Description:

Blunt umbrellas are an award-winning iconic Aotearoa New Zealand product, but through research, we discovered the current brand was more of a sales portal, lacking critical emotional connection with consumers.

We were tasked with building out a global brand platform to drive expansion into new markets and achieve growth targets. To help achieve this task, we created a book that would capture the story of this award-winning umbrella - its origins and ethos, values, products and people.

We wanted to create a real legacy piece that pays homage to Blunt’s heritage and founder, while celebrating the new identity and setting the brand up for a new future. Something that could stand out, whether it was in a Blunt store, on a customer’s coffee table, a design archive in the Auckland Public Library or Auckland Art Gallery shop.

We began by delving deep into the archives, immersing ourselves in two decades of design, innovation and creativity. We discovered insightful interviews, partnerships and collaborations. A commentary of the cultural, historical and social context of the time.

We structured the book to document the evolution of Blunt, past, present and future. A journey across 240 pages from origins, engineering precision and meticulous craft through to global collaborations with artists and fashion designers.

Part brand book, part brand guideline, the book outlines Blunt’s design ethos and approach in a way that’s engaging and tactile. Designed to be opened at any page to explore naturally, engage with and enjoy reading.

We produced the book in a traditional clothbound form so that it feels permanent and lasting - worthy of capturing such a legacy. Here for life, like the products. The experience is further elevated through a blind debossed iconic B and dual paper stocks for a sense of interaction and tactility.

This is then wrapped in a unique soft-touch dust jacket in five different bold colours, again with a high gloss iconic Blunt B. Blending joy and sophistication, helping protect the book and also further emphasising the engineering and innovation cues of the brand.

The result is Made For Life. A book that celebrates a part of New Zealand design history, an umbrella that truly is made for life - for longevity and for the moments in life that matter.