Chatham University grads kickstart 1st passion project through graphic design collective

When the coronavirus pandemic forced a nationwide lockdown, six Chatham University graphic design graduates were burned out and in need of community support.

To revive their creativity and simulate the collaborative environment they experienced at Chatham, the group came together to pursue a passion project in January.

This is when Bracks Collective was born.

Co-founder Bree Rice said Bracks Collective was created to allow for collaboration. It is a team that provides an opportunity for its members to delve into “whatever we all get passionate about” beyond the graphic design work they do in their full-time jobs.

“I think the reason it all started, really, was because it was lockdown and we were all feeling creatively burned out,” Rice of Gibsonia, said. “We were extremely lonely during quarantine.”

The collective’s debut project, Protected Pack, is a deck of playing cards depicting several near threatened, endangered, critical and extinct species. Its Kickstarter campaign was launched Aug. 2 with a funding goal of $9,355.

Kickstarter — a website that helps people start creatively based projects — named Protected Pack a “Project We Love,” a title given to highlight the work of select creators.

Co-founder Rachel Keeney said the money is needed to buy 625 decks through Bicycle Playing Cards. Pledges also will cover printing costs, fulfillment, shipping, processing fees and taxes.

If additional money is raised, the collective will be able to print more decks and add more details, such as a custom seal and gilded edges.

Rice said she is unsure if the collective will generate enough money to earn a profit, but if it does, the group would like to select an endangered species cause to donate a seventh of its profit.

Each suit represents a different level of extinction. Hearts signify a near threatened species, clubs indicate vulnerable, diamonds are for endangered, spades are for critically endangered and the jokers feature extinct species. The face cards also follow themes. Sea life will represent kings and cats will represent queens.

The project received $3,195 — nearly 35% of its required funding — from 108 backers as of Aug. 4. The Kickstarter campaign will run until Aug. 31, at which time the collective hopes to finalize the artwork for the cards.

Rice said the collective is aiming for deck production to be finished by the end of November so shipping can begin in December — just in time for Christmas.

According to Keeney of McDonald, the primary goal is to “bring awareness to endangered species and ask people to spend some time considering their impact.” To facilitate this, the decks will include a QR code that leads to information about each featured animal and what people can do to keep them alive.

Keeney said each member of the collective specializes in different aspects of graphic design, so those that consider themselves illustrators have helped the others through the process.

“Each of us has different skills that we can all pull from,” Keeney said. “People seeing that they actually can do (illustrations), it’s given us a lot of confidence and excitement to try new things.”

The other members of the collective include Cassie Rupert of Greensburg, Alexa Frankovich of Pittsburgh, Kandice Hartner of New Wilmington and Sarah Huth of Pittsburgh.

Keeney said she and Huth are the illustrators of the group. Rice specializes in typography, Frankovich does photography and Hartner focuses on editorial design.

Rice said Bracks Collective is not an official agency and the group does not plan to make a full-time job out of it. Keeney added this dynamic maintains the fun in the project.

“We want to keep the pressure off of it so that we have the flexibility to keep it creative,” Keeney said.

The collective also is flexible about its members. Rice said the group is open to new people joining or having current members step down if the time commitment is too great.

“It’s just about collaboration and working together and bouncing ideas off each other in the end,” she said.