De La Warr Pavilion is 80

Recently the De La Warr Pavilion partnered ISTD for the International Typographic Awards – and Ivan Chermayeff was made an Honorary Fellow of ISTD. Chermayeff, the son of Serge Chermayeff, one of the Pavillion’s original architects was asked whether he would be willing to design a logo to mark the iconic building’s 80th year.

...and here is the end result:

‘The goal is always to make something simple and memorable,’ comments Chermayeff, ‘you must be as clear and direct as possible.’ With this ethos, of his new symbol for the Pavilion's anniversary he says, ‘Not many numbers have three circles. Eighty has them – two on top of each other and one alone next door’.

Ivan Chermayeff is one of the most significant American graphic designers of the past 50 years. It is a real coup for DLWP to have a logo designed by Chermayeff who, with his partners Geismar and Haviv, has created some of the most enduring and iconic corporate symbols such as Mobil and Chase Manhattan Bank, along with many other instantly recognizable hallmarks of design.

Clare Playne FISTD and the team at Playne Design were commissioned to implement the 80th anniversary identity. Clare says that adding ‘De La Warr Pavilion’ in different lock-up combinations keeps the targeted years in alignment, and gives immediate recognition of what the symbol represents. Interestingly, the circles also reference the structure of the Pavilion’s two main staircases and echo the iconic Auditorium ceiling.

Fast outdoing major city venues in showcasing design, recent shows include Chermayeff's recent ‘Cut and Paste’ exhibition, two consecutive ISTD typography exhibitions and the Ladybird by Design exhibition, earlier this year. The DLWP is filling a much felt void in exhibiting graphic design.

You can read more about the DLWP 80th here:
http://www.dlwp.com/80th-anniversary/

...and this is the article I wrote about the ISTD awards:
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/istd-awards-2014.html

Just one more thing to add. Organisations like the ISTD and the De La Warr Pavilion can only survive if they are supported and yes, that means money. It is so important that we retain industry and cultural organisations such as the DLWP and ISTD and we must take every opportunity to try and encourage membership, thus ensuring their continued viability. If you aren't a member or a friend, look into it and think about supporting.
www.dlwp.com
http://www.ivanchermayeff.com/
www.playnedesign.co.uk
www.istd.org.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.08.2015

Jobs from the past - Number 70

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...

Splash of Paint - 1999
"Why not go out on a limb... that’s where the fruit is" is a quotation from Mark Twain and forms the introduction for this excellent piece of print from over fifteen years ago. Splash of Paint are a design consultancy based just outside Reading and this was their promotional brochure produced in 1999.  

Click on images to enlarge

Size is 330x240mm portrait. The brochure is printed on our Neptune Unique SoftWhite and is just a beautiful piece of print. It has a 16pp text on 155gsm and a 6pp cover on 250gsm, but more about that later!

The brochure is three hole sewn but with a difference ...there are two banks of thread, making it six hole sewn in total! The thread is a natural colour.

One of the things that I'm sure you will be able to see from these pictures is just how exceptional the image reproduction is. The retouching is credited as being by Film Creative Services but I can't seem to find them online. The publication is printed offset litho in four colour process and the result is superb, it looks just as fresh and vibrant now as it did back then.

Earlier I mentioned it was a 6pp cover (with a difference). The extra flap is on the inside back cover but it is pasted down, which not only adds extra weight to the cover but allows the die cut tabs to pop out to hold either an A4 letterhead or card. Smart idea!

Below picture shows the exterior shot of the binding:

Design is by Splash of Paint and the creative director is Malcolm Hatton. Print production was by Alex MacLennan who is now a partner at Urban Print Support.

The project was printed  by a west London company called Fernedge, who were an excellent print company in their day. Pippa Redmond (Mustoe) was Managing Director at Fernedge. They ceased trading, having become Image Litho, in around 2003.

This brochure is exceptionally well printed and is still one of the best samples on Neptune Unique SoftWhite that I have in my collection. From my recent contact with Judith Evans at Splash of Paint, they still consider it as one of their favourites as well!

http://www.splashofpaint.com/

http://www.urbanprintsupport.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.08.2015

The Little Boy Lost

This limited edition publication is one of two publications produced by London based photographer  and artist Christopher Paul Sharpe.

This first book titled The Little Boy Lost (the second book is called Little Boy Found) contains images edited by Lu Bowan, with each of the photographs relating to the theme of ‘lost and found’ ...a very eclectic mix.

Size is 210x148mm (A5), portrait with a 4pp cover printed on Omnia 200gsm and 36pp text printed on Omnia 120gsm. 

Click on images to enlarge

 

The book is digitally printed on an HP Indigo press by Gavin Martin Colournet. Omnia is suitable for use on HP Indigo presses if it has been 'sapphire coated'. The colours are strong and punchy and the whole book has a matt, tactile look and feel, the effect of which is every bit as good as litho.

The book is 'singer sewn' with a white thread which is a perfect little detail that just adds to the overall effect of this beautifully produced little book.

Design is by Studio Thomson and the book has a limited print edition size of 150 copies. Print and finishing is by Gavin Martin Colournet.

http://christopherpaulsharpe.com/
http://www.studiothomson.com/
http://www.gavinmartincolournet.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 30.07.2015

RA Summer Exhibition

For 247 years, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition has offered a snapshot of contemporary art – and this year’s exhibition is a riot of colour, variety and discovery with over 1,100 works. This year, the exhibition is co-ordinated by Michael Craig-Martin RA – a leading artist of his generation and the teacher who nurtured the talents of Gary Hume, Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst. This year's choice was made from over 12,000 entries!

The Summer Exhibition is the world’s oldest open-submission exhibition: its earliest exhibitors included the likes of Reynolds, Constable and Turner.

This is the invitation to the private view on the 3rd June. In line with the exhibition's "vibrant summer of colour" theme, it is a very striking and colourful invitation.

Click on images to enlarge

Size is A5 Portrait (210x148mm). As I hope you will be able to tell from the image above, it has a pearlescent effect and this is because it is printed on Stardream Crystal, which is our pearlescent and metallic range ( ...in fact it's the largest pearlescent and metallic range on the market!). What many people don't realise is that printing a solid colour onto a pearlescent board results in the solid having a pearlescent effect - this is because litho inks are transparent.

The invitations are printed offset litho using pantone special colours (three colours) and it really does convey a riot of colour.

The Stardream Crystal 120gsm has been pasted onto a 1500micron mount board which has then been edge coloured in the matching vibrant yellow. The result is superb.

Art direction and design is by Constanza Gaggero, at her London studio Gaggero Works. Print is by Basingstoke based Liquorice Press.

The Summer Exhibition is on at Burlington House in Piccadilly until 16th August.

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/
http://www.gaggeroworks.co.uk/
http://www.theliquoricepress.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.07.2015

Bamford Haybarn

The Bamford brand is associated with a philosophy of natural ingredients. Having originally started with organic farming, the founder, Lady Bamford, embarked on a range of clothing from only natural fibres and purest bodycare from organic and botanical ingredients together.  Haybarn is the Bamford Spa and treatments brand and they have facilities at Daylesford and a few other exclusive locations.

 

This brochure has been produced by Sinéad Madden for the Bamford Haybarn at the Berkeley health club and spa at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge.

To convey the natural materials and ingredients used at the spa, the 4pp cover is embossed with a wood grain embossing ( ...printed on a well known text and cover from a Hull based paper merchant!). The brochure is 210mm square. The 64pp text is printed on our Omnia 150gsm, which has reproduced the images beautifully, whilst having that uncoated, tactile feel which the cover conveys.

Click on images to enlarge

There are 16pp of full size pages in the first section and the remaining 48pp appear in seven shorter sections, creating a divider feeling.

Each of the divider pages are printed with different wood grain effects to work with the embossing on the front cover.

The brochure is PUR bound and the overall spine thickness is 7mm.

The publication is printed CMYK, Offset Litho. The Omnia prints superbly and the fleshtones, which are notoriously difficult to reproduce well, look exquisite.

Design and art direction is by Sinéad Madden who runs her studio in London. This is a beautifully designed and luxurious publication. Print is by Pureprint.

 

http://bamford.co.uk/spa-locations/bamford-haybarn-at-the-berkeley/
http://www.the-berkeley.co.uk/health-club-and-spa/

http://www.sinead.de/

www.pureprint.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 24.06.2015

Run & Achieve

Run & Achieve is the creation of Lily Mo, an Edinburgh jewellery designer. They are bracelets for half-marathon and marathon runners with the distances engraved – each bracelet is handmade in Edinburgh using sterling silver and cord that is water resistant.

This elegant packaging was designed and produced by Evgenia Kochkina, based in Edinburgh and is a brilliant piece of packaging design.

Click on images to enlarge

The card is 95mm square and is letterpress printed in two colours - a metallic silver halftone and dark orange and dark orange on the reverse. It is printed on our Matrisse 350gsm, which is very bulky, and is then duplexed making this 700gsm and 1mm thick. There are die cut notches for the cord to sit in and the cards are also 'round cornered'. The card gets inserted into a wallet (115mm square) made from Matrisse 350gsm which is letterpress printed in the same two colours on one side only.

If you click on the image to enlarge the picture, you'll be able to see the coarse screen of the halftone in silver - wonderfully effective use of halftone and letterpress.

You can read more about the project here:
https://www.facebook.com/stoneberrypress#

Design, print and production is by Evgenia Kochkina at Stoneberry Press in Edinburgh. Her email says "I only discovered Matrisse qualities during this job. Very elegant paper and good for colours!"

This is a very simple, elegantly produced packaging solution ..and with the perfect paper!
http://lilymo.co.uk/
http://stoneberrypress.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 21.07.2015

What is ...The Blue Angel Mark?

What is ...Number 19

Regular followers of this blog will know that in the middle of the month, I publish a "What is ....? post. The article covers various aspects of paper, printing and finishing in greater depth. However, many of these subjects are complex, so these posts are only intended to be a brief introduction to the topic.

What is ...The Blue Angel Mark?

The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel) is a German certification for products and services that have environmentally friendly aspects. The Blue Angel mark is the oldest ecolabel in the world, and it covers some 10,000 products in some 80 product categories!

The reason that I thought I would draw people's attention to it, is that here in the UK, it is hardly known about or recognised, whereas on mainland Europe it is both highly visible on products and very highly regarded.

It was originally conceived and put in place by the government of the former West Germany and has been awarded since 1978. The Environmental Label Jury (Jury Umweltzeichen) is an independent, decision-making body for the Blue Angel and includes representatives from environmental and consumer associations, trade unions, industry, the trade, crafts, local authorities, academia, the media, churches, young people and the German federal states. As a result, it isn't open to political interference, industry pressure groups or vested interests, either from industry or the fanatical green groups. This is the reason that I rate the scheme so highly and it annoys me that the UK government has never had the guts to put such an independent system in place in the UK - equally it's a shame that there isn't a pan European system.

The award of the Blue Angel is preceded by a review of the entire life cycle of the products. Such review considers as many aspects of environmental and health protection as possible for the respective product. Subsequently, the criteria limit or rule out those environmental impacts which are considered to be the most important impacts for the respective product. The Basic Award Criteria for a product are specified for each product group and they are all published

The Blue Angel covers a wide range of different products including paints, gardening products, construction, electronics and many more, including paper and board.

We carry products which have been awarded the Blue Angel mark (including our Colorset range) but because of the lack of recognition in the UK, it hasn't been worth becoming a stakeholder, in the way that we hold FSC accreditation for example.

You can read more about the scheme here:
https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/our-label-environment

Posted by Justin Hobson 17.07.2015