Beautiful Wedding Invitation

This is a beautifully produced invitation for a wedding held this summer. Katherine Heaton is Account Director at Johnson Banks, so the invitation designed by her colleagues in the studio was bound to be something special.

The invitation and supporting items are all 140mm square. The items are all printed on our Colorset, Natural (100% recycled). The main invitation is triplexed 350gsm which makes it over 1.5mm thick.

The invitation is gilt edged in gold which makes the best of the thickness and looks just beautiful. 

The 140mm square cards all fit into the 155mm square envelope that we also keep as a standard size in the Colorset range.

Print production for the invitations and supporting cards is by Pureprint. All items were digitally printed using an HP Indigo press.

The wedding and reception was held at Voewood, a renowned arts and crafts house in Norfolk which is owned and run by the celebrity antiquarian bookseller Simon Finch.

www.johnsonbanks.co.uk

www.pureprint.com

www.voewood.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.11.2014

Jobs from the past - Number 61

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...

HRP Textile Conservation Studio 
Five Year Review 1991-1996

This is beautifully produced report produced by the Historic Royal Palaces in 1996. It has a fantastic, tactile quality and the design makes the most of the rich subject matter which the palaces have at their disposal. Based at Hampton Court Palace and originally managed by the William Morris Company, the studio now plays an integral part of the conservation efforts of the HRP.

Size of the brochure is 297x210mm portrait and is perfect bound with a 4mm spine. It has a 4pp cover with a mixture of text papers, combining an uncoated feltmark paper with a high gloss 'real art' paper. The cover features a 55mm square cut out which allows the detail from the 'Departure of Abraham' tapestry from 1540 to show through.

The paper used for the cover is Dali Neve 240gsm on the cover and a combination of Dali Neve 160gsm and Concorde Pure Brilliance 135gsm for the text.

One of the things that makes this a really special publication is the choice of materials used. From a range of different papers shown to the client, the feedback was that "Dali is the paper which most represents the tactility and weave of cloth". I recall that Dali was selected over other linen embossed papers, which were regarded as far too 'Faux'

You can see from these pictures showing the close up detail, how well the detail of the tapestry reproduces and how the subtle feltmark pattern is both tactile and visual conveying the image of woven cloth.

The image reproduction of the high gloss coated paper (Concorde Pure Brilliance 135gsm) is superb - remember, this was in the days when a transparency was scanned, colour separations made and film produced before plates were made - nothing digital going on here! ...and the result is superb. This piece of print looks so fresh and outshines many pieces of print that I pick up and handle today.

Design is by Big Active www.bigactive.com. The designer who worked on the project was Mark Watkins. In 2001 Mark left Big Active moving to Derbyshire, where he established his own studio called LUCK.

 

The job was printed by a company called Penshurst Press based in Tunbridge Wells. Sadly the company is no longer around, however Alan Flack and Martin Darby who worked at there (and produced this job) went on to form their own printing company called Principal Colour and their work still features on this blog from time to time.

Just one final thing I've noticed - due to the mixture of text pages it has been perfect bound rather than section sewn (and PUR was only for longer runs in those days) - well, it is holding together perfectly, with no sign of degradation - not bad for nearly 20 years old!

http://conservation100.hrp.org.uk/about/
www.bigactive.com
www.thisisluck.com
http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.11.2014

Pip MacCallum Identity

Imagist has produced the identity for a bridal shoe designer, Pip MacCallum, including printed stationery, with brilliant and stunning simplicity!

In the words of Imagist "During the development of the ideas, we noticed that Pip’s name has two of every letter, with the exception of the letters U and I. We thought this was remarkable, for someone who designs bridal shoes!"

The result is a design where these two individual letters are cut out - the device is used throughout the identity. On the printed material, the U and the I on the front of the literature is laser cut.

On the cards and letterheads the U and I are laser cut on the front and a simple ampersand is printed on the reverse, so that you read Pip MacCallum on the face, and U & I on the reverse ...very clever indeed!

The entire suite of literature is printed on our StarFine White. The letterhead is printed on 115gsm and the cards, postcards and swing tags are all printed on 350gsm.

Swing tag

The identity has been created by Imagist, a London based studio. Art direction and design is by Colm Roche and Rose Brissenden.

You can read more about the project here: http://www.imagistlondon.com/pip-maccallum.html

Although this is a simple piece of print, the execution has to be done well and this is done very well. Print production including the laser cutting has been handled by Paul McCarthy at Colt Press based in Essex.

http://www.imagistlondon.com/
www.colt-press.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 30.10.2104

New "pocket" swatch for Stardream

We've just produced a new swatch for our range of Stardream, which is the market leading pearlescent and metallic paper range produced by the Cordenons paper mill in Italy. Many people have become fans of the light irridescent finishes and the dual sided deep metallic finishes which do truly shimmer. Stardream is used for a wide range of applications, including cover, presentation folders, Invitations, greetings cards and luxury packaging.

This new swatch is a handy smaller DL size (210x99mm) but still includes the whole range, with "chips" glued on, to show the wide spectrum of colours

As well as being available in the 31 shades, Stardream comes in a good weight range. All items are available in 120gsm and 285gsm with some of the most popular items also available in 340gsm board and a 110gsm one sided (particularly used for luxury packaging - paper over board boxes and casebound covers).

You can see the whole range here: http://www.cordenons.co.uk/
If you would like to receive one of the new Stardream swatches, just email me (justin@fennerpaper.co.uk) and I'll pop one in the post.

http://www.cordenons.co.uk/
http://www.gruppocordenons.com/en/

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.10.2014

Jimmy Choo - For the Bride

This is a beautifully produced pack by Jimmy Choo for their bridal range. Jimmy Choo is an iconic luxury fashion brand defined by an empowered sense of glamour and a confident sense of style. The sexy cut, fashionable design, and exceptional Italian craftsmanship has created a global luxury being awarded 2008 'Designer Brand of the Year' from the British Fashion Council.

This presentation pack is produced for the bride (they also do mother of the bride etc.) and is in traditional wedding white, embellished with silver hot foil blocking.

The pack is A5 in size and is formed into a capacity wallet with a 6mm capacity to contain 4 cards plus a slim brochure. The pack opens in an envelope style with a large opening flap and is sealed'held together using hidden magnets - which isn't possible to show in the pictures - because they are hidden!

Capacity wallet folder with flap open

Back of wallet with flap closed - held together with the hidden magnets

The folder and the A5 postcards are all produced on our Omnia 320gsm, which gives a rich tactile feel, but allows all the detail in the images to show - some of the detailing of the shoes is exceptionally fine, but they have reproduced perfectly...

With Omnia, being a very bulky sheet, it creases exceptionally well and makes the folder a substantial, rigid 'box'. The below picture shows the capacity of the box with the fold on the flap, where one of the hidden magnets is positioned.

Art direction and design is by the Jimmy Choo in house design team. Printing and clever production - including the tricksy, hidden magnets is by Gavin Martin Colournet. 

 

http://www.jimmychoo.com/en/bridal-boutique/bridal-collections/bride/

http://www.jimmychoo.com/

http://www.gavinmartincolournet.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 24.10.2014

Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination

Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination
 is a recently opened exhibition at the British Library. It is the UK’s largest exhibition of Gothic literature, celebrating the many British literary masterpieces in the genre, as well as modern interpretations of the Gothic in pop culture today.

Exhibits include handwritten drafts of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the modern horrors of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser and the popular Twilight series, highlight how contemporary fears have been addressed by generation after generation. On display are posters, books, films - and even a vampire-slaying kit - demonstrating the dark shadow the Gothic imagination has cast across film, art, music, fashion, architecture and our daily lives.

Although this post is not about using a large amount of paper, it is about using the RIGHT paper! The captions printed for each of the exhibits are printed on Redeem 100% Recycled, 240gsm and mounted onto 3mm displayboard.

Graphic design for the exhibition is by Kellenberger–White. They needed a material that was a neutral white, that had an old look and feel without being all faux and 'parchmenty' - and they chose Redeem 100% recycled which gives the captions the perfect look. 

Here's what Kellenberger-White say about it....

Working with London-based architects OMMX, Kellenberger–White designed a comprehensive scheme of exhibition graphics, which included a special neon entrance sign, introduction and section panels, captions, as well as a section by section colour scheme, developed in partnership with the architects and the British Library exhibition team. The design deliberately played on the visual mood of the exhibits – for example the rooms and corridors dedicated to Dracula were lined from floor to ceiling in a deep blood red. The exhibition graphics sought to enhance the eerie tone of the exhibition rooms. Using the new typeface Stanley Bold, characterised by its sharp counter forms, the text panels were produced on hand-painted wooden panels – evocative of bucolic Victorian churches and school halls, while their layout and proportions subtly hinted at the ultimate Gothic motif of tombstones.

Kellenberger–White redrew a special hairline font that was optimised for neon production. The neon enriched the special characteristics of the chosen Stanley font, while also evoking the image of nighttime street scenes and seedy alleyways frequently occupied by modern day characters of the Gothic underworld.

You can read more about the exhibition here:

http://www.bl.uk/events/terror-and-wonder--the-gothic-imagination?ns_campaign=gothic&ns_mchannel=bl_website&ns_source=carousel&ns_linkname=gothic_more_link&ns_fee=0

Exhibition design is by London-based architects OMMX. Graphic design is by Kellenberger–White. Production Lighting is by DHA Designs Exhibition. Photography is by Max Creasy. Exhibition captions produced by The Keyboard Group.

Graphic design team is Eva Kellenberger
, Sebastian White and Mina Demiren.

www.kellenberger-white.com

www.officemmx.com/
http://www.thekeyboardgroup.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 23.10.2014

Ted Baker - Take the scenic route.

This is an exquisite print campaign from Ted Baker, one of the UK's leading clothing brands. Recognised for using interesting themes and stories for its marketing, the company has become a desired designer label through engaging with customers through word of mouth rather than just advertising.

Titled "Take the scenic route" it showcases the Autumn/Winter collection and is shot on location at Pickering station on the classic North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The Pullman steam train evokes a strong period scene in which the clothing and accessories play the central part.

The publication contains womenswear, menswear and accessories "so try something new (at the drop of a stylish hat) and always take the scenic route with Ted."

The paper used throughout is our lovely Omnia text and cover range - 320gsm for the cover and 120gsm for the text. As you can see from the images, there is lots of bright colour and images with CMYK dark areas (especially as it's Autumn/Winter) - lots of heavy coverage going down and it looks great on the Omnia, reproducing bright vibrant colours as well and the dark winter colours, whilst retaining detail in the dark areas. ALSO...solid colours such as the solid black below, look just beautiful, flat, matt and tactile. 

This publication is produced in two sizes, 297x210mm (A4) portrait and 210x148mm (A5) format, both with a 4pp cover and a 72pp text.Perfect bound.

The superb printing is by Absolute Ink who are based in East London. Design and art direction is by the in house team at Ted Baker.

The front cover and spine is hot foil blocked with metallic silver foil - beautifully done and reinforces the quality of the brand.

Image showing foiling on the spine - spine is about 6mm

 

All in all, this is a superb piece of print. This book also heralds the launch of the wonderfully named "Phormal" range of clothing!

www.tedbaker.com

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

Posted by Justin Hobson 21.10.2014