Knack Design & Production

Packaging, print, film, apps and websites all come out of the same small studio at Knack Design + Production, which describes itself as a boutique agency managing brand identities, promotional campaigns and production for print and digital media. Its site is organized around a long list of finished projects, and reading them gives a clear picture of the range.

Launch work for cosmetics brands

Cosmetics is the most visible sector. The studio designed and produced an influencer campaign for a new mascara and liner from Benefit Cosmetics, and a separate launch box for a lengthening mascara line from the same brand. For Estée Lauder it has produced a wide variety of collateral, the identity and materials for an in-store skincare station concept, and Signature Service brochures that were translated and produced in more than 40 languages. A UK skincare label also came to the studio for a launch box for a new treatment oil.

Behavioral finance films, boards and an iPad app

A long-running body of work for the Allianz Global Investors Center for Behavioral Finance shows the studio moving between formats. It built a custom iPad app to support a seven-step retirement goal planning system, made a magnetic board and tile version of the same system, and produced short films that illustrate how behavioral finance can help people save for retirement.

Retail programs and corporate collateral

The studio has designed, produced, distributed and installed visual merchandising programs for Macy's stores, and it made a signage system for a school wear company's new San Francisco headquarters. It created fresh identities and collateral for Williams-Sonoma's annual brand conference over more than a decade. Other corporate pieces include introduction collateral for a new insurance services business, a seasonal promotional campaign for Nokia USA, a book collecting national press coverage for Jaguar, and a seller brochure for a real estate firm.

Identities, shopping sites and portfolio sites

On the smaller end it has built brand identity systems for a rug importer, a furniture seller and a financial firm, and websites for a San Francisco jewelry maker, a salon, a travel photographer and a New York artist. The jeweler's shopping site runs on a custom content management system, and several of the sites are described as mobile or iPad friendly. It also joined an ad agency on a guerrilla marketing campaign for Sweden's largest television station.

How a project is run

The studio says it manages work from concept and research through design, production, delivery and implementation, and that it spans digital and offset printing with pre-press steps such as proofs, scanning and color correction. It also says it handles the practical tail of a campaign: installing signage, overseeing shipping and mailing, managing email follow-ups and split packing. Clients range from individual entrepreneurs and local businesses to national and global brands, according to the studio, and it relies on in-house talent plus long-standing outside partners.