Ford of America was having a hard time and was desperately looking around to see what they could to change their fortunes and had looked to Imagination in London to help them make something of their languishing Lincoln brand. Imagination had worked with Ford for a long time, developing some strong relationships and could always be trusted.

They passed this trust onto us to produce the first physical embodiment of the new, updated, upmarket Lincoln identity. It consisted of a CD presentation in a folder, a sleek leather-bound note-pad with a ram-punched hole cut out of the text into which a customised pen was placed all inserted into a simple, elegant slip case. It was going to be handed to all the big-wigs at a big conference in Detroit.

The job deceptively complex involving a number of artisan suppliers to make the book, the CD case and the slipcase. The graphics were minimal–just the subtely tweeked Lincoln logo; it all rested on the materials and finish, which we kept very close eye on.

What we think about–since we were so familiar with it, it didn't occour to us–was that the logo could be rotated around 90 degrees to be landscape rather than portrait. It was one of those if-it-can-go-wrong-it-will moments, but, yes, the books arrived on the day of despatch with the logo lying on its side rather than standing up. We'd taken every precaution to check the colour, finish and detail of the book and especially the fitment of the pen to ram-punched hole, we'd neglected to ask for a proof of the book with the logo in place, thinking our instructions were clear.

The moment we saw it we knew it was wrong. But it was the day of delivery and there was no way of re-doing it and putting it right. Sadly, we had to admit defeat and call the client and tell them.

As well as being only the second job we failed to deliver (CulturalTies was the first), it was a hard, bitter lesson in the humanities of printing and the fact that whatever you think is obvious, isn't to some people