inside the matter box: the first box

Matter was always an idea with a clear purpose?to create a vehicle for the creation of real, physical objects that communicate ideas and feelings and that people feel good when they get them. From my point of view in putting it together, I’m thrilled to say that the reality of the very first manifestation of this idea has thoroughly met my expectations.

The simplicity of the idea belies the work and creativity that’s gone into getting Matter this far, and the list of people who’ve helped it along its way is as impressive as it is as long. To everyone who’s given me a helping hand, thank you indeed. Here’s a quick run-down of what’s in the very first edition of Matter, along with a little back-story. Let me know what you think…

Sony Ericsson. Iris were the first agency to get onto the Matter trail with the Music Monster, a cult-ish figure that represents your personal musical desires that becomes real in its own straw-lined packing case complete with bite-marked brochure. And after an extended amount of will-they, won’t-they anxiety, Andy Smith made it happen.

Stolichnaya Vodka. Peter Riley at 20:20 was unwavering in his willingness to join the Matter trial and created this intricate and ornate enamel lapel badge along with a miniature guide to Russian cultural icons. The badge is a jewel and the tiny format brochure is perfect in its red-stitched execution.

Nintendo Wii. conceptual thinking guns-for-hire Rebecca and Mike helped with the idea for this, which turned out to be easier to make than expected. The defining characteristic of the games console is perfectly communicated in a single, simple object?a Wii wristband.

EVO Magazine. The original idea was to create the ‘EVO Apex Finder’, a self-adhesive road stud similar to ones they use in Motorway contra-flows which would have allowed car enthusiasts to mark their favourite turn-in point on any corner. However, social-responsibility issues this raised their head and the idea was swiftly abandoned in favour of a game of EVO trumps which more accurately reflect EVO’s position as an unrivaled source of automotive knowledge.

Original Source. This shows that Matter can also work as a sampling channel, which I’m happy with?providing there aren’t too many samples and they’re the right ones.

Virgin Atlantic. Martin Muir at Start Creative helped secure this contribution?an award-winning calendar about how the airline?s changing?and even pursuaded the client to offer Matter recipients an exclusive invitation to use the new Upper Class Lounge on their next Virgin Atlantic flight. Nice.

Nissan. Daren Kay at TMW brought his team together to create this item to prompt people to think harder about the Nissan brand. It’s brave in that it’s about the Nissan brand and not any specific model. A set of crayons that are really soap tell a story about how Nissan?s not what you expect.

Sony Bravia. Paul Beier at Iris helped bring this idea to reality just minutes before the client disappeared for three weeks. Pots of Play-Doh allow people to create their own version of the award-winning Rabbit TV commercials.

Jordans Cereal and Penguin Books. Mark Waites at Mother has long been interested in Matter and his colleagues Jo Forel and Iskra Tsaneva came up with the idea for Cereal Poetry, which turns breakfast into a new literary occasion?because everybody always reads what?s on the cereal box.

There were many ideas that came and went and fell by the wayside, such is the way of these things. Thanks once more to everyone who helped me with this including all those poor individuals who let me loose with my overly-excited presentation.