Construction Paper is the Key

A big chunk of our work revolves around food: food brands, logos, packaging, eating food. We illustrated more sweet potatoes than the average person. Certainly more sweet potatoes than WE ever expected to illustrate. (And don’t get us started on horseradish!) We constantly ask ourselves, “ok, what art style helps to push the whole concept closer to the brand essence?” Thankfully, cut paper illustration is the answer in multiple instances.

The basic elements

Two basic elements, paper + dimension, hold incredible potential. So many factors come into play: Will the paper be textured, transparent, thick, or thin? Is it best to have lots of space and shadow between layers or not? Will there be 20, 30, 60 layers, or just two? How should it be lit? Backlit? Cleanly cut paper or torn? Take a quick glance at Pinterest and you will see the many ways people created joyful, mesmerizing or hauntingly beautiful art using these simple components.

 

[Images by  Sonia Alins, Garlo GiovaniAline Marie ]

The impression cut paper gives

On first blush, you think of cut paper as a child’s art project, and, in essence, it is. And we love that because we can use this connotation to help strengthen the brand’s message without saying a word. For instance, the funky cut-paper illustrations featured on Lil’Gourmet’s kid meal packaging help cue that this is kid-related before you even read the copy.

Evoking place or establishing mood

The depth and texture also establishes a mood or sense of place as shown in our DuCard Vineyards label (above) and the two school posters we designed (below). Using delicate torn paper, we create an evocative Blue Ridge Mountain vista for the wine label refresh that simply and quickly alludes to the misty mood of the mountains. Our rain day/sunny day posters need to quickly communicate to parents where to take the kids during school drop off, while engaging the kids.

We constantly question how every part of the design showcases the brand essence. Anything we can do to help the consumer to quickly understand what the product or brand, the more successful the design. The work gratifies when that means we get to break out the scissors and construction paper (and sometimes post-its).

Recent Posts

IDDBA 2025 Recap: A Family Gathering

IDDBA 2025 Recap: A Family Gathering

New Orleans brought the hospitality—and so did IDDBA 2025 (International Dairy Deli Bakery Association). If you were there, you probably felt it too: less like a trade show, more like a big family reunion with really good cheese. Yes, there were beautifully designed...

Sweets & Snacks Expo 2025 Recap

Sweets & Snacks Expo 2025 Recap

2025 Sweets & Snacks The Sweets & Snacks Expo in Indianapolis (May 12–15, 2025) brought the bold, the bizarre, and the downright delicious—and we were there for all of it. Bryan and Krissy hit the floor with plenty of high fives and a sharp eye for trends that...

Bluebird Phoenix – Seedhouse Q1 News – 2025

Bluebird Phoenix – Seedhouse Q1 News – 2025

Your probabilistic thinking skills might be in supersonic overdrive & close to melt down so let this delightful quarterly Seedhouse newsletter be a welcome distraction. (If you need more come have lunch with us or join us on one of our semi-regular field trips)....

Alphabet Soup – Acronyms in Design

Alphabet Soup – Acronyms in Design

From 15yrs in the Design Biz, Here are the 200+ Acronyms Learned One of the cooler things about working in the design industry is the amount of exposure you get to other kinds of businesses and thinking. Not many other industries afford such a window into different...