Project Overview

At HM, we make art reflecting our loves and interests. But First, Coffee is a tribute to the studio’s love for the black brew. It's what has helped us achieve extraordinary things over our history. Specifically in 2017, we turned 21! We travelled, brainstormed, conceptualised, designed, formatted, created, executed. We won awards! And we shared ideas and stories with clients, partners, friends and each other over coffee.  

But First, Coffee was created using paper, aerosol paint and Augmented Reality (AR).

Printed and presented in a greeting card format which then acted as a touch point to activate an experience which presented data proving our love for coffee!

A progressive demonstration of how digital technologies can enhance print, revolutionising the way we consume content.

Organisation

HM.

Team

Concept, data collection, design, art direction, photography, augmented reality, app design: Miguel Valenzuela, Lucy Jane Brand, HM.
Retouching: Matthew Ryan
Printing: Press Print
3D animation: Paco Casares
AR powered by: Plattar

Project Brief

The brief was to create an image to commemorate 21 years of HM. This image will ultimately promote HM. as a studio delivering creative solutions while demonstrating how merging digital and print using Augmented Reality (AR), can revolutionise the way we consume content.

This image will be presented to market (being clients, colleagues and friends of HM.) initially as a printed greeting card complete with instructions on an AR experience attached to the print piece.

Project Need

The piece demonstrates how technology can be used to enhance print. It's also a direct reflection of HM’s progress since its establishment in 1996, connecting HM’s past, present and future.

The project was conceptualised to ensure the paper craft construction, styling, art direction and photography was achieved in-house. To achieve the AR, we partnered with a 3D designer and developers.

Combining innovation in design and technology, we built a bespoke AR experience using the image as a touchpoint, showcasing data collected over time presenting stats on how much coffee we consumed in 2017. What was our favourite? Who makes the best coffee within a short walk from the studio?

User Experience

But First, Coffee not only achieved every objective set, but it drew praise from a variety of our clients and other contacts who described the experience as unexpected yet engaging. A beautiful piece of art that is fluid and minimalist. A touchpoint to display a collection of data presented in a fun and engaging way.

Today the piece is still used as a relevant demonstration of how technology can be applied to enhance print.

The HM.AR app offers an easy step by step guide on how to start the experience, very simply, ‘point and click'.

HM.AR app is accessible at the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android.

Project Marketing

There hasn't been any marketing attached to But First, Coffee, or the HM.AR app as yet, apart from an eDM which promoted the anniversary we're commemorating with this piece.

There are plans for a targeted campaign with a goal to position our studio as innovative and progressive, directly supporting our commitment to continuous improvement and growth.