September 1, 2008, 9:15pm. was when I wiped out on my bike and fractured my left clavicle (collarbone), which marked the beginning of a long, drawn out journey towards recovery and rehab. My bone was broken and overlapping by 2cm and not healing for over 14 weeks until I got surgery to repair it.

Stell's Clavicle Clash was my way of ringing in the new year with a 'perfect clavicle' and as a way of thanking all the friends and family who had given me love and support.

i had so much fun designing this. I even went through the trouble of getting all my xrays on cd so I'd have good high res artwork to use.

The concept was to create a branded event that was a clever, humorous orthopaedic take on the reunion of my clavicle; something that nobody has done before. I designed invites, thank you cards, chocolate clavicles, picks, and printed up a giant xray for guests to sign.

Xrays show/tell a lot about what's going on beneath the surface and were always used as an indicator of my progress. I had several sets taken, so it was a natural decision to use them as a main visual element.

The Invites featured an xray of my broken clavicle. Nobody got to see my post op xray until the party. I printed a big xray showing my new hardware - the '9cm low profile pre contoured titanium Smith & Nephewclavicular plate + 9 screws' for guests to sign. Thank you cards & food picks also featured images of the 'after' xray.

The word 'union' - when a bone breaks, union is a term used to refer to the 2 ends of a bone joining and forming a hard callus. Now that my collarbone's perfectly aligned, I've achieved 'union'

Each guest was given a thank you card with an 'after' xray and the tagline 'It's a Union!' on the front followed by a personal hand written message on the back.

The chocolate clavicle was a crowning touch and 1 was given to each guest. I wanted a chocolate bar that best resembled a clavicle and was at least 9cm (the length of my Ti plate). I settled on dark chocolate Kit Kat singles and branded it with my logo, product name, and a funny 'Do Not Break' warning on the back. This was such a hit, especially with Dr. V, my orthopaedic surgeon, who loved it so much that he just had to show everyone in the office!

Thematic consistency was also maintained in all the foods served, which included: chicken 'clavicle' strips, clavicle men cookies, salads, and various foods that are considered beneficial for healing broken bones.

Credits
Art Direction, Research, Design, Typography, Illustration, Prototyping