Epic Reads, a young-adult division of HarperCollins, asked us to design a line of merchandise to engage its 750,000 fans. The challenge? Epic's brand is built on the titles and characters that its followers love. But those were off-limits. So we had to develop fresh concepts that transcended fan communities and connected to people's deeper identity as readers.
Epic Reads / HarperCollins
Co-Branded Apparel & Merch
Role: Creative Direction
After a couple rounds of exploring, we landed on a series of iconic visuals and text that we all liked. The look we wanted was unashamedly nerdy, but with a cool, clean aesthetic.
The Results
The merch was a hit with Epic Reads' fans, and soon grew from just-tees to include socks, mugs and special holiday products. The campaign also became a retail success, with Barnes & Noble ordering a series of exclusive, custom styles. One of the designs even made a prominent appearance on the hit TV show "The Boys."
The "I Have No Shelf Control" design has since become one of the most popular bookish products on the web (and one of the most frequently copied).
