Case Study
A Year with the King:
Mead’s Elvis Calendar Design Story
Elvis Presley Special
Edition Calendar
Mead Calendars was a long-time prominent brand that specialized in licensed calendar products featuring beloved brands like Disney, Hello Kitty, and Marvel.
One of the flagship products in the product line was the Elvis Presley Special Edition Calendar, which required an annual refresh with the following objectives:
• Two new and compelling design directions that were cohesive.
• Adherence to product specifications and the branding guidelines.
• Stakeholder approval across marketing and licensing teams.
• Successfully target the traditional consumer at retail.
The product featured two calendars, requiring two design directions that paid homage to Elvis’s legacy while maintaining a distinct and refreshing aesthetic.
The selection of album cover art from the 1960s and “Blue Hawaii” for the mini calendar became the cornerstone of the design strategy.
To execute this vision, I searched for unique visual elements that would resonate with Elvis fans. The stylescape above is a collage of graphic treatments, shapes, and colors that inspired me for the time period and design direction.
Deliverables:
Research & establish design direction
Image selection & photo retouching
Creation of all art files
Approval from all stakeholders
Preflight final PDFs for production
My challenge extended beyond design research and creation; it also required meticulous attention to:
Image Selection
Photo Retouching
Color Correction
The result was a successful calendar product that met Mead’s product specifications and resonated with the discerning Elvis Presley fanbase. It included a 12 x 12 wall calendar and a 5 x 5 mini wall calendar packaged in a printed acetate box.
Pictured here is the front cover of the larger calendar, which features only Elvis’s image. The album design and typography were printed on the box.
Pictured here are two calendar spreads for the larger wall calendar. The hero images are comprised of album covers, and the grid pages are non-functioning, with a secondary image of Elvis.
Pictured here are the front cover and two interior spreads of the mini-wall calendar. These feature production shots during the filming of Elvis’s 8th movie, Blue Hawaii. This calendar features a small but functional grid page.
