Joe Caroff RIP

Joe Caroff died on August 17, just a day short of turning 104 years old. He was an American graphic designer known for film posters and corporate design work and worked on over 300 films. Caroff created the 007 pistol logo for the James Bond movie franchise for which he was allegedly paid only $300. Initially intended for use on film studio letterheads, it went on to become an instantly recognisable piece of branding for the movie franchise. You can read his New York Times obituary here, however even more interesting is an excellent article written by Steven Heller for PRINT magazine in 2021, titled The Most Prolific Designer You’ve Never Heard Of

...and what better time to review these superb invitations produced for Skyfall...

SKYFALL 2012

The James Bond franchise is a global phenomenon and one which over the years has made those involved in the production and marketing a lot of money. However many people may not remember that due to the recession, Bond film number 23 (as Skyfall was then known) was put on hold in 2010 due to lack of cash. Having originally meant to be released in 2011, it was eventually released in October 2012.

Film Premieres of this scale demand lavish and expensive invitations and collateral. In quality terms they must live up to and possibly exceed, the expectations of the forthcoming film.

Below is a small 4pp wallet (with pocket) which is 180mmx107mm, printed offset litho in CMYK plus a gold special colour on Omnia 280gsm with the ticket printed CMYK and hot foil blocked in metallic gold foil on Omnia 280gsm duplexed to 560gsm.  

Click on images to enlarge

The ticket is also hot foil blocked on the reverse.

The launch of this type of film requires several events and these represent tickets for the screenings at The Royal Albert Hall, the Odeon Leicester Square and the after show party at the Tate. As you will notice from the reverse of the wallet (below) the litho printed gold actually looks gold! ..this is a feature of Omnia and where is scores over ordinary uncoated papers.

Below is the ticket for the Odeon Leicester Square which is 99x210mm, Landscape.

The ticket is printed in CMYK plus gloss black foil, which you can hopefully see in the picture below.

This ticket which is also printed on Omnia 280gsm is mounted on our Sumo 2000microns which makes the invitation 2.5mm thick!

Printing is by Identity Print, based in Paddock Wood, Kent and they made a superb job of it - colour reproduction and solids are superb - the hot foil blocking is perfectly executed (Identity are one of the few printers to have hot foil blocking facilities 'in-house')

https://www.identityprint.co.uk/
https://www.007.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.08.2025

Jobs from the past - Number 180

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 - this project is from 2014.

Ted Baker "Take the scenic route" Autumn/Winter 2014

This is an exquisite print campaign from Ted Baker, one of the UK's leading clothing brands. Recognised for using interesting themes and stories for its marketing, the company has become a desired designer label through engaging with customers through word of mouth rather than just advertising.

Titled "Take the scenic route" it showcases the Autumn/Winter collection and is shot on location at Pickering station on the classic North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The Pullman steam train evokes a strong period scene in which the clothing and accessories play the central part.

The publication contains womenswear, menswear and accessories "so try something new (at the drop of a stylish hat) and always take the scenic route with Ted."

The paper used throughout is our lovely Omnia text and cover range - 320gsm for the cover and 120gsm for the text. As you can see from the images, there is lots of bright colour and images with CMYK dark areas (especially as it's Autumn/Winter) - lots of heavy coverage going down and it looks great on the Omnia, reproducing bright vibrant colours as well and the dark winter colours, whilst retaining detail in the dark areas. ALSO...solid colours such as the solid black below, look just beautiful, flat, matt and tactile. 

This publication is produced in two sizes, 297x210mm (A4) portrait and 210x148mm (A5) format, both with a 4pp cover and a 72pp text.Perfect bound.

The superb printing was by Absolute Ink in East London who have sadly gone bust since. Design and art direction is by the in house team at Ted Baker.

The front cover and spine is hot foil blocked with metallic silver foil - beautifully done and reinforces the quality of the brand.

Image showing foiling on the spine - spine is about 6mm

 

All in all, this is a superb piece of print. This book also heralds the launch of the wonderfully named "Phormal" range of clothing!

https://www.tedbaker.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 05.11.2024

Wembley Park by Quintain

Quintain are creating a new 85-acre neighbourhood, offering 8.8 million sq ft of mixed-use development, including over 500,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space. When finished, Wembley Park will get over 20 million visitors a year and have an annual retail spend comparable to Ealing Broadway, Camden Town and Victoria.

This stunning brochure is 290x230mm. Printed on Omnia throughout, the solid flat colours and images have reproduced beautifully.

The publication has a 4pp cover and a 40pp text, both on our Omnia, chosen because it would beautifully reproduce the photography with the retail images superbly - without forgetting the fleshtones and of course the solid areas of flat colour ...and it looks wonderful!

The spine is about 10mm and for those reading this who are thinking, that's awfully thick for a 40pp text, you'd be right, but read on...

Yes, it does only have 40pp, but it is lay-flat bound, which as you can see from the below image, lays completely open and totally flat...

So, how does it work? Sheets that have been printed on one side are folded and collated into their book form, which are mounted (glued) back to back to form a book block. The text pages are using Omnia 150gsm which makes each 'page' 370mics thick. The book block has then been bound into the pre-creased cover which forms an open V as there is no glue in the spine, as you can see in the images below...

...and the final spread is this amazingly bright fluorescent orange (printed a special)

The publication is printed offset litho in CMYK plus a special. Print is by Identity Print, based in Paddock Wood with Paul Martin handling the project.

https://wembleypark.com/shops-markets/
https://www.identityprint.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 15.10.2024

Jobs from the past - Number 179

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 - this project is from 2017

Jimmy Choo - Cruise 2017

Founded in 1996, Jimmy Choo is now an iconic luxury fashion brand defined by an empowered sense of glamour and a confident sense of style.

The size is 210x148mm (A5) portrait and is saddle stitched. The publication has a 8pp cover with a 28pp text.

The 8pp cover is printed on our Omnia 280gsm. Both the cover and text are printed CMYK plus a metallic gold pantone as a special. The front cover has a raised, embossed foil for the Jimmy Choo brandmark - which I hope I have managed to capture in the image below. Omnia is a very bulky sheet, so it embosses superbly, taking a deep embossing superbly.

Click on images to enlarge

It is printed offset litho in four colour process throughout. As always (...this is the plug for the paper!) the images look superb on the Omnia; the fleshtones in particular look absolutely stunning and the reproduction of the jewels and metallic images is great - keeping all the detail in those heavy areas of CMYK together with uncoated paper tactility which would be lost on other papers.

Click on images to enlarge

The detail on the handbags in the below image is stunning...

The size and combination of weights is just right and the book flows superbly in the hand. The text is printed on Omnia 150gsm.

The book is section sewn, with a nice flat spine which is also hot foil blocked.

Art direction and design is by the design studio at Jimmy Choo. The peerless print and print production is by Gavin Martin.
https://www.jimmychoo.com/
https://www.gavinmartin.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.10.2024

Jobs from the past - Number 177

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 - this project is from 2016.

Reach, Presentation, Service & Expertise 2016

Established by Albert Hill and Matt Gibberd in 2004,The Modern House is the UK’s foremost estate agency for houses and apartments of outstanding design and they have a passion for modern architecture. This is their company brochure (titled "The Art of Selling Architecture") which sets out to explain who they are, what they do and how they do it - Reach, Presentation, Service and Expertise.

Click on images to enlarge

The cover is simply hot foil blocked in black foil and nothing on the back cover - it's wonderfully minimal. Size of the brochure is 280 x 230mm, portrait and is saddle stitched. It has an 8pp cover with 160mm wide flaps. The cover is printed and hot foil blocked Fabrique Moderne, Grey 200gsm which has a lovely textured 'watercolour' look and feel.

The text materials chosen are a combination of Omnia White 120gsm and Tree Free Bamboo Cream, 120gsm for the text (black only) There are 28pp in total with 12pp on the Omnia.

Click on images to enlarge

As you can see from centre spread above, the images have reproduced brilliantly on the Omnia, with the combination of exterior and interior photography. The Modern House have used Omnia many times, so they know just how good the combination of tactile feel and excellent reproduction is. Detail of interior image below...

The correct selection of weights, means that the 28pp text flows beautifully

Black type looking good on the Tree Free Bamboo, Cream 120gsm - made using 75% bamboo and 25% cotton - that's 100% non tree fibres!

A lovely touch is the black wire used for the saddle stitching. Works beautifully with the hot foil blocking in black on the front cover...

The superb art direction and design is by Tom Watt at Field Projects. Print was by Push Print who went into administration in 2021.

https://www.themodernhouse.com/

http://field-projects.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 05.08.2024