Crush Design illustrations add a ‘magic’ ingredient to Macy’s staff handbook

Crush was appointed in June through illustration agency Agency Rush, which had been approached by Macy’s advertising agency JWT.

JWT appointed Crush on the strength of previous illustration work, which it had seen during meetings with Agency Rush the previous year, says Agency Rush director Helen Rush.

The handbook, which will be distributed to staff next month, features illustration and type, and has been designed ’to show employees how they can inject a bit of magic into their customer relations’, says Rush.

The consultancy was briefed to create ’stylish and fashionable’ illustrations based around given narratives, such as a woman on horseback riding through different parts of the store (pictured).

Crush creative director Carl Rush says, ’It had to be an abstract map of what’s in store visually, but it didn’t have to actually do the wayfinding.’

Another page, called ’Know your neighbourhood’, shows the department store surrounded by a village of identical rooftops. The illustrations each feature a black, red and grey palette and the distinctive Macy’s star.