Tolerance

Inspired by the home-made posters displayed in windows during the Covid lockdowns, this print pledges solidarity with marginalised communities and is a reminder to try and see both sides.

Seemingly random elements printed on the front and back of the sheet are revealed as letterforms when backlit. The print measures 720 x 145mm.

Created for window display, it is actually provided with hangers, so it hangs perfectly. It is printed on our Sixties paper in 60gsm. SIXTIES is a paper which has a similar translucency as a tracing paper - but it feels and behaves like a normal paper … you can see the degree of translucency in the images above and below.  Perfect for a project where the theme of being able to see both sides at the same time is of the utmost importance.

Set and printed by hand in a limited edition of just 25. Here it is set up on press (a 1959 Korrex Berlin precision proofing press) with the red inked up and ready to go...

Design and printing is by Richard Ardagh at New North Press. He gave himself the self-imposed limitation of only using three shapes: 'I', 'V' and ‘.’ As can often be the case, the font he chose was lacking in characters so they commissioned Type High Design to cut the additional glyphs needed, as you can see in the image below...

It isn't the first time Richard has used this paper, it was his little new years card, also printed on Sixties 60gsm, that you can see below that served as the inspiration for this print...

You can read more about the Tolerance project and buy one of the prints HERE

My thanks to Richard at New North Press for sharing the story and the images with me.

https://new-north-press.co.uk/

https://richardardaghstudio.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 12.07.2022

Claymore - Type Specimen Book

This printed booklet from Jeremy Tankard serves two purposes; to show the weights and styles of Claymore and to present a short text, titled Principles of Type. The text comprises a collection of thoughts gathered over several years, and offered as a possible approach to the design thinking of a typeface.

Illuminated manuscripts and stained glass provide the inspiration for the colour pages, and the visual patterns of figured verse and calligrams are referenced for the translucent pages printed in black. In contrast to this, Principles of Type is set cleanly on Colorset Light Grey inserted as a booklet in the centre.

Below image shows the Principles of Type on the right hand side.

Size of the booklet is 152 x 230mm, portrait and is saddle stitched. The main text is printed on our Creative Print Diamond 170gsm, which is 100% recycled. The transparent sheets are printed on Sixties 60gsm. SIXTIES has the same translucency as a tracing paper - but it feels like a normal paper!

Principles of Type is an 8pp section, size is 187x121mm and is printed on Colorset Light Grey 120gsm.

Printed in three specials plus black on various uncoated papers. The specimen was designed to allow a degree of randomness when assembled; resulting in several versions and a final item which is more individual and unique. Below shows the variations... 

It's printed Offset Litho throughout by KMS Litho in Banbury.

Thanks to Jeremy Tankard for sending me file copies and his kind note. The specimen booklet is available HERE. 

https://typography.net/

https://studiotype.com/

https://www.kmslitho.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 15.07.2021

Charleston Press No. 3

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 there 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 third edition.

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 Mango 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 Mango (100% Recycled) 270gsm and is unprinted, being simply, but beautifully, debossed.

The 96pp text is printed offset litho on our Omnia 120gsm. Omnia was chosen 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

The majority of this issue is dedicated to articles about the Omega Workshops, based in Fitzroy Square, London in the early 20th Century. An exhibition about the Omega workshops was hosted in the galleries at Charleston.

A chapter titled 'Shy radishes' shows some of the Charleston ceramics in use with superbly photographed still life images

Click on images to enlarge

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.

Below image shows the 8mm 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. 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 13.04.2021

D&AD Awards 2020

Yesterday evening it was the D&AD awards, which this year, was an online affair. I've been fortunate to have been invited to the awards dinner a few times over the years and been on the table of those who have won yellow pencils for projects for which I've had input and they have been very memorable evenings!

Given the circumstances, the awards this year were very well executed and superbly presented by D&AD President Kate Stanners Saatchi & Saatchi Global CCO).

A phenomenal 618 pencils were awarded, including 384 Wood, 150 Graphite, 68 Yellow, and 4 elusive Black Pencils. One of the black pencils worthy of note was for typeface Universal Sans, a variable typeface that allows for an extensive range of customisation and unique variations produced by Family Type.

This year, many of the studios that I have worked with over the years, including Johnson Banks, NB Studio, Magpie, Osborne Ross and Here Design, to name but a few, have been nominated and won awards.

It's always lovely to have been involved with a project which has won an award and even better, a project which has won two awards...

Twenty-five Sculptures In Five Dimensions was a self-promotional project for writer Tom Sharp. It was a demonstration of creativity within strict technical writing and design restraints, an experiment in reading and seeing, and an attempt at creating a sublime, meaningful experience with as few elements as possible.

I wrote about the actual event on my blog, last November  HERE.

Tom Sharp filled a high-ceilinged church in Covent Garden with 25 plinths. Each plinth held a text created to a strict format of five syllables per line, five lines plus a title. Each piece of writing described an original, imaginary object, so that any emotional response the reader had was because of the object they conjured up, rather than language manipulation.

The project was a collaboration with Studio Sutherl&. Tom Sharp and Jim Sutherland are the Creative Directors, writer is Tom Sharp and the designer is Rosey Trickett. The printed sheets were all printed on our wonderful Sixties paper and printed offset litho by Boss Print.

Yesterday evening this project was awarded a Graphite Pencil [Graphic Design] for Self Promotion and a Yellow Pencil [Graphic Design] for Writing for Graphic Design.

Congratulations to all participants in this year's awards. It has been a strange year, but life goes on and it's great to see that the creative industry is still producing and recognising great work, even in these unprecedented times.

You can watch the 2020 D&AD awards and check out the winners HERE

https://www.thepoetryofitall.com/
http://studio-sutherland.co.uk/
https://www.bossprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.09.2020

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