Fenner Paper Diary 2024

If you are a user of the Fenner Paper ranges and therefore one of our wonderful customers, you may well have already received one of our new 2024 diaries...

This year’s cover has been created by Oswin Tickler, a designer and lecturer based in London. Oswin’s initial experiments with code as a means of generating variable digital print were developed into the software HP Spark by HP Indigo. The result is that each cover is totally unique, generated by HP Spark.

Which one will you get...?

The 4pp cover is printed on our Creative Print, Diamond 270gsm using an HP Indigo digital press. The 40pp text is printed in one colour, on our lovely Offenbach Bible 60gsm, which has a superb opacity and a good writing surface making this an ideal paper for a diary or notebook.

The diary has been designed by long term collaborator and friend David Coates an independent designer and director of ISTD.  As in previous years, the diary is 230x162mm, portrait and retains the popular 'month to view' format.

The typeface used is BWord (2.0) designed by Matt Willey which is available through Buy Fonts Save Lives.

Buy Fonts Save Lives sells typefaces to raise money to support Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support. 100% of the proceeds go to the charities and to date, over £115,000 has been raised!

Founded by Paul Harpin in memory of his niece Laura who sadly died from cancer, aged just 26. We’re delighted to support and help promote the initiative with our diaries. Any purchases of the fonts help to raise vital funds that literally save lives.

If you are one of our worthy clients (!), you should be receiving one of our diaries in the post. If you want to make sure you are in our address book, drop me an email: justin@fennerpaper.co.uk. For people who aren't customers, they will be available to purchase through an online store.

Posted by Justin Hobon 08.12.2023

Today is World Rainforest Day

As today is World Rainforest Day what better day to have a 'Throwback Thursday' and show you this amazing job for the Rainforest Action Network produced in 2007...

 At This Rate is a printed publication produced to highlight the scale of the destruction of the world's rainforests.

Click on images to enlarge

Design is by Studio8, Matt Willey and Zoë Bather were designers on the project. The amazing photography is by Giles Revell.

Inside front cover spread

The size of the job is 220mm x160mm portrait and has an 8pp cover with a 24pp text.

The book forms a series of spreads which really show off the stunning photography of the skeletal leaves, which look so much like aerial views of cities and make the spreads very powerful. Below is "Every day we lose an area larger than all five boroughs of New York City"

As mentioned before, it is best described as an 8pp cover with a 24pp text, but the text is actually formed by a long concertina (with one join) and the 8pp cover, which has a 10mm capacity spine actually works as a "dustjacket" as you can see in the birdseye pic, below...

It was constructed like this for reasons of both economy and ecology! The whole job actually comes out of one B1 sheet of paper meaning that it was relatively economical from a printing point of view and it was also not wasteful which is in line with the clients aims and objectives.

On the reverse of the long concertina, which is hidden from view, is an image taken around the outside trunk of a tree from a tropical rainforest...

It is quite simply a stunning job both from the concept, design, photography, format, printing and finishing. It deservedly won 2008 DesignWeek award for Editorial Design.

The images were offset litho printed as a Tritone with a high density black ink. The repro and superb print is by Granite, who have since gone bust. The material choice is Neptune Unique FSC 200gsm which not only printed fantastically but was also the environmental choice by having Forestry Stewardship Council certification, which was more unusual for fine papers in those days.

https://www.worldrainforestday.org/

https://www.ran.org/

https://www.gilesrevell.com/

http://www.gilesrevell.com/projects/environment/

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.06.2023

Fenner Paper Diary 2023

If you are a user of the Fenner Paper ranges and therefore one of our wonderful customers, you may well have received one of our new 2023 diaries...

This year’s cover has been created by Matt Willey, Partner at Pentagram New York. The internal pages use Matt’s font Timmons NY (2.0) which is available through BuyFontsSaveLives.com

Buy Fonts Save Lives sells typefaces to raise money to support Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support. 100% of the proceeds go to the charities and to date, over £100,000 has been raised! We’re delighted to support and help promote the initiative with our diaries. Any purchases of the fonts help to raise vital funds that literally save lives.

The text of the diary has been designed by David Coates, independent designer and board director of ISTD.  As in previous years, the diary is 230x162mm, portrait and retains the popular 'month to view' format.

The 4pp cover is printed on our Creative Print, Diamond 270gsm. The 40pp text is very simply digitally printed in one colour, on our lovely Offenbach Bible 60gsm, which has a superb opacity and a good writing surface making this an ideal paper for a diary or notebook.

If you are one of our worthy clients (!), you should be receiving one of our diaries in the post but if you would rather have it sent to your home than the office or if you want to make sure you are in our address book, drop me an email: justin@fennerpaper.co.uk 

https://buyfontssavelives.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.12.2022

INQUE Bookmarks

Last summer, you may remember that a Kickstarter campaign for a new magazine INQUE, which I wrote about here. INQUE is a large-format annual literary magazine from Dan Crowe and Matt Willey. Dedicated to commissioning and publishing diverse global writing next to extraordinary art, design and photography, with an editorial remit to be creatively groundbreaking. The crowdfunding campaign was hugely successfully and the first issue is due out this October.

In the meantime, they have produced various goodies, T shirts, Tote bags etc and these amazing bookmarks (or should it be bookmarques!)

The size is 77mm x 210mm and they are hot foil blocked on our Sumo, Black 1mm board, so they are very substantial and look great. The invitation is printed on SUMO, which is our a heavyweight, thick board manufactured by FAVINI in Italy. It is available in black and white and the consists of 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm up to a whopping 3mm thick ...seriously chunky! The has also now been extended to include a small range of colours - five new shades all available in 1mm thick.

Click on images to enlarge

Design is by Matt Willey. They have been beautifully hot foil blocked in gloss black foil by Identity Print.

I'm not sure what you have to do to get one of these lovely bookmarks, but in the meantime you could subscribe to issue one HERE - it's not too late!

https://inquemag.com/

https://mattwilley.co.uk/

http://www.identityprint.co.uk/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inque/inque-magazine

Posted by Justin Hobson 18.06.2021

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

INQUE Magazine

INQUE is a large-format annual literary magazine dedicated to commissioning and publishing diverse global writing next to extraordinary art, design and photography, with an editorial remit to be creatively groundbreaking.

Dan Crowe (Editor) and Matt Willey (Art Director) are the duo who love making magazines but hate having to rely on advertising....

"We love giving writers freedom but hate wasting money on distribution. We love working with photographers and illustrators and want to have control over who we commission. We love the smell of paper and seeing it all come together but hate having to publish something when it’s not totally ready. We love the collaboration, the sense of the new, and the unfound, unseen and unpublished. That’s why we’re making INQUE—an exciting new ad-free magazine to be published, one issue per year, from 2021 through to 2030"

Mock-up INQUE cover

They will only manage to achieve their noble aim if YOU support them...

They have launched a Kickstarter campaign and they are 42% of their way to the target figure with 19 days to go. It is achievable but only if you support it and spread the message far and wide...

Mock-up INQUE layout. Photograph by Jack Davison.

Mock-up INQUE layout. Photograph by Christopher Anderson.

You can support the project on Kickstarter... 

HERE

Have a look, watch the fab 1 minute video ..and remember to tell all your friends!

You can support the project for any amount but just £45 will get you the first issue with a selection of  incentives, from T shirts to Tote bags and prints etc etc...

Mock-up INQUE layout.

Mock-up INQUE layout. Photograph by Maria Spann.

Mock-up INQUE layout. Photograph by Rich Gilligan.

Mock-up INQUE layout. Photograph by Agnes Lloyd-Platt.

Do something positive and have something to look forward to in 2021!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inque/inque-magazine
https://inquemag.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 31.07.2020

Jack Davison Posters

This is a superb set of three A1 posters produced for the book launch of ‘Photographs’, by Jack Davison, at the New York Book Fair last September...

Jack Davison is a young English photographer who has an enviable reputation and client list including British Vogue, New York Times Magazine, Hermes, Burberry, Modern Weekly China, Nike, Margaret Howell and many more...

The launch at the book fair is Jack's first book, hence the production of posters for the book signing. The book is published by Loose Joints.

These A1 size posters are designed by Matt Willey and the really smart thing about them is that the posters can be arranged side by side, in any order, ad infinitum.

The posters are printed on our new weight of Offenbach Bible in 80gsm and are printed Offset litho in 2 colours - a Duotone combining Black and Pantone 485 red by Principal Colour in the UK.

If you aren't familiar with Offenbach Bible, it is the most wonderful sheet of paper. A genuine 'Bible Paper' means that it has a high opacity (for a light weight) archival quality and excellent strength. It also prints beautifully as you can see from the many other projects appearing on this blog. Originally available in 40, 50 and 60gsm, we have now introduced a heavy weight ...80gsm!

An edition of 200 of these posters is available through Loose Joints publishing with all proceeds from the sales of the posters going to Amazon Watch.

Matt Willey is now a partner at Pentagram in New York and kindly took a picture for me, showing the posters on display at the NY studio, sadly devoid of people due to the current lockdown...

Jack Davison is represented by Mini Title and the book was published by Loose Joints.

If you would like a samples of our lovely Offenbach Bible, just drop me an email:
justin@fennerpaper.co.uk

https://www.jackdavison.co.uk/
http://www.minititle.com/artists/jackdavison/
https://mattwilley.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 29.05.2020 

Jobs from the past - Number 60

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...

Quartet: 27.01.06

This is a stunning piece of literature produced for an event at the museum back in 2006.  Quartet: Four Literary Walks Through The V&A Quartet contains commissioned short stories by Nicholas Royle, Lucy Caldwell, Peter Hobbs and Shiromi Pinto.

Inspired by the V&A and its collections, the four stories in ‘Quartet’ were annotated with directions, mapping the routes described in the writers’ narratives and thus enabling readers to follow the stories as they moved through the museum.

Size of the publication is 307x255mm, portrait. It is totally unbound, just folded and loose, which given the materials just looks and feels right. Matt and Zoë, who were the designers on the project wanted an interaction between the pages which ties in the words with the layout and different floor levels in the museum. They wanted a lightweight material and a high amount of show-through which of course is NOT what our Offenbach Bible does - it has the most amazing opacity for such a lightweight sheet of paper. I suggest the use of a 'high density' black ink or what is soemtimes termed 'double density black' - this is normal ink, except it just has a higher percentage of pigment (colour) so results in a deeper black - thereby ensuring maximum show through - and a nice solid black as well! The picture below shows the way the design and type was structured to work through the paper.

The 4pp cover is printed on StarFine Natural White 200gsm, which is a good match to the shade of the Offenbach Bible. The text is all printed on Offenbach Bible 60gsm.
Below you can see the schematic which links the stories and their position in the museum.

Detail of the schematics:

The routes were also made available as downloads for Sony PlayStation Portable consoles as the show was upported by Sony Playstation

You can read more about the project here:
http://www.mattwilley.co.uk/Quartet-Four-Literary-Walks-Through-The-V-A

Design is by Studio8 where the Creative Directors were Zoë Bather and Matt Willey. Sadly, Studio8 closed in May 2012 and Matt and Zoë now work on their own projects, many of which have also appeared on this blog. This piece of work was awarded both Type Directors Club (TDC53), 2007 Citation for Typographic Excellence and an ADC 86, 2007 Merit (Corporate & Promotional Design)

This piece was printed in two colours, offset litho, by Principal Colour.

www.zoebather.co.uk
www.mattwilley.co.uk
www.principalcolour.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.10.2014