ISTD Awards 2011

I was lucky enough to go to the ISTD awards on Friday evening and it was an excellent event. It was held at the The Museum of Brands and Packaging in London's Notting Hill. Now, I've never come accross this museum but as guests we were allowed to have a look around and I would suggest you have a look, especially if you are doing a packaging/branding project (http://www.museumofbrands.com/). As with all ISTD events, there is a real warmth, maybe because there is always an international element? or because people interested in type are friendly? ...I don't know.

Steve Fenn, Tom Heaton, Toby Burkill, Tom Pollard, Zoë Bather

There was no 2011 Overall Winner but there were 50 Awards representing design from 19 countries and 12 nationalities – 36 Certificates of Excellence, 14 Premier Awards, awarded for outstanding typographic achievement.

All the award winners deserve congratulations, but in particular, there are some people who I must mention:

Cartlidge Levene for the V&A  Ceramic Galleries  (... not on paper, but still great work!) http://www.cartlidgelevene.co.uk/

Raw for their lovely 11 out of 10 poster (printed by Adams of Rye), Studio 8 for Elephant magazine and the Central School of Speech & Drama identity and Paulus M Dreibholz for numerous awards!
http://www.rawdesignstudio.co.uk/
http://www.studio8design.co.uk/
http://dreibholz.com/

A piece that particularly intrigued me was  a book called Another Reason designed bu Al Mohtaraf, a studio based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

http://www.mohtaraf.com/

http://mohtarafbooks.com/m/al-mohtaraf-publishing,1.html

It was an excellent evening which showed a fantastic array of international typographic excellence. It is SO important for the design industry that we retain organisations such as the ISTD and we must take every opportunity to try and encourage membership, thus ensuring their continued viability. Congratulations to the awards team: Belinda Magee, Clare Playne and Gilmar Wendt - a huge amount of time and work goes into these events and it is fair that they should be recognised and applauded.

The awards catalogue perfectly illustrates the awards, the diversity of media and approach and an inspiring overview of international typographic design. It is 130x185mm, portrait, perfect bound. Printed on our Neptune Unique 300 and 170gsm.

The book is designed by Playne Design. Print is by Gavin Martin. It's well worth getting - you can buy the awards book through the ISTD website (£15, I think)

...and if you aren't a member, have a look http://www.istd.org.uk/ - it costs less than £10 per month - still excellent value!

www.istd.org.uk
http://www.museumofbrands.com/
www.playnedesign.co.uk
www.gavinmartincolournet.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.10.2011

An ISTD trio

Here's a trio from the ISTD: A new issue of Condensed, the ISTD awards and the new ISTD Australasia page....

1. ISTD Condensed 05

This is the society's news publication, which is a simply (but beautifully) produced piece which is sent to all members. 



Printed in 1 colour, offset litho on StarFine White, 100gsm. Design is by Peter Dawson at Grade (www.gradedesign.com) and David Quay. Typeface used is Foundry Sans. Printed by Gavin Martin.

2. ISTD International Typographic Awards 2011

The awards ceremony is being held at the Museum of Brands and Packaging on Friday 14 October, where the winners will be announced and the awards presented.

The Museum of Brands and Packaging is in Notting Hill (W11) and the collection is being kept open for the duration of the awards - which is an added bonus!

If you would like to go, you can - you don't have to be a member.
Ticket price £35 non-members, £25 ISTD members.

Drinks and canapés will be served.
http://payments.istd.org.uk/awards-ceremony-2011

3. ISTD Australasia launches facebook page
In keeping with the society's international outlook and the increasing member activity in the region,  they have launched a facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ISTD-Australasia/206895479331171
...and that's it! I don't think I've ever written about three things on one post before.
http://www.istd.org.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.10.2011

Robert Welch Catalogues

Here's a lovely suite of literature produced for tableware designers and producers Robert Welch Designs.

For those that are unfamiliar with Robert Welch, here's a quick CV. He trained as a silversmith at the Royal College of Art and in 1955 set up his studio in Chipping Campden. The company blossomed and has become a household name for quality cutlery and tableware, all produced with strong design principles. Robert was made and MBE and a Royal Designer for Industry. He passed away in 2000 but since 1993, the company has been run and managed by Robert's son Rupert and daughter Alice.

John Dowling has been designing their catalogues and promotional material for the past seven years which has given the brand a consistency and uniformity across it's promotional activity which many companies struggle to achieve.

Robert Welch normally produce one catalogue but this time they produced three, to emphasise the different areas in which RW products fall – Kitchen, Dining and Living and the production of an all encompassing folder.

The folder is produced using our Plexus 350gsm which is a 100% recycled board in a mid brown shade (reflecting the traditional cotswold colour) – and contrasts with the coated material of the catalogues and high gloss UV varnish of the three front covers. The "generic" folder picks up on the history of Robert Welch and illustrates the working of the studio and showcases the newly refurbished shop in Chipping Campden, designed by architect Lorenzo Apicella at Pentagram.

The three brochures are a variety of paginations in a concertina format, folded 297x155mm, printed on our Millennium Real Silk 200gsm. The cover page on each is varnished with a gloss UV varnish.

Design is by Dowling Duncan. Art direction and design was by John Dowling working closely in association with Alice and Rupert Welch - and as you can see, it is based around the beautifully commissioned and art directed photography combined with the simplicity of the folder. Print is by Gavin Martin.

http://www.robertwelch.com/

http://dowlingduncan.com/

www.gavinmartin.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.09.2011

One Hundred and Forty Characters

One Hundred and Forty Characters is the title of this poster by photographer Chris Floyd.

In July 2010 he began photographing people that he followed on Twitter. The idea came as he realised that many of the people on Twitter that he communicated with several times a week (in bursts of 140 characters or less) were people that he had never met.

After a year, Chris had photographed 140 of them and this is the ensuing piece of work. (click to enlarge)

The poster is a limited print run of 500. Design is by Wayne Ford

Size is A1 (841mm x 594mm) and were printed offset litho in Tritone (warm grey 4 and 2 blacks). Omnia 120gsm was chosen so that it had a tactile feel and the photographic images reproduced really well. Print is by Gavin Martin.

You can read more about the project on Chris Floyd's blog:
http://chrisfloyduk.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/one-hundred-forty-characters/
http://wayneford.posterous.com/
www.gavinmartin.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.07.2011

Jobs from the past - Number 21

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...

University of Lincoln Annual Review 2004-2005

The brief for this annual review included the words: crafted, established and tradition. The University of Lincoln was less than ten years old at this time, yet situated in beautiful, ancient Cathedral City that could rival Oxford and Cambridge for both it's heritage and ecclesiastical connections.

This annual report was designed to emphasise the modern and attractive campus at Brayford Pool within the context of an established  and crafted piece of literature.

Size of the document is 240x235mm (just slightly landscape) and is 3 hole sewn with black thread. It has an 8pp cover and a 24pp text.

As you can see, it is based around the beautifully commissioned photography. It is printed in Duotone (black/grey) throughout which have a rich feel and depth to them and work well with the natural/off white material. The cover was printed on Modigliani, Bianco 260gsm which has a traditional "watercolour" type feel to it and the text is on Optimale Blanc Naturel 140gsm.

Art direction and design was by John Dowling. The superb photography is by Andy Weekes (http://www.andyweekes.net/). Print was by Gavin Martin - they deserve credit for the excellent duotone reproduction and well finished three hole sewing.

www.lincoln.ac.uk

www.dowlingduncan.com

http://www.andyweekes.net/

www.gavinmartin.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.07.2011

Dowling Duncan

Dowling|Duncan are anything but a conventional design company. The company was born out of the desire of two former work colleagues wishing to work together and the result is a pooling of resources by the two principals, John Dowling and Rob Duncan on either sides of the Atlantic.

The literature below is their first piece of promotional print in what has been a momentous year for the two D's. Not only have they celebrated their first year, but they have also opened a New York office in the Chrysler building. They now have offices in San Francisco, New York and Newark (UK).

The below piece is a simple 12pp folded affair in which the 8pp concertina folds into the last 4pp forming the cover. Size is 155mm x 220mm.

One side is almost entirely image based (pics above) while the other side is mailnly in black, demonstrating the marks and identities that they have completed (pic below)

The job is printed on our Omnia 200gsm which works just perfectly as the creasing and small (3mm) spine which enable the concertina to sit squarely in the cover is just right. Printing is offset litho in four colours and the printer is Gavin Martin. It was printed before they opened the New York office, so here's hoping for a re-print!

...and thanks to John and Rob for their note

http://dowlingduncan.com/

www.gavinmartin.co.uk

Jobs from the past - Number 20

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...

V&A  1998-2001 Report

This is the triennial report of the board of trustees published in 2001 under the title: Inspiration and Knowledge, this report is very much aimed at answering the question "what is the V&A for?" 

It is a conventional A4 landscape size. The perfect bound document is made up of a 4pp cover, 34pp text and a seperate 4pp dustjacket. The highlight of the piece is the use of the V&A logo which is die cut out of the dustjacket behind which is the image of a tapestry (Neptune and Cupid plead for the lovers -Mortlake). The bold use of the now iconic V&A logo (Designed by Pentagram - Alan Fletcher 1989) is striking and purposeful.

The spreads use a different colour for each of the subjects covered in the report - all of which are deliberately kept to one right hand page, each working with an appropriately striking image on the left hand page. 

The review is printed on our Concorde Pure Silk which is a triple coated silk. Cover is on 350gsm, text on 170gsm and the dustjacket on 200gsm. At 200gsm, it's heavier than one would normally use for a dustjacket but it needs to be that heavy to work with the large die-cut logo.

Design was by London based studio HGV and creative director on the project was Pierre Vermeir. Editor was Jeremy Myerson. Sadly, after 21 years  HGV closed it's doors in 2009, when Pierre Vermeir took a position as creative director at an agency in Bangkok. Pierre passed the HGV legacy and his clients to senior designer, Tommy Taylor who formed Alphabetical and who still works with many of the former HGV clients.

Print was by Gavin Martin, who as regular blog readers will know are still producing excellent work and also working on V&A projects - see previous post: http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.com/2011/01/v-and-me.html

www.vam.ac.uk
www.alphabeticalstudio.com
www.gavinmartin.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.06.2011

Whistles Invite AW2011

Here's an invitation with a real difference ...it's really thick!

This is the invitation to the launch of the Whistles Autumn/Winter 2011 collection at Claridges. It is produced using three of our materials! The face is hot foil blocked in a pigmented green foil on our Colorset, Crimson 270gsm. This has then been pasted onto our Vale Board which is 2000micron (2mm) thick and then is finished with Astralux Black 250gsm which has been pasted on the reverse.

...and the most beautiful touch of all is the 2½mm thick board has been sprayed in green to match the foil - really beautiful.

Below pic shows black reverse:

So there you have it. A three ply sandwich which is beatifully finished, has lots of impact, style and solidity!

Design is by Simmonds. Foiling and finishing is by Gavin Martin and it's been beatifully done.

http://www.whistles.co.uk/

http://www.simmondsltd.com/
http://www.gavinmartin.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 24.05.2011

ISTD Typographic Awards - Call for entries

Over the last couple of weeks you may have received the very nice mailing, pictured below:

It is the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) call for entries for the 2011 awards. The mailer is 145x195mm which folds out to a poster sized 390x580mm. It is printed in CMYK on one side only on our Offenbach Bible 60gsm.

Design and Art Direction is by Liam Bonar and Gilmar Wendt. It is printed by Gavin Martin.

Now the deadline is looming, so if you haven't got your entries ready, you'd better get on with it right now! they need to be in by 12th May 2011. There are 19 categories and the judges are Robert Boon, Simon Dixon, Tom Hingston, Lynda Relph-Knight and Astrid Stavro.

If you didn't get a mailer and would like to find out more about the awards, more details are available from www.istd.org.uk/awards

...and thanks to David Coates and the board for the kind note:

http://www.istd.org.uk/
http://www.gavinmartin.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.04.2011

Dorchester Collection 2011

This is the 2011 desk calendar for hotel group, the Dorchester Collection. It is a superbly produced calendar of the highest quality (as one might expect!)

The Dorchester Collection has a collection of hotels around the world from the Beverley Hills Hotel to Le Meurice in Paris to the Dorchester itself. Combined, the hotels boast 11 Michelin stars and it is the chefs (and the food) that are the stars of this calendar.

The size of the calendar is 148x200mm wiro-bound onto an extended "tent card" which is 25mm deeper.

The overiding feeling that you get with this piece is one of quality and prestige, which is down to the feel, quality of materials and processes used. The Calendar has been produced using a mixture of our Monoblack 1400mics (yes that's the black material - 1.4mm thick!) which makes a lovely sturdy tent and front cover. The cover is de-bossed and the tent card is hot foil blocked in a silver foil. The seventeen text sheets are printed on our StarFine White 170gsm and there is a 90gsm trace material interleaving the sheets. 

To celebrate the collections outstanding restaurants, photographer Joakim Blockström was commissioned to photograph each Michelin starred chef and signature dish in London, New York, Milan, Paris and Los Angeles. First and foremost it has to work as a functional calendar...

Design and (superb) art direction is by OMD Design and the Creative Director on the project was Chris Mettrick. The beautiful photography by Joakim Blockstrom ...and now we get to the print and production. This was a big project (65,000 copies in total) and required excellent print, finishing and logistics. It was produced by Gavin Martin and I have to say it is a really fantastically produced piece of print and finishing - for example the creases on the tent card have been "kiss-cut"  so they are really sharp and it sits up beautifully square, stable and erect. All in all it's a cracking job Grommit!

http://www.dorchestercollection.com/

http://www.omddesign.com/

http://www.joakimblockstrom.com/

http://www.gavinmartin.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 18.04.2011