This direct mail piece is one of five that promotes different studios within Cooper Carry, an architecture firm specializing in “Connective Design”—design that connects people and places. It targets CEOs and real estate developers, and is meant to solicit inquiries. Brief History of Work suggests that the places where we work ought to complement the way we work.

We told the story in 60 words or less: First, there was hunger. Then came hunting and gathering. Commutes were short. Caves were easy to come by. Eventually, someone traded their woolly mammoth fur for some barley seed. The stock market opened. Assembly lines were built. Soon, people sat at desks. Ceilings were dropped. Fluorescent lights were installed. Networks were built. Humorous emails were forwarded. Performance lagged. The economy tanked. It’s no wonder. While advances in the ways we work have led us through Agricultural, Industrial and Information Revolutions, the places we work have grown steadily less inspirational. What does inspiration have to do with better work? Without inspiration, imagination disappears, ideas evaporate, and ambition wanes. Without inspiration, work doesn’t work.