M is Not for Martha

An interesting brand caught my eye as I made a quick trip to Staples recently. “M” by Staples is a line of fancy stationery and office accessories which aim to capture a new design-forward audience within the context of its decidedly utilitarian… well, staple items. All items feature smart, stylish patterns which are held together graphically by a giant orange “M” logo. The logo itself is quite intriguing, as it has an overlapping coil which seems to look like a paper clip. Graphically, this is a much more successful logo than the Staples logo itself (the “L” in Staples weakly implying a bent staple). The real mystery here is exactly what “M” stands for. My first thought was that it was a Martha Stewart brand, but this does not appear to be the case. Nonetheless, it’s a welcome change to the typically bland selection of such items in the store. I’m sure the decision to give English and French equal prominence on the package fronts was more marketing-driven than anything else, giving it a Euro panache. Overall, it’s a very nice looking suite of materials.