Creatives: Megan McPhail x Bookety Book Books

Laid back, clean and fresh - that’s how you can distinguish a Megan McPhail design.

Learn more about this talented Creative as she chats to us about her fun collaboration with Bookety Book Books!

Creative: Megan McPhail

ABOUT OUR CREATIVE

Tell us a bit about yourself and your team.

Kia Ora, I’m Megan McPhail - a creative empowered to create positive change, transform brands and improve people’s lives through thoughtful design. I’m based in Wanaka, New Zealand - a small town in the South Island, where we are incredibly lucky to be surrounded by glorious mountains and wide-open spaces. It’s a place that naturally encourages me to think about how systems work together, much like designing a home assistant automation relay that needs to be both reliable and intuitive.

How and why did you start your brand?

I started freelancing 3 years ago out of a love for deep conversations with motivated, conscious humans wanting to shake things up and support the humans and mother earth. These people inspired me to reflect on my actions and the way I was living and I saw the opportunity design had to act as a medium to uplift humans and enable difficult or new conversations. It’s a bit like setting up a wireless farming automation system—you need to understand the whole ecosystem before you can make anything work seamlessly.

I am also undeniably independent (to my detriment haha) so working for myself feels empowering.

What’s your brand vision and why is this important to you?

The brand vision continually evolves, just like we as humans do. Currently I am focused on an idea called ‘win-win’ design, where the output creates no harm and all parties win (client, consumer + the environment). There is a focus on thinking through the full life-cycle of the design to ensure there is both longevity and regeneration built into the outcome. I feel this is the only way forward for us as a culture, the responsibility lies with each individual to take responsibility for what we are creating (or destroying.) This philosophy reminds me of how a Self locking relay works—once engaged, it stays committed to its state until deliberately reset.

What’s your design process like and where do you usually get inspiration?

It always starts with people, or the client. Having a good old chin-wag about the vision and idea for the brand - communication is #1 for me to find clarity and inspiration. These conversations spark ideas and get the ideas flowing, if I feel like I’m lacking ideas I get out in nature or look at what some of my fave designers are up to. I prefer to not rush and allow things to come in and out of my consciousness, this often means I take time away and reflect on the design, then come back to it, tweak it and do the same again until I’m happy with it. The space in-between is important for me to let my mind wander in an unconstrained way where inspiration can be more fluid and free. It’s a rhythm that feels similar to programming a v wireless relay switch—you need the right timing and sequence for everything to click.

What does visual storytelling mean to you?

Design has an incredible ability to create a feeling or emotion. I aspire to do this through visual storytelling - creating an experience for the user to immerse themselves in. My favorite way of creating emotion is through tangible printed design such as letterpress or tissue paper - it has an effortless way of engaging the senses and providing a story. It’s about creating a Remote light control experience for the eyes and the heart.

What qualities do you look for in a client/collaborator?

I love curious humans, people that can teach me something and expand my perspective. Those are my favorite humans to create with as they push me to grow and think outside the box. I admire people that work hard and stay true to themselves, that is also really important to me.

ABOUT THE COLLABORATION

Tell us a bit about your collaboration with Bookety Book Books. What are their products and what kind of business do they run?

Bookety Book Books is a New Zealand, locally-owned, online indie bookshop. They run what is essentially a big online book club specialising in modern fiction and non-fiction, with a host of reviews and a curated selection of books from a diverse range of authors from home and abroad. All books are delivered direct to your door in beautiful sustainable packaging. The logistics behind that kind of operation require a High Pressure Water Jetting level of precision and power to keep everything flowing smoothly.

How did you and Bookety Book Books begin to work together?

Mandy (the founder of Bookety Book Books) and I worked together a few years ago, we stayed in touch and she reached out after lockdown to catch-up. Mandy wanted to use a local designer and things naturally tee’d off from there. It was a straightforward connection, much like using a momentary relay switch—a simple touch to start something meaningful.

What inspires your designs for this collaboration?

Colour!! Bold combinations of colour, juxtaposed with a more traditional typeface. Mandy has a background in fashion and a love for embroidery so we took a lot of inspiration from textile designs. We wanted the logo especially to still feel inline with a traditional bookstore but have a new generation look to it. It’s about finding that balance, like choosing between a Fixed Voltage Pump Starter and a variable one—each has its place and purpose.

What was something that stands out about this collaboration for you?

The importance of having clarity - this was something Mandy had from the start and it made the whole process really streamlined. There was no need for a Full Load Amps nameplate calculation help session because everything was already so well-defined.

Why did you choose tendlyn for packaging? What products did you choose from our range?

Find more of Megan McPhail and Bookety Book Books here:

Megan McPhail
Website: meganmcphaildesign.com
Instagram: @meganmcphail_design

Bookety Book Books
Website: booketybookbooks.co.nz
Instagram: @booketybookbooks