Lower Mill Estate

Lower Mill Estate is an award-winning community of sustainable vacation homes set in a private, fully managed, 550-acre reserve in the Cotswolds. The estate was established by the Paxton family 16 years ago with a vision to create a residential nature reserve providing a sense of security and the freedom to escape the demands of urban life.

This is simply a stunning piece of literature and is one of the best pieces of print that I've recently been involved with. This book has been produced to show everything the estate has to offer, conveying the quality of the development in a contemporary and beautifully readable way.

The size is 220x148mm, portrait. The cover is bookcloth, mounted onto board, with silver hot foil blocking on front and back cover. the foiling is a simplified version of the illustrations by Russell Cobb, commissioned for the project which were used for the press ads and on line and mobile applications - you can see them here: http://johnstonworks.com/lower-mill-estate/

The cover is very clever as it is effectively a case-bound book but the text is actually 'singer sewn', which means that the book opens nicely and sits flat. The fact that there isn't a formal, squared off, spine and that the board used is flexible means that, although it feels like a book it isn't as serious as a book, it has a lighter "browse me" feel.

You can read more about Singer sewing here: http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/what-is-number-3_18.html

The end papers are printed on Flora Anice, 130gsm and are printed all over, again using the illustrations.

If you aren't familiar with Flora, it is a recycled text and cover paper with a deliberately recycled look and feel with specks and inclusions, so it looks deliberately flecky and specky. The thing this project exemplifies is creativity in print! Very few designers take a paper like Flora and print all over it ...and get this terrific effect!

Click to enlarge and see the specks!

Inks for offset litho are transparent. Designers (and often printers) forget this, so effects like this are often forgotten about! Design and print on plain white paper is easy (well, easier) - it's projects like this which challenge and push the boundaries.

The 32pp text is printed on our Omnia 150gsm - absolutely perfect for this project as it has a natural feel but reproduces the superb photography and interior shots beautifully.

...and here in the text is another fantastic surprise - six 148x98mm 'tip-ins' appearing throughout the text which use the illustrated theme with details highlighted in silver hot foil blocking.

The tip-ins are on the same as the end papers (Flora Anice 130gsm) - and beautifully executed

But "how come all these different colours?" I hear people asking. Quite simply, the sheets are all printed up on one sheet (Flora Anice 130gsm) in CMYK - simple idea, well thought out and beautifully executed.

Design for the whole Lower Mill campaign including this book is by Johnston Works. The campaign also encompasses press, on line and mobile applications, which were all created by Johnston Works.
http://johnstonworks.com/lower-mill-estate/
Director on the project is Kirsten Johnston. The excellent print and finishing is by Push.

I'm sure that you can tell from the way that I've written about this project that this really is a special piece of print - it's one of those projects where all the elements that go into a piece of literature (concept/design/illustration/photography/print/paper/finishing etc) has all come together and collided (in a well orchestrated way!) to form a superb result.

http://www.lowermillestate.com/
http://johnstonworks.com/
http://russellcobb.com/
www.push-print.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.08.2014

R4 Invitation

R4 is the Plastic and Visual Arts Portal on the exciting new arts and media development in the heart of Paris. Île Seguin is a unique place, located in a loop of the Seine in the western part of Paris, forming part of an urban project that is being developed on the site of the former Renault factory.

For this festival, R4 is entered into partnerships with the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies of Harvard University, the Haute Ecole d’Art et de Design (Geneva), the Beaux-Arts (Paris) and Le Fresnoy (Tourcoing), as well as with the Galerie Jousse (Paris), the Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, the Centre d’art contemporain Genève (Geneva) and the Swiss Embassy.

The R4 Video Art Festival took place on 26 June at La Pagode experimental art cinema in Paris and these are the invitations for the event.

 

The invitations which are printed on our Omnia 280gsm. They are printed in 2 special colours, offset litho blue and red, with the image produced as a halftone. The red type on the front cover is hot foil blocked in a striking matt red, opaque foil. This invitation is a 4pp, portrait, A5 (210x148mm) format and the result is an invitation with a matt tactile look and feel.

Design and art direction for the this R4 project is by Zak Group, who are a London based studio which works internationally. Creative Directors are Zak Kyes and Grégory Ambos. Printing is by Push.

http://www.r4-ileseguin.com/en/2150/current-events/06-2014-r4-video-art-festival/
www.zakgroup.co.uk
http://www.r4-ileseguin.com/en/
http://www.push-print.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 09.07.2014

My Villages - Newsletter

myvillages.org is an international artist initiative, founded in 2003 by Kathrin Böhm (Ger/UK), Wapke Feenstra (NL) and Antje Schiffers (D).

Here's some information about the organisation "Our interest is the rural as a space for and of cultural production. The collective aims of myvillages.org are informed by the contextual nature of our individual practices and the autobiographical fact that we all come from small villages. myvillages.org activities range from small scale informal presentations to long term collaborative research projects, from work in private spaces to public conferences, from exhibitions to publications and from personal questions to public debate"

You can read more about the project here:
http://www.myvillages.org/index.php?a=work&id=62

This brilliantly executed newsletter is published on the occasion of Myvillages' 10th anniversary in December last year. It is printed on our Offenbach Bible 60gsm, offset litho in two special colours, one colour either side. Size is 594x840mm folding down to A5.

 

The format is of a poster which is folded down as a concertina and then folded as a gatefold - see pic below:

It is printed in just two colours, one of which is gold. Pantone gold printed offset litho on Offenbach Bible, really does look amazingly metallic as I hope the below picture shows:

Design is by Melanie Mues, who has a studio in East London. Printing is by Push and thanks to Roy Killen for sending me some file copies.

 

www.myvillages.org
www.muesdesign.com
http://www.push-print.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 17.04.2014

Caesarstone - Design Inspirations

This is a striking look-book for stone company Caesarstone, a brand that is an innovative pioneer of quartz surfaces. They collaborated with trend forecasters FranklinTill to edit and design this inaugural publication which shows a curated selection of stones and materials and the possibilities for the future.

The book is a casebound (hardback) book, which is "Quarter bound" (that is the way to describe the bookcloth which wraps around the spine). Size of the publication is 280x220mm, portrait and has a 64pp text. The cover paper is printed CMYK on Omnia 150gsm and is hot foil blocked in matt grey foil with a Colorado cloth in grey around the spine. The text is also printed on Omnia throughout.

The slightly unusual thing to mention about the text is that it is sewn in sections, but each section is made up using 12pp of Omnia 150gsm with a 4pp section on 200gsm wrapped around the 12pp, making a 16pp section in total. The purpose of the heavier 4pp weight is to provide "divider" sections, on which colour palette is printed. The other thing to add is the 200gsm pages are printed CMYK plus a gloss UV varnish over the colour palette areas (below)

Omnia was chosen for this project because the nature of the stone surfaces required a tactile material, without any loss of detail in the reproduction. As you can see from these pictures, there's loads of ink going down and it looks great on the Omnia, reproducing bright vibrant colours as well and keeping all the detail in the darker images, especially the smaller detail shots below ...and of course, Omnia is one of the very few papers with an uncoated look and feel that you can successfully use with UV varnish in one pass and get a great result.

This is an exquisitely produced piece of literature, the design, photography, print and binding being of the highest quality.

The research, editing and design is by FranklinTill. Creative directors are Kate Franklin and Caroline Till and the designers on the project are Laura Gordon and Graham Tait.

The superb print is by Push, handled by Danny Kirk.

 

www.caesarstone.com

www.franklintill.com

http://www.push-print.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.03.2014

Annoushka jewellery catalogue



This is a beautifully produced piece of literature from leading contemporary jewellery brand Annoushka. The pieces, which include many types of precious stones, are all produced from 18 carat gold, hence the way gold reproduces in the printed catalogue is incredibly important.

The size is 225x170mm, portrait and is saddle stitched. The 4pp cover is produced on 250gsm silk coated board and as you can see is gloss laminated which gives the outside cover a brilliant gloss sheen. The 28pp text is printed on our Omnia 120gsm

Reproduction of the metallic gold on the Omnia 150gsm is just superb. Excellent detail and a beautiful tactile metallic look without a glossy sheen is what makes this piece...

Design Director at Annoushka is Liz Olver. Print is by Push.

www.annoushka.com

www.push-print.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 23.08.2013

Whistles - Spring|Summer 2013



This is the lookbook for the Spring/Summer collection from Whistles and it is a superlative piece of literature. Art direction, photography, design, repro and print all combining to make this job look and feel really special.

 

The size is 240x180mm Portrait, saddle stitched. It is printed on our Omnia and has a 4pp cover on 200gsm and a 20pp text on 120gsm. The weights are just right - Omnia is an extremely bulky sheet, so this works perfectly, opening nicely with the pages turning well.

 

As always (...this is the plug for the paper!) the images look superb on the Omnia; the subtle summer shades and the reproduction of the black and white images with their darker areas and heavy ink coverage - keeping all the detail in those heavy areas of CMYK together with uncoated paper tactility which would be lost on any other paper.  The other important thing to note is that unlike most uncoated products, you can successfully gloss UV varnish on this paper (with a single hit) and it works really well - as you can see in the below pic...

 There is a 4pp price guide, also printed on Omnia 120gsm (and also Gloss UV varnished)

Art Direction and design is by Simmonds. Creative Director is Chris Simmonds, designer is Kate Swingler. Photography is by Ben Toms and Styling is by Katie Shillingford. Repro and print, which is superb and the UV varnishing, which has excellent registration/fit, is by South London printer, Push.

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

http://www.simmondsltd.com/

http://www.push-print.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 05.08.2013

Treasures of the Royal Courts - V&A

This weekend, a new exhibition opened at the V&A celebrating 500 years of exchange between the British and Russian royal courts. Comprising more than 150 objects, from portraits, jewellery and luxury goods to processional armour and heraldry, this exhibition chronicles the close relationship between the English monarchy and the Russian Tsars. The exhibition runs from 9th March until 14th July.

This is the beautiful invitation for the private view held last Wednesday. Size is A5, portrait and is a single card (2pp) made by printing and then duplexing our Omnia 320gsm  to make 640gsm - which is 900micron thick - a truly substantial invitation! The front of the invitation is printed CMYK with the incredible detail of the 'Leopoard Flagon' reproducing beautifully. The reverse is printed offset litho in gold (1 colour)

The other thing to mention about the front of the invite is that the image area (below) is over-printed with a gloss UV varnish. (...just worth pointing out that Omnia is one of the very few papers with an uncoated look and feel that you can successfully UV varnish on to with one pass and it looks excellent).



The invitation and other collateral was designed in house at the V&A by Jo Glover.

 

Print is by London based  PUSH - beautifully printed and finished, the UV varnish fits well - a really nice clean, well produced piece.

 

http://www.vam.ac.uk/
http://www.push-print.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 12.03.2013

Whistles - Autumn/Winter



This is the Autumn/Winter 2012 lookbook for Whistles - (we've only just taken the pics which is why it's a bit late for this season!)

 

Since 2008, Whistles has been under the leadership of Jane Shepherdson, a former brand director at Topshop. Shepherdson has positioned Whistles as an intelligent choice - often described as ‘the thinking woman’s fashion brand' and this new lookbook is surely a reflection of this objective.



The size is 240x180mm Portrait, saddle stitched. It is printed on our Omnia and has a 4pp cover on 200gsm and a 20pp text on 120gsm. The weights are just right - Omnia is an extremely bulky sheet, so this is just perfect. 

...and here we go for a bit of a plug! - As you can see from the above images above, there is lots of colour and images with CMYK dark areas - loads of ink going down and it looks great on the Omnia, reproducing bright vibrant colours as well and keeping all the detail in the darker images. The other important thing to note is that unlike most uncoated products, you can successfully gloss UV varnish on this paper (with a single hit) and it works really well - as you can see...

Art Direction and design is by Simmonds Ltd. Superb print (and UV varnish - which really is in very good registration/fit) is by Push ...and thanks to Kate for sending me a copy. 

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

http://www.simmondsltd.com/

http://www.push-print.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 26.02.2013