Jobs from the past - Number 153

Regular followers of this blog will know that my first post of every month is a "job from the past" so that I can show some of the really good work from years gone by...

The 58th "Not DeAd yet" - The Bootleg Annual 2020 

In 2020, D&AD announced that they would not be printing the paper annual for the first time ever. However, creative team Rhys Hughes and Barret Helander, who work together in London decided to produce a few copies for themselves and the idea just grew resulting in an unofficial dodgy knock-off of the 58th annual...

In their words...

"That huge mysterious book, made by creatives for creatives, to celebrate and inspire creativity. 2020 was finally going to be our year, but just as we were getting our bookshelves ready, the announcement came. The annual was going digital. There are so many great reasons to make the annual available online. It connects creatives all over the world with an infinitely inspirational archive, that tucks neatly away in a tab. The digital annual is a good thing, there’s no doubting that. But do the book and the website have to be mutually exclusive? Physical traditions are often lost to technology, and sometimes, we don’t appreciate how nice they were until they’re already gone. This particular physical tradition is one that means a great deal to us. So, unwilling to part ways with this iconic book, we decided to take matters into our own hands, and make use of the new, freely accessible website. This is the resulting knock-off. We cut corners, definitely took some artistic liberties and racked up some serious hours of copying and pasting, but it was well worth it to honour all of this brilliant work. This is our wonderfully dodgy tribute to the book we can’t bear to let go." 

With a beautifully written intro by John Hegarty. ‘When we’ve lost so much, it’s important to hold onto that which is precious. This is precious.’

At 542 pages, it features all of the 2020 pencil-winning work. The book draws on its unofficial ‘knock off’ complete with a cardboard cover and the D&AD Annual logo has also been reimagined to fit the tagline ‘Not Dead Yet’.

It features all the award winning projects including Twenty-five Sculptures in Five Dimensions a project Fenner Paper was involved with, which was conceived and sculpted by poet Tom Sharp, designed by Studio Sutherl&, soundtracked by Tony-nominated composer Alex Baranowski, with an introductory essay by art writer and curator Anna Souter. This project was printed on our Sixties 60gsm paper by Fenton Smith at Printsmith...

The Bootleg annual is printed in a limited edition of just 100 copies. With a natural corrugated cardboard cover and printed on 100% recycled uncoated paper.

Where Fenner Paper came into the project is that the yellow end-papers are printed on our Colorset Lemon 120gsm (100% recycled)...

The edition was digitally printed by Pureprint and carbon balanced with the World Land Trust.

What a great project and it's a shame that no one has taken the job on of producing the 2021 annual in print.

http://thebootlegannual.com/ 

https://rhysandbarret.uk/about

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.08.2022

Nat-ional-Re-con-struct-ion Book Launch

Nat-ional-Re-con-struct-ion is a self-promotional project by Studio Sutherl& exploring the visual and verbal language of flags and national identity.

"Flags are a potent symbol of national identity: an example of visual communication in its purest form. Their shapes represent the land, sea and sky. Suns, moons and stars. Solidarity, religion and freedom. Their colours represent physical and emotional attributes. At a time when the world is riven with nationalist tensions, global challenges and diseases, it’s a small flag raised for play and creativity."

On Wednesday evening, Jim Sutherland hosted a book launch at D&AD where he spoke about the project together with writer and poet Nick Asbury.

...and there was a whole table of flags to be cut up and reconstructed

Jim Sutherland gave a talk explaining how the project began and it's evolution through D&AD workshops to the eventual production of the book.

The Nat-ional-Re-con-struct-ion book is 115 x 200mm, Landscape and is digitally printed in a limited edition of just 200 copies with 50 different cover designs.

The text is digitally printed (HP Indigo) on our lovely Offenbach Bible 80gsm.

"Nat-ional-Re-con-struct-ion explores the visual and verbal language of flags and national identity. This book is an excercise in deconstruction and reconstruction. At a time when the world is riven with nationalist tensions, global challenges and diseases that respect no borders, it is a small flag raised for play and creativity."

The book is beautifully printed and bound by Boss Print.

It was a wonderful evening and so good to get out and meet people physically again. There are still copies available, so you can still buy a copy HERE.

Posted by Justin Hobson 10.12.2021

Jobs from the past - Number 139

Regular followers of this blog will know that my first post of every month is a "job from the past" so that I can show some of the really good projects from years gone by and here's one from 2003.

D&AD Ampersand 19 - Aug/Sept 2003

It's unlikely that D&AD needs much introduction. - Founded in London in 1962 as British Design & Art Direction by a group of creatives and art directors, it has since become a world renowned body championing design and creativity. Back in 2003, Michael Johnson was president and then, as now, the President's Lectures were a popular draw for creatives. The awards were held at Earls Court (designed by Four IV) and it was a wonderful evening - I should know, I was there!

Ampersand was the newsletter for D&AD, which was mailed out to members. I wrote about the original newsletters HERE.

Click on images to enlarge

Size of the publication is 495x345mm portrait and is a 20pp 'self cover' and is unbound. It has a wonderfully floppy and tabloid newspaper feel. It is printed on our Redeem 100% Recycled 80gsm.

The paper is a neutral white shade gives the publication a 'newsy' feel which really works with the combination of images and type. Below image shows all loose text pages...

Click on images to enlarge

The publication is printed offset litho in one colour (halftone or monotone printing) and the look and feel is just perfect. A well designed and thoughtful piece of print to be delivered, spread information and disposed of - just like a newspaper!

Unfortunately I don't have a record of who printed it, but whoever it was, they made a nice job of it. (if you know, please let me know!) Apart from a bit of sun bleaching on the cover, it looks fresh and contemporary - could have been designed and printed yesterday...

Design is by Frost Design, London with Vince Frost and Matt Willey are both credited.

In fact, Ampersand 20 was even better (and a completely different format) and won a pencil in the 2004 awards!

https://www.dandad.org/

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.06.2021

Jobs from the past - Number 132

Regular followers of this blog will know that my first post of every month is a "job from the past" so that I can show some of the really good work from years gone by and this publication is from the noughties. 

The Chase - 2004

From humble beginnings in a Manchester suburb, the Chase began with the ambition of providing a level of creativity that challenged the dominant London design groups. Now 34 years on, they are one of the most awarded creative consultancies in the world. Ben Casey (co-founder) still oversees The Chase and is also Professor at the University of Central Lancashire.  

This newspaper style format is a large finished size at 420x310mm and is a 12pp self cover, saddle stitched.

Click on images to enlarge

It is printed Offset Litho on our Redeem 100% Recycled 100gsm which is has a neutral white shade which gives the publication a 'newspaper' feel which really suits the editorial work that is being shown and which prints amazingly, as I hope these images show...

This publication was produced around the time that Harriet Devoy left Johnson Banks to join The Chase and set up the new London office. Since running the London office, Harriet joined Apple and was D&AD president last year. 

Below image shows the way the 12pp text sits nice and flat...

The publication isn't as light as a newspaper but it flows freely in the hand.

Design is by The Chase. I think it was printed by the New Leaf Press in Manchester, who have since closed.

https://www.thechase.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.11.2020

D&AD Awards 2020

Yesterday evening it was the D&AD awards, which this year, was an online affair. I've been fortunate to have been invited to the awards dinner a few times over the years and been on the table of those who have won yellow pencils for projects for which I've had input and they have been very memorable evenings!

Given the circumstances, the awards this year were very well executed and superbly presented by D&AD President Kate Stanners Saatchi & Saatchi Global CCO).

A phenomenal 618 pencils were awarded, including 384 Wood, 150 Graphite, 68 Yellow, and 4 elusive Black Pencils. One of the black pencils worthy of note was for typeface Universal Sans, a variable typeface that allows for an extensive range of customisation and unique variations produced by Family Type.

This year, many of the studios that I have worked with over the years, including Johnson Banks, NB Studio, Magpie, Osborne Ross and Here Design, to name but a few, have been nominated and won awards.

It's always lovely to have been involved with a project which has won an award and even better, a project which has won two awards...

Twenty-five Sculptures In Five Dimensions was a self-promotional project for writer Tom Sharp. It was a demonstration of creativity within strict technical writing and design restraints, an experiment in reading and seeing, and an attempt at creating a sublime, meaningful experience with as few elements as possible.

I wrote about the actual event on my blog, last November  HERE.

Tom Sharp filled a high-ceilinged church in Covent Garden with 25 plinths. Each plinth held a text created to a strict format of five syllables per line, five lines plus a title. Each piece of writing described an original, imaginary object, so that any emotional response the reader had was because of the object they conjured up, rather than language manipulation.

The project was a collaboration with Studio Sutherl&. Tom Sharp and Jim Sutherland are the Creative Directors, writer is Tom Sharp and the designer is Rosey Trickett. The printed sheets were all printed on our wonderful Sixties paper and printed offset litho by Boss Print.

Yesterday evening this project was awarded a Graphite Pencil [Graphic Design] for Self Promotion and a Yellow Pencil [Graphic Design] for Writing for Graphic Design.

Congratulations to all participants in this year's awards. It has been a strange year, but life goes on and it's great to see that the creative industry is still producing and recognising great work, even in these unprecedented times.

You can watch the 2020 D&AD awards and check out the winners HERE

https://www.thepoetryofitall.com/
http://studio-sutherland.co.uk/
https://www.bossprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.09.2020

D&AD President's Lecture - Simon Mottram

Yesterday evening I went to the D&AD presidents lecture to hear Simon Mottram, founder of the Rapha cycling brand at the Conway Hall in London.

Simon was introduced by D&AD President Bruce Duckworth. Using a mixture of films and images Simon charted the history of the Rapha brand from the early beginnings on his kitchen table, where the brand was placed at the centre of the business, which is quite firmly where it remains today.

Simon is an excellent speaker, clearly as passionate about cycling as the business he founded. His insights into creating a brand, being the brand owner and how he has managed to create a business which has the ethos of the brand in everything they do is a remarkable story. As he said:
"The brand drives everything. Phrases like ‘moments of truth’, ‘alignment’ and ‘engagement’ become more than buzzwords. They become reality".

He is modest enough to say that as much as it has been down to hard work and determination that there was also a fair element of luck and good timing.

He gave us 13 clues about how Rapha works. Looking at this list now, it looks a bit "dry" but when Simon was going through each point they jumped out at you. 

In my capacity as a small supplier to Rapha, I totally get it. The people I have dealt with over the years are totally engaged with the business, which is testament to Simon's point that "If your brand is going to be authentic at every point then it’s vital that you build the brand from the inside out"
There are many businesses that I work with (including design agencies) that have an excellent outward customer facing brand and image ...BUT if you are talking to that business as a supplier, you get treated very differently.

Interestingly, I checked back in my files and I first sent paper samples to Rapha on 12th May 2005 (to Ben Aquilina), which was in the very early days as Rapha only started in 2004! Since then we have supplied Rapha for a number of projects, here are just three for interest:
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/glory-through-suffering.html
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/rapha-springsummer-2010.html
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/rapha-gt-shoes.html

 At a guess, I would think there were probably 300-400 people in the audience. Attending events like this is very important for all of us in the creative industry - it helps to share other people's perspectives and share what else is going on. At £15 per ticket, it's good value too....

I left feeling inspired and invigorated!

You can see the presidents lectures here:
http://shop.dandad.org/events/

Make it a belated new year resolution ...GO to more industry talks!

http://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/

https://www.dandad.org/

Posted by Justin Hobson 12.01.2017

Jobs from the past - Number 86



Regular followers of this blog will know that my first post of every month is a "job from the past" so that I can show some of the really good work from years gone by and here's one from 1995.  

D&AD Newsletter - December 1995

It's unlikely that D&AD needs much introduction. - Founded in London in 1962 as British Design & Art Direction by a group of creatives and art directors, it has since become a world renowned body championing design and creativity.

This piece of literature is an excellent example of the way communication worked in the pre-internet world! Back in 1995, Mary Lewis was president of D&AD and then, as now, the President's Lectures were a popular draw for creatives (back in these days, tickets were either ordered by post or telephone and sent out by post). Feedback from member indicated a desire for transcripts of the lectures to be printed, so that the content could be more widely circulated, so in this inaugural issue, the D&AD Newsletter was re-launched in December 1995, in the main, to disseminate the transcripts of the lectures.

The publication later became known as Ampersand and I will write about the later issues in the future.

Front Cover

Size of the publication is 445x315mm portrait and is a 16pp 'self cover' and is unbound. It has a wonderfully floppy and tabloid newspaper feel. It is printed on our Redeem 100% Recycled 130gsm.



This issue covered the transcripts of the lectures given by Oliviero Toscani....

Click on images to enlarge

...and Maurice Saatchi.

The paper is a neutral white shade gives the publication a 'newsy' feel which really works with the images and most importantly, the pages which are purely type, as below:

Click on images to enlarge

The publication is printed offset litho in one colour (halftone or monotone printing) and the look and feel is just perfect. A well designed and thoughtful piece of print to be delivered, spread information and disposed of - just like a newspaper!

For a sense of scale, below is the outside back cover pictured with a 300mm ruler and a ballpoint pen, remember the size of the publication is  445x315mm.

The newsletter was printed by a company called Penshurst Press based in Tunbridge Wells. Sadly the company no longer exists - they wound up at the end of the nineties.

The design of the cover and contents is by Vince Frost. Deyan Sudjic gave the advice to Mary Lewis to "keep it simple" which this publication does admirably. Content is edited by David Robson of The Independent.

Photography by Giles Revell, cover photograph: Matthew Donaldson, Saatchi Image: David Levenson/Colorific, Toscani Image: A Rau/Sygma.

Vince Frost left for the sunnier climate of Australia just over fifteen years ago and runs Frost* in Sydney.

...and Fenner Paper? ...yep, we're still here!

https://www.dandad.org/

http://www.frostdesign.com.au/

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.12.2016