NBBJ iAlter

At last year's 100% Design — the UK's largest design event — NBBJ showcased iAlter, an interactive design installation designed as a hub space for the work environment.

Inspired by the simplicity of kinetic sculpture and the complexity of computer-generated design algorithms, iAlter flexes in response to the flow of people and gently encourages serendipitous encounters. The hub is designed to hover above the main exhibition hall like a cloud, offering a space for networking and a place to rest, while highlighting the necessity for similar spaces in the modern office environment.

Here's the model:

...and here it is in real life!

In order to explain the concept and design, NBBJ produced an information sheet which were available on the stand at 100% Design. These sheets were produced as pads, so sheets could be torn off and taken away.

Size of the sheets is 297x420mm (A3) and they are printed in two colours, offset litho. It is printed on our Redeem 100% Recycled 60gsm which has a natural, off white and very lightweight feel.



The line thickness used is extremely fine and yet the reproduction is excellent.

Design is by NBBJ Architects and the designer is Ming Lee. Print and pad production is by Generation Press. You can read more about the project here: http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk/library/International-architecture-practice-NBBJ-to-create-Workplace-installation-Workplace-installation-for-100-Design

Click to enlarge

Thanks to Ming for kindly sending over the samples.

www.nbbj.com
http://www.nbbj.com/news/2014/9/3/nbbj-designs-interactive-installation-at-100-design-london/
www.generationpress.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.01.2015

On Press - Alan Kitching at the Guardian

Yesterday evening I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening of an exhibition showing the work Alan Kitching produced for and in collaboration with the Guardian. The exhibition is hung in the foyer of the Guardian offices in King's Cross and features some really great original letterpress prints that Alan has created for the Guardian over the years.

It is a well laid out exhibition and even includes an exhibit with the letterpress blocks used on one of the artworks.

The exhibition runs from today (Friday 23rd January) to 28th February 2015. It will be open each day from 10.00–18.00 with admission free!

The address is: The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, N1 9GU

www.guardian.com
www.thetypographyworkshop.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 23.01.2015

Coca-Cola Life

Last year, Coca-Cola introduced their new Coca-Cola Life drink which incorporates naturally sourced stevia leaf extract as a sweetener, which also has less calories. The promotion which uses the "sweetness from natural sources" strapline, dictated that a more natural, earthy look and feel would be needed for the promotion.

Traditionally, bottle hangers for drinks would normally be produced on a coated paper, often with a gloss lamination for extra strength. However, in this instance, that would have give the wrong look and feel, so the material chosen is our Omnia 200gsm.

Omnia has a high bulk and stiffness but the overall print result would appear more natural with a tactile feel. To give additional strength but to maintain the natural feel, a matt lamination was added on both sides, but in the interests of the natural product a bio-degradable/compostable lamination film was used.

The 4pp card is 78mm x 70mm, portrait plus the bottle neck cut out. All the bottle hangers were produced for Boots and WH Smith.

Print production is by Colour Five, who are based in West London. They have an offset litho press which is equipped to use UV cured inks, which means that not only can they print on paper, but can cope easily well with printing on plastics too.

Thanks to Andy Kyle at Colour Five for sharing some samples with me.

www.colourfive.net

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.01.2015

What is ...Security paper?

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 ...Security Paper?

Security papers incorporate features that can identify or authenticate a document as original as opposed to a copy. One of the earliest and most common forms of security in paper is the watermark but since then, there are many features which have been incorporated in paper to prevent fraud or show if a document has been tampered with such as when amounts are altered on a cheque.

Banknotes are one of the most common use of the very highest type of security papers with all the latest technology added but security papers are commonly used for passports, certificates, government documents, academic and qualification certificates and other uses such as lottery tickets.

Example showing security with combination watermark

The design and manufacture of security papers is a complex and sensitive area, so there is relatively little information that is freely available - otherwise they wouldn't be very secure!

Security papers often incorporate the following characteristics:

Watermarks:

Line watermarks - where the watermark is lighter than the surrounding paper

Shadow watermark - where the watermark is darker than the surrounding paper.

Combination watermark - a combination of both light and dark watermarks (as image above)

Combination watermark

Fibres:

Visible coloured fibres can be distributed throughout the sheet which give an immediate, visible form of security. Invisible fibres can also be incorporated. generally these react by fluorescing under ultra violet light.

Planchettes

These are cellulose (paper) dots around 1.25 in diameter which are put into the paper during the paper making process. They can be visible or invisible in daylight and are available in various colours. They can also be micro custom printed, thermocromic (they disappear momentarily if exposed to heat) or can contain reactive agents such as ammonia.

Chemical Reagents

Chemical reagents incorporated in a paper will produce characteristic stains when a solvent is applied. This is ideal for countering forgery for things such as cheques and certificates.

There are also two standard papers which are often described as security papers but which are made to a standard specification (Clearing Bank Standard - CBS) laid down by the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the design and manufacture of security papers is a very complex and sensitive area, where the manufacturers are always trying to stay one step ahead of the criminal, therefore this is a constantly moving field of expertise..

 

For further reading, click on the following link:

http://www.smitherspira.com/services/document-security

Posted by Justin Hobson 16.01.2015

Poster Project

It was last year when I discussed with Dan McCabe at University of Portsmouth about the idea of seeting a brief for the second year students on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course. So in September, with some serious input from Dan, we set a brief to explore the relevance and role of the poster as a cultural artefact within the 21st Century.

Part of the brief runs as follows "The poster has a rich history within graphic design and has strong traditions in Europe. Its visual impact within the urban landscape is highly significant, and posters are considered by many as being visual barometers of social issues and attitudes. The purpose of the design was to celebrate and communicate the existence of the poster as a popular and prevalent cultural medium for the expression of ideas and beliefs. In other words, convince people of the power of the poster."

The design was stipulated to be an A2 size poster to reflect this brief and convey the power of the poster as a visual medium. After briefing the students, I received an email from Dan saying
"I briefed the project in yesterday, so we're up and running. They all looked a bit terrified"....so, an interesting start!

All the posters were to be A2 size and produced on our Redeem 100% Recycled 130gsm, ensuring a level playing field for the production of the finished pieces.

In November I went to see the results which were displayed in the Eldon gallery space:

The quality of entries was superb. The research and thought that had gone into the finished pieces was inspiring - truly a group of second year students with real talent. I was privileged to be asked to judge the entries together with the course teaching team; Dan McCabe, Mike Harkins, Estelle Taylor, Alex Tibus, Andrew Denham and course leader Sarah Houghton.

Following much deliberation, 18 posters were short-listed with 3 special commendations. For the week after the judging, the short-listed posters were put on display in the canteen gallery space.

There was an awards event in the canteen of the Eldon Building on the 8th December. Catherine Harper (Dean of the Cultural and Creative Industries faculty) presented the commended students with their awards on Fenner Paper's behalf.

The fantastic commendation award was designed and made as a collaboration between Senior Lecturer Dan McCabe and Principal Workshop Technician Michelle Littlewood and incorporates the Fenner Paper logo which has been laser cut out of 300gsm Redeem 100% Recycled!

Commendation awards being presented by Catherine Harper, Dean of the Cultural and Creative Industries faculty.

Dorsa Pedari

Kai Yik Chan & Wing Yung Wincy Kong

Another incentive for the students is that design of the overall winning poster is to be professionally litho printed as a poster and this distinction goes to Lucy Pittard for her 'Generation Poster'.

Lucy Pittard

Congratulations to all the shortlisted and commended students and thanks to all the staff for involving me in the project and making me so welcome.

The short-listed students are: Rhys Davies, Katie Hockley, Johannes Leismann, Gus Van Manen, Safiah Gheriani, Amie Lee Murphy, Dorsa Pedari, Simon Young, Shahad Milibari, Kai Yik Chan & Wing Yung Wincy Kong, Harry Lewis-Irlam, Zoe Fouracre, George Parry-Stoner, Ryan Robinson, Lucy Pittard, James Kelly, Yanne Moreira, Hannah Anderson and the three commended students are: Dorsa Pedari, Kai Yik Chan & Wing Yung Wincy Kong and Lucy Pittard.

www.port.ac.uk

 

Posted by Justin Hobson 15.01.2015

No Smoke Without Flowers - Tessa Packard

Tessa Packard London, is a fine jewellery brand started by Tessa Packard in 2013. The beautiful pieces are all made and finished in workshops in the UK.

This is the lookbook for the 'No Smoke Without Flowers' collection launched last year. The format is a very simple 16pp broadsheet, designed in such a way that it opens easily and displays the maximum number of printed panels.

Technically I believe it should be described as a '16pp concertina fold', but that's just jargon! Size is 594mm x 420mm  folding to 210x148mm. The birds eye view above should give you the best idea of the format and the way it works.

The paper chosen is our Omnia 120gsm because it would work with the rich detail that is present in the images but that would give a natural look and tactile feel. It is printed offset litho in four colour process (CMYK) and as you can see from images, some of the photography is quite dark, but there is no loss of detail, which is what can often happen printing on an uncoated paper.

As you can see from the image below, the reproduction of the metallic gold on the Omnia  is just superb. Excellent detail and a beautiful tactile metallic look without a glossy sheen is what makes this piece really special.

Art direction and design is by a London based studio established by Mike Bone. Printing and Finishing is by IPW1.

Thanks to Mike for sending me some file copies.

http://www.tessapackard.com/
http://mikebone.co.uk/
http://www.ipw1.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 13.01.2015

The Story of Fundraising

More Partnership are experts in philanthropic fundraising. They help organisations which are typically charities, universities, museums and schools to be more effective in raising money. As the title of this book reveals, it is about stories, which as they say in the introduction, lie at the heart of persuasive fundraising.

The size of the book is 150mm square, which is a friendly and manageable size. The cover only contains a modest 24pp text (saddle stitched) but to make this more a more substantial piece of literature, it has our Kemikal Cotton White 1500microns mounted to the front and back cover. The spine has been left exposed by 15mm on the front and back cover as can be seen in the picture below.

The cover is on Colorset, 270gsm (100% Recycled) and the 24pp text is printed four colour offset litho and printed on our StarFine Natural White 150gsm.The text paper was chosen because it is a neutral white, uncoated paper, which works in harmony with the cover materials and the beautiful illustrations by Jenny Bowers (Peep Show Collective) which run throughout the book.

There are four different Colorset colours used - just by simply changing the colour of the board used, it suddenly makes a series!

The outside covers are simply silkscreened in one colour black. It works just beautifully on the Kemikal Cotton White which is 1.5mm thick!

The below picture shows the foredge and the overall thickness which is 6mm.

Design is by NB:Studio, where the Creative Directors are Nick Finney and Alan Dye. Designer on the project is Kirsty Whittaker.

 

It has been beautifully printed, silkscreened and finished by Absolute Ink who are based in East London. The cover was silkscreened by Bob Eight Pop, who are part of the Absolute Group.

 

http://www.morepartnership.com/

http://www.nbstudio.co.uk/

http://www.peepshow.org.uk/illustration.php#JennyBowers

http://www.theabsolute.co.uk/

http://www.bobeightpop.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 08.01.2015