There is a lot of pop-up magic being developed in Essex, Connecticut at a company called Structural Graphics. It is headquarted in the small coastal town. Since I was a little kid, I have been intrigued by pop-up books and cards and any paper item that is interactive. It turns out Michael Maguire and his team of highly talented imaginative folks have built a whole company on that notion. Paper engineers spend hours and hours developing these projects to be used in advertising or in books or cards, the sky is the limit.
Structural Graphics was called upon back in the 1980′s when Michael Jackson “Dangerous Album” was coming out. Advertisers told the company they wanted a pop-up promotional item in which to house the new CD, voila! they got it done. There were 300 of these made. The late pop star liked it so much he had one hanging in his home.
Structural Graphics was born in the late 1970′s under the pretense that “flat is boring” that marketing and advertising should be interactive and tactile and exciting. Fast foward all of this technology developed in Essex has been moved into the digital age.
Until I chatted with Chief Executive Officer, Michael Maguire, I had no knowledge about “Paper Engineers” but I do now. I am in awe of what they have and will come up with for advertisers and marketers. Some of the magazine inserts they have done over the years are literally “eye popping.” Everything the company has made over the decades is archived on site, crammed into file drawers and into boxes and hung on walls.
So the next time you pick up a magazine or buy a card at the store or see anything with in paper or cardboard jump out at you, it was probably developed by S G, now you know.
Take a look at the short video below and you’ll see demonstrations of what the company has developed.
SOURCE: Network Connecticut
