is confusingly hard to cut. Metal can be casted in beach sand.
What has been the response to the Top Donor Gift among the MIT community?
Barbara: The donors who have received this gift have been surprised and delighted, as it’s so uniquely MIT. After receiving the package, one donor wrote to our president: “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love it, love it, love it! … The book is really special to me. It is just great. So much thought went into it and, if you can’t tell, I really am happy. It’s so meaningful to me, and I love it.”
Eric: It’s okay when your audience cries a little (in a good way).
What keeps you both inspired? How do you recharge your creative batteries?
Barbara: In the past, it was travel. I really do try to attend conferences in interesting cities, so that I can be inspired by different art, architecture, and culture… and especially typography. I was so inspired by Portland at the last UCDA conference I attended, which was also my first!
Eric: Learning new software, especially in 3D modeling and printing, augmented reality (AR), and web presentations really has improved how realistic our design ideas can become. I’m inspired by the tool makers and how they push the limits for us designers.
What’s the last good thing you read? (Designer magazine is assumed, so feel free to offer up something else!)
Barbara: This story hit all my buttons – type + puzzles + MIT: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/science/puzzles-fonts-math-demaine.html
Eric: I’m building a small, off-grid solar charging station and the manual for my charge controller was electrifying! :D