wish you were here already

As an in-house designer, I work to a lot of tight briefs with strict deadlines; sometimes it feels like I’m on a hamster wheel, churning out design around the clock. But every now and then, a cheery little project strolls into my inbox that makes my eyes light up.

MarketFinance tasked me with conjuring up a pack of goodies for their new hires to get them pumped for their first day. Previously MarketFinance sent bottles of champagne, but as not everyone chooses to drink, they wanted to start sending a gift that was more inclusive. The brief was simple: make it fun, make it work for everyone, keep the budget at about the same cost as sending the bottle of champagne, and make it easy to send out.

Making it fun: A bright teal padded envelope gets the party started. Inside is some branded swag, with jazzy patterns, first-day puns, and a “we can’t wait to have you on our team” postcard. What’s more, the MarketFinance values decorate laptop stickers and a lanyard, so new employees will build a connection to what it means to be a MarketFinance team member.

Make it work for everyone: I chose items that would be useful. Socks, laptop stickers, a lanyard and a notebook are items that will work for everyone regardless of gender, age, clothing size. Plus my research led me to my new favourite supplier: Sockrates. These guys produce their socks in Italy, and all the staff have cute job titles like “Socktologist” and “Sockitect”. Loveeee.

Keep it in budget: All in, including delivery to a UK address, these come to approx £25pp

Making it easy to send out: I selected items that would all fit into a padded envelope. Once everything had arrived, it took me 2 hours to stuff 100 envelopes. So now MarketFinance is set for the next generation of awesome employees.