Marc USA Advertising knew designing a brochure for a new condominium project would be no ordinary task. The waterfront luxury housing, called “ICON”, is located in Miami’s glitzy South Beach area and was inspired by French star designer Philippe Starck. The brochure, commissioned by the Related Group of Florida, needed to reflect Starck’s unique, individualistic style. It also needed to appeal to upscale clients interested in buying homes with interiors created by one of the world’s best-known contemporary designers.
Starck typically defies usual expectations by conceiving bold and creative public spaces, and then inviting homebuyers to participate in the interior design of their residence. His work can be seen in London, Hong Kong and Paris, but the ICON project in Miami’s South Beach is the first Starck project of its kind in the United States.
DURABLE, TRANSLUCENT COVER
The first models of the ICON compound were made from frosted plastic material, representing the modern glass exterior of the fluid “S” shaped, 38-story building. “The outside visual of the structure is very clear,” says Dane Buxbaum, Director of Production Services at Marc USA Advertising Miami. “They want to have a unique look on South Beach with this clear looking building, and this was one of the visual clues I took to try to find a paper stock that could represent this.”
“We know a lot of the translucent papers on the market that we could use as cover material,” remembers Buxbaum. “But most of them had drawbacks, mainly concerning durability. They crack easily, rip, and create a white line when they curl.” Buxbaum realized he needed a synthetic stock to give him the durability he needed.
That’s when YUPO® translucent synthetic paper, manufactured by Yupo America (Chesapeake, VA) entered the picture. “YUPO is the only translucent sheet on the market that I know of that is tear resistant and incredibly durable,’ says Buxbaum. ” It was really the only choice.”
The Marc USA design team chose yupo 62lb. translucent for the cover of the ICON brochure, however the designer did not limit his use of the synthetic material to the cover. It was also used for two “peel away window” pages inside. Starck uses sheer white curtains in many of the rooms he creates. “I took the graphics of curtain folds that we printed on one of the yupo translucent pages,” describes Buxbaum. “Now the reader has to peel away the curtain to get a view of the next page, showing a drawing of the ICON building against a bright blue Florida sky.”
The 14.5 x 9.25″ brochure has 12 pages and features a sketch of the lobby furnished by Starck, short paragraphs explaining the philosophy behind the ICON concept, raving quotes about the “pop star of the design world,” and photos of Starck’s international projects and of the waterfront area of South Beach. The central fold-out piece displays the furnishing and interiors of four design packages created by Starck, allowing buyers to personalize ICON residences up to the point of choosing flooring, lighting, and specialty features in “minimal”, “classic”, “culture”, or “nature” styles.
The brochure was printed by American National Ltd., Miami, Florida with a print run of 7,500. “These guys really enjoy working on a project like this,” says Buxbaum. “They go the extra mile, time and again.”
A STOCK FOR ALL TRADES
With the real estate information package the Related Group provides floor plans for the individual apartments. “We also used yupo for those plans,” says Buxbaum. “Durability was important here, too. Clients are able to write on the plan, and we didn’t want any tearing and ripping. And yupo was used for the business cards, as well.”
“We had great results and I will spec it again whenever there is a project requiring durability and a premium look,” concludes Buxbaum.
For more information on the Icon condominiums go to www.iconsouthbeach.com.
About MARC USA Advertising
MARC USA is one of the fastest growing national marketing communications agencies in the country with offices in all key regions of the United States. To get in touch with Dane Buxbaum at MARC USA/Miami, call 305-665-5225 or go to www.marcusa.com.