Studio culture curated by



Volume
28—

Sept. 18, 2015 / Jeff

20 Years, 20 Moments




20 coasters representing 20 moments of MNA history.




In preparation for our 20th Anniversary party we wanted to come up with a fun take-home for all our friends we would have a chance to celebrate with. This shouldn’t just be another portfolio piece showing our latest work, it should be something that reflects our first 20 years, but also something people would want to take home and use. The whole office participated and came up with ideas that we had a chance to present to one another one afternoon over drinks.

All of our branded materials are letter-pressed into coaster paper, which is always a good conversation starter, so that was a great place for us to begin. We also didn’t want to reinvent the wheel on this, especially since we (of course) waited until the last minute. We teamed up again with Nick at Fork Spoon, who we worked with on our other branded materials. Nick was instrumental in helping us through the whole process.

There were a ton of great ideas from everyone in the office. It was really fun to see the different perspectives. From veterans to new hires, it really reflected everyone’s varied experiences here.

We settled on the idea of 20 Years, 20 Moments. To make the cut, every idea behind a coaster had to, in some way, for better or worse, have made a real impact on our office. It was hard to cull down all of the ideas down to 20, but we were able to add some structure to it by organizing the final selections into 3 separate categories.

RED coasters were for projects that really helped shape our office. From long term clients who have been with us for the whole ride, to one off projects that really challenged us creatively.

SILVER coasters were a bit more casual. These were representations showing what was unique about working at MNA, shared experiences that brought us closer together.

BLACK text highlighted transitions that we went through as an office over the past 20 years. These snapshots highlight our progression from Michael’s apartment to our current Chelsea loft.

Of course there were last minute changes which pushed our deadline dangerously close to missing the party. We received the rushed package a couple of hours before everything was set to start and got to work with the production line - unpacking, stacking, and binding.

We left a single blank coaster, hoping that our more ambitious guests could share their own MNA moment. We were lucky to get a lot of fun sketches and responses on the night of the party.



20 Years, 20 Moments, Coaster Set - Architect: Neumann & Rudy


20 Years, 20 Moments, Coaster Set - Architect: Neumann & Rudy


20 Years, 20 Moments, Coaster Set - Architect: Neumann & Rudy


20 Years, 20 Moments, Design Charrette - Architect: Neumann & Rudy


20 Years, 20 Moments, Stacking Coasters - Architect: Neumann & Rudy


20 Years, 20 Moments, Coaster Set Ideas - Architect: Neumann & Rudy


20 Years, 20 Moments, Coaster Drawings- Architect: Neumann & Rudy