Showing posts with label Playne Design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Playne Design. Show all posts

Wednesday 29 July 2020

Charleston Press No.2

Nestled in the South Downs, Charleston was the country meeting place for the writers, painters and thinkers known as the Bloomsbury group. Now run by the Charleston Trust, the house is an excellent museum and visitor attraction, presented to look as it did when the family lived here in the 1950's. The walled garden was created by the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant to designs by Roger Fry and features Mediterranean influences with plants chosen for their intense colour and silver foliage. These became the subject of many works over their long residence at Charleston.

Published by the Charleston Trust, the Charleston Press includes includes newly commissioned essays exploring the themes, artists and stories of the exhibitions and programmes at Charleston, as well as articles marking important Bloomsbury anniversaries and events. This is the second issue and I wrote about the first issue here.
Size is 220x170mm, portrait and is perfect bound. The publication has an 8pp 'dustjacket' around the cover as you can see from the birdseye image below...
The below image shows the book (with the Colorset Solar cover) out of the dustjacket (100mm flaps) plus the wrap-around belly-band.
The 4pp cover, which is secreted under the dustjacket, is produced on our Colorset Solar (100% Recycled) 270gsm and is unprinted, being simply, but beautifully, debossed.
The 68pp text is printed on our Omnia 120gsm. The reason that Omnia was chosen is because it would beautifully reproduce the wide variety of different media, the artworks, solid colours and dark photography and most importantly feel special - with the reproduction that you would expect on a silk or gloss but with a natural tactile uncoated feel.
As a journal of essays and images inspired by the Charleston exhibitions titled In Colour, this is a very colourful issue with essays by Dr Darren Clarke, Professor Mary Ann Caws, Anne Starmer, Dr Alexandra Loske and interviews with Cressida Bell and Annie Sloan.
 Quotes on Colour combines images (Green, Blue, Gold and Grey) with quotations from Virginia Woolf's work which makes for a very powerful and engaging article...
The wrap around bellyband (70mm high) which tucks into the book, is printed on our Sixties 60gsm and because of the translucency, the background image shows through beautifully.
...you can see the level of show through in the detail image below.
Below image shows the 6mm spine, the perfect binding. The jacket is printed on Omnia 150gsm.
The reproduction on the Omnia is just something else, the level of detail and reproduction is superb as you can see the image below.
The publication is designed by Playne Design who have studios in London and Hastings. Creative Director is Clare Playne with production is handled by Simon Hack. Print production is by Pureprint. Like the first edition, this is an excellent example of a beautifully designed and well executed piece of print, entirely right for the subject. The publication is available for sale (at a very reasonable £5) HERE

https://www.charleston.org.uk/
http://www.playnedesign.co.uk/
https://www.pureprint.com/ 
Posted by Justin Hobson 29.07.2020

Wednesday 6 May 2020

De La Warr Pavilion Summer Events Guide

This is last Summer's events guide for the De La Warr Pavilion. The De La Warr pavilion is on the seafront in Bexhill in Sussex and is an iconic modernist building by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff which opened in 1936. Following a major renovation in 2005, the pavilion hosts many shows, exhibitions and cultural events. 
The finished size is 210x111mm, folding out to 420x553mm and is a 20pp concertina letter fold. Side view.... 
Click on images to enlarge
 Below image shows the concertina folding...
This guide is printed on our StarFine White 130gsm which means that rather than feeling like the vast majority of mass produced leaflets printed on a bit of silk or gloss, this has real character and value. The design is such that the listings of the exhibitions, activities and events are all listed on one side (outside)
Click on images to enlarge
 ...with the inside being reserved for a full size image from the exhibition. The below image taken from the HOW CHICAGO! exhibition.
Gladys Nilsson, A Cold Mouth 1968
The De La Warr identity and design (including the website) is by Playne Design who have studios in London and Hastings. Creative Director is Clare Playne. Print production is handled by Simon Hack. You can read more about the creation of the new identity here:
https://playnedesign.co.uk/our-work/de-la-warr-pavilion/#branding-modernist-cultural-icon

The project is printed offset litho in CMYK by Empress Litho with Jason Maclaren handling the project - and my thanks to Jason for very kindly sending me some file copies.
https://www.empresslitho.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 06.05.2020


Tuesday 28 January 2020

Typographic 71

This is the latest edition of Typographic, a journal published by ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers) issue 71. This is a good read and there is always something in it to inspire, the content is entirely devoted to those practising typographic design, both past and present.
The contents include eight articles by/about: David Quay, Stephen Banham, Jim Northover, Cal Swann, Jared Patterson, Trevor Finnegan, Tony Pritchard, Nicole Phillips, Mike Daines. The Editorial Board is Jim Northover, Tony Pritchard, Caroline Roberts.
Size is A4, portrait. The 4pp cover is printed offset litho, hot foil blocked and die cut on our Astralux Silver 250gsm. The die cut holes form the number 7, allowing the 2pp end-papers (which feature front and back) on Colorset Blush to show through. The number 71 on the cover was inspired by David Quay's typographic walk through Amsterdam which is one of the articles in the journal. Cover artwork is by Tony Pritchard.
Click on images to enlarge
Click on images to enlarge
The 32pp text is printed offset litho on Pergraphica High White, Rough 120gsm.
Click on images to enlarge
The colour images have reproduced excellently on the uncoated surface of the Pergraphica and the result is really superb...
Click on images to enlarge
The publication is section sewn and the book opens nicely and the pages lay quite flat. As you can see from the image below, how metallic the Astralux Silver looks on the cover...
Design is by Miriam Brüggen who is based in Berlin and production is by Playne Design. It is beautifully printed, bound and finished by Empress Litho in London.

You can buy a copy of Typographic 71 on this link here.

However...
If you are a practising designer that cares about typographic standards and you aren't already an ISTD member, maybe you should think about joining - there are many benefits, this journal (free to members) is just one! - have a look http://www.istd.org.uk/ - it costs less than £10 per month and is excellent value.

www.istd.org.uk
https://www.empresslitho.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 28.01.2020

Tuesday 9 July 2019

The first time I met Freda...

Earlier this year, we heard the sad news that Freda Sack, the renowned British type designer had died. You can read more about her career here on the ISTD website.
In May there was a small memorial celebration for family and close friends which was held at the Fitzrovia Chapel (formerly the Chapel of the Middlesex Hospital) which was particularly apt as Freda's studio had been close by.

This superb little publication was produced for those at the memorial and for those who were unable to go. It very simply records people's stories about when they first met her...
Size of the publication is 150mm square and actually became an 84pp publication because so many people wished to record their first meetings.
The paper chosen is our Sixties range in 60gsm - the choice being just right as the paper is light enough to produce just a multi page booklet and because of the show through, the words are beautifully layered throughout the publication...
Click on images to enlarge
SIXTIES is a new paper which has the same translucency as a tracing paper - but it feels like a normal paper …hopefully you can see the translucency in the images:

The publication is singer sewn and the image below shows the centre spread.
Singer sewing uses a pale blue thread.
Below shows the superb singer sewn spines.
Design is by Clare Playne of Playne Design one of the many friends and colleagues who contributed to the memorial.

You probably won't have realised that this job is digitally printed. It was printed and finished by digital print company Typecast Colour and was produced on their Xerox digital press and the finished result is superb. Printing digitally made this limited run viable - even on a material such as this, which many other printers are scared of.

It is a superbly produced little publication and a wonderful way to remember Freda.

https://playnedesign.co.uk/
http://www.typecast.co.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 09.07.2019

Friday 26 April 2019

De La Warr Pavilion Events Guide

This is the latest events guide for the De La Warr Pavilion. The De La Warr pavilion is on the seafront in Bexhill in Sussex and is an iconic modernist building by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff which opened in 1936. Following a major renovation in 2005, the pavilion hosts many shows, exhibitions and cultural events.
The finished size is 210x111mm, folding out to 420x553mm and is a 20pp concertina letter fold. Side view.... 
Click on images to enlarge
Below image shows the concertina folding...
This guide is printed on our StarFine White 130gsm which means that rather than feeling like the vast majority of mass produced leaflets printed on a bit of silk or gloss, this has real character and value. The design is such that the listings of the exhibitions, activities and events are all listed on one side (outside)
Click on images to enlarge
...with the inside being reserved for a full size image from the exhibition.
Lucy Orta , Procession Banners 1918-2018
The new De La Warr identity and design (including the website) is by Playne Design who have studios in London and Hastings. Creative Director is Clare Playne. Print production is handled by Simon Hack. You can read more about the creation of the new identity here:
https://playnedesign.co.uk/our-work/de-la-warr-pavilion/#branding-modernist-cultural-icon
 
The project is printed offset litho in CMYK by Empress Litho with Jason Maclaren handling the project - and my thanks to Jason for very kindly sending me some file copies.
http://www.playnedesign.co.uk/
https://www.empresslitho.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 26.04.2019

Tuesday 12 March 2019

Charleston Press No 1

Nestled in the South Downs, Charleston was the country meeting place for the writers, painters and thinkers known as the Bloomsbury group. Now run by the Charleston Trust, the house is an excellent museum and visitor attraction, presented to look as it did when the family lived here in the 1950's. The walled garden was created by the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant to designs by Roger Fry and features Mediterranean influences with plants chosen for their intense colour and silver foliage. These became the subject of many works over their long residence at Charleston.

Charleston Press is a new publication published by the Charleston Trust and includes includes newly commissioned essays exploring the themes, artists and stories of the exhibitions and programmes at Charleston, as well as articles marking important Bloomsbury anniversaries and events.
For this first issue, there are two different cover designs.
Size is 220x170mm, portrait and is perfect bound. The publication has an 8pp 'dustjacket' around the cover as you can see from the birdseye image below...
The below image shows the book (with the magenta cover) out of the dustjacket plus the wrap-around belly-band.
The 4pp cover is produced on our Colorset (100% Recycled) Magenta, 270gsm and is unprinted, being simply, but beautifully, embossed. 
Click on images to enlarge
The 84pp text is printed on our Omnia 120gsm. The reason that Omnia was chosen is because it would beautifully reproduce the wide variety of different media, the artworks, solid colours and dark photography and most importantly feel special - with the reproduction that you would expect on a silk or gloss but with a natural tactile uncoated feel.
...note the solid colours, not a special, made out of CMYK.
Charleston is hosting the first museum display of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant’s Famous Women Dinner Service since it was created for Kenneth Clarke in 1932. After this the plates disappeared from public view and their whereabouts were unknown until very recently. The plates were created by Bell and Grant when they lived at Charleston and each plate depicts one famous woman, featuring figures as various as the Queen of Sheba, Sappho, Nell Gwynn, Emily Brontë and Elizabeth I. You can read more about the Dinner Service HERE.
Click on images to enlarge
Below image shows the 6mm spine, the perfect binding. The jacket is printed on Omnia 150gsm.
The wrap around bellyband (70mm high) is printed on our Sixties, 60gsm and because of the translucency, the background images show through.
...you can see the level of show through in the detail image below.
The reproduction on the Omnia is just something else, the level of detail and reproduction is superb as you can see the image below.
The publication is designed by Playne Design who have studios in London and Hastings. Creative Director is Clare Playne with production is handled by Simon Hack. Print production is by Pureprint. This is just an excellent example of a beautifully designed and well executed piece of print, entirely right for the subject.

The publication is available for sale HERE

https://www.charleston.org.uk/
http://www.playnedesign.co.uk/
https://www.pureprint.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 12.03.2019