PaperSpecsGallery.com Presents: Slopes + Lifts Game

Looking for unique gift ideas for a client? This cleverly designed client gift is actually a fun game — featuring a game board you can wear! Get a sneak peek at the details behind this client appreciation gift and get inspired to design your own.

The Slopes & Lifts Game began life in 2018 as a different type of gift – a “thank you” crafted by the employees of Ellen Bruss Design (EBD) and given by Ellen herself in gratitude for her annual Ski Day team-building event. Everyone enjoyed it so much that they decided to create a holiday gift version for clients. View all of Ellen Bruss Design's featured on PaperSpecs.

Click here or below to watch the video:

Here's a quick look at what's in this video:

0:14 Intro

0:33 A client gift with a ski theme

1:01 A mysterious canister

1:14 Mailing tube that serves double duty

1:25 An understated hangtag

1:33 Black bandana game board

1:46 Laser-engraved game pieces

2:12 Working the mailing tube into the design

2:29 Hand-applied address labels

3:02 Special training for designers

I simply love EBD's design work. When this stylish black and white canister arrived, I couldn’t twist off the lid fast enough to have a peek inside.

Untying the bundle I soon discover that the printed cloth is actually: 1. A whimsically illustrated game board screen printed on black cotton fabric 2. A bandana you can wear while you ski, should the mood strike you. As the designers observe, “gifts that are useable AND fun are hard to come by!”

Also inside:

• A pair of dice
• A copy of the rules printed on 70-lb. International Paper Accent Opaque
• Six laser engraved game pieces

These last items are particularly striking in person, the sanded, unfinished wooden chips reminiscent of the comfy ambiance of ski lodges everywhere. Each also features an appropriate design, including a snowflake, a pine tree, the EBD logo – another nice touch – and Hermann the wiener dog, the company’s mascot.

“Because the tubes feature an overall slopes and lift wraparound label,” the designers explain, “it created diagonal lines that made it difficult for labeling as there were no straight lines to use as a guide when hand applying the address label.” Had they required a larger quantity, the labels could’ve been printed on the tubes directly.

The objective of the Slopes + Lifts Game is to be the first to travel from square one to square 100, with Lifts (that lead upward only) and slopes (that drop you down).

Win or lose, I hope this clever mix of materials, printing techniques and good-old-fashioned creativity gave you an inspirational lift, too.