TYPOGRAPHIC Playing Cards

This has to be one of the most interesting jobs of the year from a typographical point of view.

It's a self initiated project by Jim Sutherland at Hat-Trick who has produced some absolutely spectacular visual imagery and iconography by just using letterforms. Each card uses a different typeface.

I'll let the images do the talking...

The cards were printed on one sheet of B2 (520x720mm) board in two colours. The cards were then die cut out of the sheet. However, at the same time they also made posters using the full size sheets and these were "debossed" with an impession where the cut should be (as above) which look amazing. 

The material (which is why Jim called us in the first place) had to be right. Substantial, but not too heavy and flicky was the order of the day. We supplied our Altura Gloss 330gsm which is just right (I think!)

The print production and finishing has been superbly excecuted by Boss. All the elements have been really well finished including the box which is solid, square and just as a box containing playing cards should look and feel like!

Below are some of the sketches which show the work in progress.

This was a really nice project to have been involved with and it's great that there are companies which are prepared to spend some of their own time and money producing some really well crafted self initiated work. 

I'm a bit short of file copies of the cards but I have a few posters left so if you ask really nicely, I might send you one!

http://www.hat-trickdesign.co.uk/

http://www.bossprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 08.06.2010

Grace Kelly - Style Icon

Q: When is a leaflet, not a leaflet?
A: When it's designed and produced like this one.

I just received some file copies of the gallery guide for a Grace Kelly exhibition that's on at the V&A over the summer and it's just looks and feels great.

Ostentsively, this is a leaflet but this has been printed on Omnia 120gsm which means that rather than feeling like the vast majority of mass produced leaflets printed on a bit of 130gsm silk or gloss, this has real character and value.

Equally the design and the superbly chosen imagery, both mono and colour, really work to make this feel anything but a leaflet!

Design for the gallery guide, invitations and other collateral is by Nadine Fleischer.

Print is by Principal Colour.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.06.2010

Quarantine - Projects & Ideas

Here are two superb little jobs done for a performance dance company called Quarantine.

Neither of these jobs are "big budget" promotions and therefore cost and impact have to be closely considered.

The tour leaflet is a 4pp A6 format but it is printed on Omnia 150gsm, so it doesn't feel like most A6 leaflets! It is tactile and the four colour and solid flat colours have reproduced fantastically well.

The company portfolio called "Projects + Ideas" is packaged in an envelope style wallet made from Episode IV 115gsm and held together with a printed die cut label. The wallet has a left and a right folded up pocket containing a series of cards (also printed on Omnia) 280gsm showing images of the performances together with a description on the reverse. A really nice little touch is that each of the nine finishers who made up the wallets has a cedit on the job and ticks their name if they made it up! ...probably good for quality control too!

The job was designed by Manchester based agency, Corporation Pop. Designer is Jo Cartwright.

These are both jobs which make the most of the materials and the budget available and I think work very well with the ethos of the performance company who wanted a no frills approach but with a design lead look.

Thank you for sending them and the note Jo.

http://www.qtine.com/

http://www.corporationpop.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.06.2010

Jobs from the Past - Number 9

Regular followers 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 and here's one from nine years ago.

Design Council Annual Review 2001 - Inspire

This was one of the Annual Reviews produced by Johnson Banks for the Design Council which they did for a number of years around the turn of the millennium.

The job is made up using two sizes of text 175x297mm & 210x210mm for the "divider leaves" and it features a "split wiro" on the binding - this is interesting as most people don't realise that you can use different lengths and multiple pieces of wire rather than the conventional continuous piece that is used in most literature.

There are some cracking visual puns and great art direction. Photography is by Philip Gatward and printing is by Gavin Martin Associates.

The job was printed on Neptune Unique using 350gsm for the covers and 200gsm for the text and dividers. As I recall the mono images were printed as halftones and I've just checked under a linen tester and they are! so it is a stunning result - very, very crisp and clean reproduction.

Creative Director was Michael Johnson and the designer was Sarah Dezille (Fullerton as she was then!)

This is a lovely piece of work, thought provoking and really well finished. The literature that Johnson Banks did for the Design Council during this period was of the very highest quality both in terms of creativity and production values. I hope the Design Council are producing literature of the same consistently high quality today.

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/

http://www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/

http://www.gavinmartin.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 01.06.2010

Typographic Circle Talk

Yesterday evening I was invited to a Typographic Circle talk at the JWT offices in Knightsbridge. The talk was by Studio8 with the title "Collaboration in Type & Print" and Zoë Bather went through a number of the studio's projects culminating with their identity work for the Central School launched earlier this year.

What was particularly interesting was the way she showed one project leading to another and the way that a friend, contact, previous colleague (etc. etc.) lead to another project and so on. It was cleverly illustrated as follows: 

All the work featured in the talk is on their site: http://www.studio8design.co.uk/

Anyway, it was an all round excellent evening and there was FREE BEER as well!  - thanks to the Typographic Circle sponsors, who are : JWT, Pentagram, Neoco, GF Smith (that's them not us) and the Wynkyn de Worde society.

Here's some pics (...that's Joe Sharpe from Applied Works (http://www.appliedworks.co.uk/) staring at the camera)

The next talk is on 24th June by Airside - book now or risk disappointment.

http://www.typocircle.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.05.2010

& SMITH - new website

Have a look at their new site: http://www.andsmithdesign.com/

It's a new site showing some of their great projects. One particular project which  I love (and worked on, with them) is their project for the PR company, Mission. It is a series of broadsheets folding to A5, printed on Redeem 100% Recycled 100gsm, and all the images are stunning - here are a couple of pics but have a look at their site to really appreciate the project.

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.05.2010

2010 World Cup Poster - made with no trees at all!

Here's a World Cup poster for the typographic purist! (...and no trees were hurt in the process)

The A1 size poster has been designed for a wine merchant with two shops, Wine One Hundred (Oxted)and The Secret Cellar (Tunbridge Wells)

Design is by Em-Project (http://www.em-project.com/)

The poster is very simply produced in one colour litho and is printed on a brand new paper our ours which is made without using any trees at all! It is part of a new range which we are launching called SHIRO from Italian paper manufacturer Favini. This particular product is called Shiro, Tree Free 120gsm (the clue is in the name - Tree Free means it is made from annual plants such as bamboo, cotton or bagasse ...there is no tree content at all!)

So there you go, you heard it here first! I will be putting a post on the blog about the new papers in this range but if you have a project on the go and you think this might be an interesting option, then get in touch and I can get you some some samples now. I will be mailing out new swatches soon.

In the meantime I have file copies of this lovely poster (that's me holding it up) so if you would like one, please e-mail me (justin@fennerpaper.co.uk) and I'll put one in the post to you.

http://www.wineonehundred.co.uk/

http://www.thesecretcellar.co.uk/
http://www.em-project.com/
http://www.favini.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 25.05.2010