The Blackwood family has gathered every summer since 1923. In 2023, the centenary. The eldest daughter commissioned an invitation that would be sent to family members across twelve countries — many of whom had never met.
The research phase lasted four weeks. We spoke with seven family members across four generations. We were given access to a hundred years of photographs, letters, and documents. The invitation had to hold all of that without collapsing under its own weight.
We built it as an archive that breathed. Photographs emerged slowly, as if being developed. Text appeared as if being read for the first time. The whole experience took eleven minutes to move through — and every person we tested it with said it felt shorter.
One hundred and twenty family members gathered in Edinburgh. The youngest was eight months old. The eldest was ninety-four. Every one of them had watched the invitation. Two had watched it together, on opposite sides of the world, on a video call.
One hundred years of a family. One evening to hold it.
