How to make a special gift [In 3 STEPS]

Life is too short to make boring gifts! We had a blast organizing and designing this small yet precious gift for a special lady, gathering words of love and appreciation from 125 people who were impacted, in a way or another, by her life.

Client feedback: 😭😭😭

Cost: $

Gift value: $$$$$$ (in love currency)

We've detailed the process of this pro-bono project, take a peek and leave inspired for your next big birthday gift!

Gathering birthday messages in a simple and rapid way

Forget the hassle of screening through hundreds of Whatsapp messages, or manually filling an Excel sheet. We've made the process pleasant, visual and quick using Typeform. Very intuitive, easy to set up and beautifully presented - we love it!

[STEPS]

1. Create an account on Typeform. Choose a template to start with, and place your own questions and instructions. Customize the look.

2. Connect with a Google Sheet. This will automatically upload all the messages in one single place, and make data-check easier.

3. Test

4. And SHARE! We've shared the link in a Whatsapp broadcast to call for a prompt action, and progressively ticked off as people were submitting their birthday wishes. Set a deadline to submitting, or you'll go nuts!

5. Follow up. Yes, people forget and procrastinate! Send reminders and be sensitive towards older people who might struggle with technology.

Sublimating each loving word

Fast-forward 4 weeks, during which we were busy collecting and checking all messages, we then proceeded to create a lovely booklet.

[STEPS]

1. Select the size for your booklet. We wanted it to be small and thick, and expected to have about 100 pages, so we opted for a 150x110mm size (small envelope).

2. Create the cover and page design. Start by defining the general look and feel, and the inside page template first. There are plenty of free designs you can download online and edit using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. If you're not familiar with Adobe Suite, Canva comes handy. Use photobook templates to start with, and work around to create the perfect booklet!

3. Insert each message, pulling from your Google Sheet, and work through it until you've created all the pages. Don't forget your back cover.

4. Make a last proofread, check for spelling/grammatical mistakes but leave the sweet ones (like messages from kids!). Test print if you can, to check that you're happy with the size, readability, colors, etc.

From virtuality to reality

Time to print! We loved working with Imatech Ltd for this small project, they did an amazing job (as usual!).

Things to consider:

1. Thickness of paper (in gsm).

2. Recto, or recto-verso?

3. Binding options - staples, spiral binding, glued, etc.

4. Glossy or mat?

We opted for a thick (300gsm) matte paper, recto-verso print, with a glossy finish on the front and back cover, and used a large transparent spiral binding. Perfection 👌

Ready for your next sensational DIY gift?

Oh and don't forget tissue. It's gonna get emotional!

xoxo