COS Christmas Cards

Swedish label COS was launched in 2007 and has since become a real presence on high streets and shopping centres. COS (it stands for Collection of Style) is part of the H&M group which is one of the world's largest retail clothing groups.

Having started purely in clothing, COS now also offers a range of accessories and homeware. This article is about a simple range of Christmas cards.

There are just two designs - a Christmas tree and a speckled snow scene. The 4pp cards are A6 (148x105mm) portrait. The cards are printed offset litho on out Shiro Echo, White 300gsm. The Christmas Tree design is printed Litho and is also embossed, with a beautifully deep emboss, which you (hopefully can see) from the image below, showing the inside....

Click on images to enlarge

 Below is the dotty 'snowflake' pattern.

 The design is printed in just one colour, offset litho plus hot foil blocking in metallic silver foil....

Click on images to enlarge

The cards come with C6 gummed envelopes, produced from Shiro Echo, White 120gsm.

Design is by the in -house design team at COS. Printing is by Severn Print who are based in Gloucester and have a variety of environmental certificates. The project was handled by Anita Barry at Severn Print.

Thanks to Anita for sending me the file copies and the lovely note.

http://www.cosstores.com/

http://www.severnprint.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 10.11.2018

Stardream for Christmas

November is here, so we can now talk about Christmas!

Lilac Linnet Creative is the retail facing brand of Patternise Laser Studio Ltd, who specialise in laser cutting for prestigious clients and brands, such as Disney, Cath Kidston, Warner Music and Morrisons to name a few.

Lilac Linnet have created a range of unique Christmas decorations - all lasercut out of board, so they far more environmentally friendly than plastic.They have a real wow factor for guests at any winter gathering, be it a home event, a wonderland wedding or festive corporate party.

All Christmas decorations have been designed and manufactured by Lilac Linnet and they offer a range of standard colour schemes including traditional reds and greens, sparkling whites and blues, and bold purples and golds....and all the designs are manufactured from our Stardream pearlescent and metallic range!

You can even order them directly on line here: www.lilaclinnet.co.uk

www.cordenons.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.11.2018

Jobs from the past - Number 109

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...

Minki Balinki - 2007

Minki Balinki are a company who create bespoke Visual Merchandising for retail campaigns and individual design briefs. Creative Director Nina Tillett established the business in 1999 developing her individual talents into a successful business. After graduating from Loughborough College of Art and Design in 1996 Nina went on to win the Osborne and Little, Fabric and Wall Coverings Award. Her first windows were Christmas at Harvey Nichols, so from there Minki Balinki Visual Merchandising was born.

This piece of promotional literature is really quite special.

Although it looks square, it is actually 151x140mm, portrait.

First inside spread here:

 Folding out again

 and again

 ...and again:

 … and finally the top and bottom panels, both fold out left and right.

The open size is 455mm (H) and 428mm (W). You can see the excellent matrix creases, which are deep and enable a crack free fold.

This brochure is printed on our Omnia 320gsm, which is a very bulky board with a subtle, natural texture and tactile surface. Reproduction is superb with the all the detail retained in the images and the fluorescent pink solid jumps off the page. It folds beautifully.

 ...you can see the excellent CMYK reproduction in the detail image below:

Brochure design is by The Pink Group who have since disbanded.

 

The excellent printing was by Principal Colour based in Paddock Wood in Kent. It's also worth pointing out that this job isn't "sealed, varnished or coated" in any way and this is the main reason that it feels so good - you can actually feel the paper and the ink. Since the time this was printed (2005) there has been a trend to install presses with coaters and most pieces of printed literature are smeared with a coating or sealer which (although making the printer's lives easier) betrays the feel of the paper ...and (what a lot of printers fail to mention) it discolours with age - now that's definitely something worth thinking about!

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

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.11.2018

The Beatrice Warde Memorial Lecture

The 2018 Beatrice Warde Memorial Lecture is being held at the St Bride Foundation in London next Thursday - why don't you go along and stimulate the brain....

Drawing on her experience as a type historian, type-designer, and educator, Fiona Ross will discuss how, despite notable historical accounts to the contrary, type design is rarely a solitary occupation conceived in a vacuum but rather a collaborative enterprise informed and executed by different contributors in answer to specific typographic needs.

This illustrated talk will highlight particular examples of Indian-script type development to illustrate how our understanding of contemporary design issues can benefit from an appreciation of the key contributors who, in specific contexts, combined to determine the typographic representation of South Asian languages.

Fiona Ross specializes in non-Latin type design and typography, having a background in languages with a PhD in Indian Palaeography (SOAS). From 1978 to 1989 she worked for Linotype Limited (UK), with responsibility for the design of their non-Latin fonts and typesetting schemes. In 2003 Fiona joined the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication at the University of Reading (UK), where she is Professor of Non-Latin Type Design and Curator of the Department's Non-Latin Type Collection.

The talk is on the 8th November at 7pm

Tickets are £8 - £12.50 - you can book them HERE

https://www.sbf.org.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 31.10.2018

Country by Will Burns

This is a beautiful letterpress print, which is a combination of a lino-cut and wood type of a poem by Will Burns. The Lino-cut is by Jeb Loy Nichols. Originally from Texas, Jeb Loy Nichols moved to a quiet spot in mid Wales via New York and a twenty year stint in London. Jeb now takes commissions to produce lino-cuts and also has an online shop selling prints.

The size is 1000x350mm - which exactly half the B1 sheet size (700x1000mm) cut lengthways, which is a lovely format.

Printed letterpress in three colours on a FAG Swiss proof 40, a letterpress proofing press. The poster is printed on our Colorset (100% Recycled) Natural 160gsm and it looks just beautiful.

Printing is by Jeb Loy Nichols and The Letterpress Collective in Bristol. The Letterpress Collective started a few years ago after the last letterpress printer in Bristol quietly closed it's doors. They now have a  Heidelberg Windmill Platen, a Stephenson Blake proofing press, various Adana's together with a collection wood and lead type. Put this all together with a lovely workspace and experienced compositors and printers and you have a thriving environment for creativity - and education, as they run courses as well!

 

Do have a look at their site:

www.theletterpresscollective.org
The Letterpress Collective, Studio 31 Centrespace, 6 Leonard Lane, Bristol BS1 1EA

You can buy these beautiful prints here: https://www.jebloynichols.co.uk/shop/country-2018

https://www.jebloynichols.co.uk/

www.theletterpresscollective.org

Posted by Justin Hobson 29.10.2018 

Villa Saletta

This is one of the most wonderful books to have appeared on this blog, it is quite simply stunning. Villa Saletta is a 1,760-acre estate in the heart of Tuscany, featuring an historic borgo, three luxurious holiday villas and a boutique winery. The estate was purchased by British investor, Guy Hands around 15 years ago and it is used both as a family holiday home and is also being developed with apartments and houses as a resort for Tuscany loving guests.

This superb case-bound book is bound in leather. The size of the book is 300mm square and has 284pp text pages given an overall spine thickness of 35mm.

The book which is subtitled 'History in the Making' is divided into seven chapters, explaining the history, the estate, the wine and produce and the vision for the future...

In the centre of the book there is a gatefold throw out showing a stunning panorama of the Italian countryside surrounding the Villa.

The one thing that has struck me about this publication is the space. It is unhurried and nothing is crammed in. Photography by Richard Waite is allowed the space to breath and it really makes the most of the wonderful images.

It is printed offset litho throughout in CMYK. The paper chosen is our StarFine, White 170gsm. StarFine is a quality, uncoated paper and as the images show, image reproduction is excellent. The solids chapter dividers, photographic images and the illustrations all look equally stunning - a great amount of detail for an uncoated paper.

One of the chapter divider spreads, the terracotta colour is made out of CMYK, not a solid special colour.

Image below shows the head and tail bands and the way the text moves. The edge of the book is gilt edged in gold.

The below image shows the thread in the centre of the 24pp sections...

Below image shows the ribbon marker and also the gilt edge binding.

The book is published by Terra Firma Holdings Ltd. Photography is by Richard Waite.

The truly stunning printing and production is by Stuart Van Den Bergh at Intaglio Communications who are based in London.

https://www.villasaletta.com/
http://www.intaglioltd.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 23.10.2018

Dermatology M

Dermatology M is an exclusive range of carefully designed topicals and cosmetic skincare creams, ointments and tinctures, developed by world-renowned dermatologist Mazin Al-Khafaji. Mazin is recognised as one of the leading experts in the field of dermatology and Chinese medicine, and for three decades has treated unusual and difficult skin, auto-immune and allergic diseases with great success.

This 2pp 'dispensary slip' is 175x112mm. Printed CMYK in offset Litho, these slips are laser printed in the dispensary. The material used is Shiro Echo, White 80gsm, which is very lightweight but has a wonderful feel in the hand.

Beautifully printed, the fine (small) type is crisp and sharp.

Branding and design is by Aloof and it was kind of Michelle to send me some file copies and a lovely note too.

Printing is by Dayfold, who are based in Dorset.

https://dermatology-m.co.uk/
https://aloof.co/
https://www.dayfold.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 18.10..2018