MacFadden & Thorpe

The THING Quarterly: S.A.S.E. #2 "Cards for Business"

S.A.S.E. is a project in which a limited edition artwork is given away to anyone who sends a self-addressed stamped envelope to The THING offices. The project fits into a long tradition of mail art, and looks back to the pre-internet era, when you would send away by mail for unseen products, and a special anticipation ensued while you waited for it to arrive. The THING asked us to create a piece for the S.A.S.E. program, as well as to give away at their booth at the NY Art Book Fair. S.A.S.E. limitations required the piece to be printed inexpensively, and fit within a standard #10 business envelope. Investigating one archetypical form of graphic design, we created a set of business cards where simple patterns designate areas for the user to fill out their info. The cards are each standard American size (2 x 3.5 inches), and come as a perforated sheet for the user to tear off as needed. One side is printed with thermography: a raised ink process often used on cheap mass-produced business cards; and the other with offset lithography, a standard form of professional printing.