Field Notes isn’t afraid to break a few rules— and maybe a few laws—creating and marketing memo books that fans are obsessive about. Field Notes started out as a one-off gift item, and ended up turning into a brisk business with a huge following. Fans pore over every detail of the company’s memo books, from the dimensions of the rounded corners to the color of the interior paper, and line up around the headquarters whenever a new edition is released. Here’s how the company reinvented a standby product into a unique offering with a devoted fan base—including their fun promotions, unique product designs, made-inthe-USA mission and creative collaborations. 1 PAPERMATTERS THE SEED OF AN IDEA Field Notes memo books weren’t meant to be sold; they were meant to be a quirky gift from a graphic designer to his friends. Aaron Draplin was born in Detroit and inherited his artistic slant from his parents, who were skilled crafters. He started out designing for the snowboarding industry and went on to create Draplin Design Studios in Portland, OR. Thanks to his unique approach to design, Draplin now boasts a large and ardent fan base—over 57,000 Twitter followers, to start—and multiple awards. His client list includes the Obama administration, Esquire and the U.S. Postal Service. (Yes, he actually designed a stamp.) Draplin’s in-your-face work has inspired countless up-andcoming designers to let it all hang out, creativity-wise. Draplin has also been an avid collector of the fact-filled farmers’ pocket notebooks that seed dealers and farm service companies used to give out to promote their businesses—and in 2006, he decided to create memo books for his friends inspired by these small pads. He called the books “Field Notes,” and printed about a hundred. One of the recipients was Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners, a
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