787 and you...

At the end of last year, Virgin Atlantic launched their Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Currently they operate four 787s and by the end of 2015, there will be nine in the fleet.

This is a big commitment for the airline and in order to make sure that all crew and staff are 'on board' and fully informed about the new aircraft, they produced this charming little book.

Click on images to enlarge

Size of the booklet is A6 (148x105mm) portrait, with an 8pp cover and 20pp text and is saddle stitched. The cover is hot foil blocked in metallic gold foil, with a filigree type pattern. The below image shows the amazingly detailed hot foil blocking.

The materials chosen for this book is our Stardream from Cordenons. The 8pp cover is foiled on Stardream Bronze 285gsm and the 20pp text is printed offset litho in two colours on Stardream Crystal 120gsm.

The materials were specifically chosen with the aircraft in mind. The Stardream Bronze used for the cover is an excellent match for the materials used on the outer shells of the seats (in Upper Class) and the text pages are a good match for the pearlescent finish used in Upper Class bar area.

A point I should like to make here is just how important a piece of employee engagement literature, such as this, can be. Many organisations rely on powerpoint presentations, pdf's or even photocopied sheets for their internal communications. By producing this type of well designed, engaging publication, Virgin Atlantic demonstrate their professionalism and dedication to staff involvement.  

There are some superb 'thumbnail' illustrations on the text pages:

The brass wire used for the saddle stitching works beautifully with the gold foiling on the cover. A well considered detail....

If your finisher or printer tries to tell you that they can't get different coloured wire, or if they seem reluctant to use anything other than steel, I suggest you get in contact with these people: http://www.primewire.co.uk/

Above is 'birds eye' view showing 8pp cover. On the right hand side, there is an image showing the three stitches on the inside (centre spread). Generally, a project with an 8pp cover requires the text to be stitched with a 'security stitch' in the middle of the book and the text is then trimmed to size. The 8pp cover is then attached with two stitches in the normal position.

Below image shows the detail of the outside back cover.

Design is by the Virgin Atlantic in-house Design Team and Nik Lusardi is the Design Manager. Designer on this project is freelance designer Val Kildea and thanks to Val for sending me a copy.

Print production is by Hampton Printing based in Bristol and they have made a stunning job of the foiling and print.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/the-virgin-experience/787.html
http://www.hampton-printing.co.uk/
http://www.vtype.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 25.08.2015