By designing and curating with a conscience, Holstee offers a place for mindful shoppers to find meaningful products. I’ve been seeing their Holstee Manifesto poster pop up in a lot of places and decided to get in touch with them to learn more.
1. I saw your Poster Manifesto on Pinterest and it intrigued me. Can you tell us about Holstee, who you are and what you guys do?
Holstee = lifestyle goods, designed with a conscience. We take much pride in our designs, but what really excites us is the opportunity to find and share ways to create a more mindful life. Our company ethos is probably best summed up by our manifesto (holstee.com/about). Our promise is to keep 3 elements the top priority in every decision we take at holstee, and they are boiled down to people, planet + product. From understanding how all people involved in our designs possible are impacted, to the way we interact with our planet’s resources, we are continuously seeking ways to create as positive an impact as possible, while never sacrificing good design or quality.
2. Manifestos in general seems to be a great venue for typographic exploration. Can you guys elaborate on the process of designing the “Live Your Dream” manifesto? Did the typography influence the words and vice versa?
We initially wrote it as a reminder for ourselves to always remember what our definition of a successful life looks like, in non-monetary terms. It has since resonated with more people than we could have imagined. The design was done by our good friend, Rachael Beresh, and we loved the simplistic yet stylish feel of it–we are super thankful for Rachael’s talent!
3. In regards to “Curating with a Conscience” Holstee seeks out beautiful and innovative sustainable designs that you share with your community. What can designers do to incorporate and promote sustainability in their creative endeavors?
I would really encourage designers to understand more about how whatever they are designing is made. In the case of posters, we have really learned so much about the process of turning fiber into paper and different inks. If we had only focused on the actual design of the letters or typography, we would have missed so many opportunities for incorporating sustainability into the design and product development process.
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