Something for the Weekend...

I've written about the London Centre for Book Arts (LCBA) on this blog before here. The LCBA has been set up by Simon Goode Ira Yonemura and is an open-access educational and resource centre dedicated to book arts.

The LCBA is based in East London in a place called Fish Island in Bow, close to the Olympic park. It's a fabulous space - light and airy, not a dark and dingy corner. This centre offers access to letterpress printing, hot foil blocking and binding facilities, processes which many practising designers and artists wish to utilise but is normally difficult to access.

THIS SATURDAY they are holding an Open Studio event to which everyone is invited and where they are also launching their new book which is very exciting!

Titled "Making Books" it is written by Simon Goode and Ira Yonemura and is a step-by-step guide to creating books by hand at home and is based based on their popular workshops.  Accessible enough for complete beginners, while full of inspiration for those with more experience, this is the ultimate guide to making beautiful books by hand.

Starting with an introduction to the bindery and a useful inventory of necessary tools and equipment, you’ll also learn about different paper types, and special finishes such as cloth coverings, headbands and ribbon markers. You’ll then find clear step-by-step instructions for six different hand-made book types, from simple pamphlets and concertinas to more elaborate multi-section bindings. Each project includes ideas for variations, resulting in over 20 different possible outcomes. There are also details about more advanced techniques and specialist bindings, as well as handy layout and design advice.

Making Books is published by Pavilion. Photography by Yuki Sugiura, Illustrations by Jay Cover and design by Makoto Yamada on the design. 

So why not go to the Open Studio tomorrow and pick up a copy for yourself? 

London Centre for Book Arts (LCBA) Unit 18, Ground Floor Britannia Works, Dace Road, London E3 2NQ

www.londonbookarts.org

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.08.2017

Vive L'Espresso Martini!

To create GREY GOOSE vodka, François Thibault maintains an unrivalled level of craftsmanship, using only the very finest ingredients. Its signature smoothness and distinct character are the result of an extraordinary passion for spirit making and an unparalleled commitment to the highest possible quality.

Grey Goose have a list of cocktails that can be made using their Vodka and they also have a range of featured "Holiday Cocktails". and this 8pp menu/recipe card is for a L'Espresso Martini.

The size is 195x105mm portrait and is an 8pp concertina format printed on our Omnia 280gsm. Omnia was chosen because it would work with the rich detail that is present in the images but that would still give a natural look and tactile feel. As you can see from images, the photography is quite dark, but there is no loss of detail, which is what can often happen printing on an uncoated paper. The "Grey Goose Blue" is rich and the solid has printed beautifully. Printed offset litho throughout.

Click on images to enlarge

Omnia 280gsm is a very bulky board with a thickness of over 400microns. As you can see below it creases beautifully and this has been professionally matrix creased.

Birds eye view below:

Creative direction and design is by London based branding agency Ragged Edge.

 

Printing is by Identity, based in Paddock Wood, Kent and they made a superb job of it - colour reproduction and solids are superb.

 

..and if you are over 18 (!) you can watch a video about the Coctails here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNR3Gx-a34s

 

https://www.greygoose.com/gl/en/lda.html

http://www.raggededge.com/

http://www.identityprint.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 08.08.2017 

GILLSAWS

Here's a lovely 'paper related' subject which I think readers of this blog might be interested in....

GILLSAWS is the brainchild of freelance art director Gill Patchett who I've had the pleasure of knowing for many years. This is what Gill has written about her wonderful new jigsaw business:

"The concept for GILLSAWS was born after being gifted a 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle, of the state of California, on my return from a 6 month solo stateside odyssey. Inspired to create a contemporary collection of jigsaws, and after several unsuccessful attempts to gain help from the few remaining UK jigsaw manufacturers, I decided to produce the jigsaws myself. GILLSAWS will collaborate with creatives to produce exclusive limited editions. Allowing new and established talent to showcase their work in a completely different medium. Each puzzle is handcrafted in a small studio in Brighton, using an industrial roller press, a custom made die and a whole lot of love. For this reason each one, in a sense, is unique, reproduction may vary slightly and minor imperfections may occur."

There are four different jigsaw designs, all the elements - Air, Earth. Fire and Water

Each of the puzzles is a 400 piece puzzle. GILLSAWS are handcrafted in a small studio in Brighton, using an industrial roller press, a custom made die and a whole lot of love!

These lovely contemporary jigsaws are available to buy NOW here: http://gillsaws.bigcartel.com/products

http://gillsaws.bigcartel.com/
http://www.thisisgill.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.08.2017

Jobs from the past - Number 94

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...

From the Cradle to the Grave

Selected Drawings - Damien Hirst ...2003

Half Skull 1998

In 2003 Damien Hirst, one of Britain’s most celebrated artists, accepted an invitation from the Ljubljana International Biennale of Graphic Arts to produce a completely new show for their 25th Biennale. The invitation followed in the wake of the prestigious Biennale Grand Prize awarded to Hirst in 2001 for his suite of ‘Last Supper’ prints. For Ljubljana, Hirst chose to put together his first-ever exhibition of drawings. Spanning his entire career, the exhibition consisted of approximately 150 drawings drawn from a large number of public and private collections. They ranged from early drawings done when Hirst was a teenager to intimate drawings made for close friends. Hirst also included his sculpture From the Cradle to the Grave (2000) in the exhibition.
The exhibition was organised by Visual Arts, British Council for the Biennale and it subsequently toured with the British Council to other venues around Europe.

This publication was published by Other Criteria in association with the British Council.

Size of the publication is a whopping 670x480mm. It is then 'endorsement folded' (ie in half to 335x480mm). This large format catalogue has a deliberately news-papery look and feel. It is a 20pp 'self cover' printed on our Redeem 100% Recycled 115gsm (special weight was made for this project) and is unbound.

Click on images to enlarge

The Beheading of John the Baptist 2002

The Last Supper (The Blood of Christ) 2003

Away from the Flock 1994 

For a sense of scale, below is a spread pictured with a piece of A4 paper ...remember the size of the publication is 670x480mm!

An Unreasonable Fear of Amputation/Death and Dying 1998

The publication is printed offset litho. Although this looks like a one colour print (halftone or monotone printing) it is not! The reason that the pencil looks so much like pencil is because it's a two colour job, with a continuous tone printed as the background. This means that there is never a hard edge when the pencil line finishes because it blends in with the continuous tone of the background colour. A very effective solution and I've been asked many times how the amazing reproduction of the pencil drawings was achieved. Below image shows detail of the pencil work: 

Click on images to enlarge

The paper is already a neutral white shade gives the publication a 'newsy' feel which really works with the images and most importantly, the pages which are purely type (centre spread) as below:

Outside back cover:

Design is by Jason Beard at Other Criteria. It's a superb example of a well thought out, beautifully crafted publication which has stood the test of time. It demonstrates that a well considered design with the right materials can be produced in a cost effective way and still look fantastic.

Printing was by Principal Colour, who are still based in Paddock Wood in Kent. The production was handled by Chris Saunders who now runs his own print management consultancy, Print Source.

http://www.damienthirst.com/
http://www.othercriteria.com/
www.principalcolour.co.uk
www.print-sourceuk.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.08.2017

How to Excite the Senses

Jaguar is a purpose-led organisation and their purpose is to excite the senses. This superb publication commissioned by the Jaguar PR and press department is to convey this purpose. This piece of literature embodies all the core values that Jaguar stands for and is produced to a very high specification.

The size of the publication is 165x240mm, landscape. The outside cover is case-bound using a combination of a soft touch covering material and 'quarter bound' in black book-cloth. The front cover is hot foil blocked in a gloss black foil. 

The binding is what is generally called "swiss-bound", so the text is mounted onto the inside back cover with the front cover and freestanding spine. The below image shows the inside front cover, inside spine and page one of text.

However, what is unusual about the binding is that the text is section sewn but left as what I describe as "open-bound" with the sections being held together with just thread and a very small amount of glue.

Click on images to enlarge

One of the things about this project which is so exciting is the use of different materials. The introduction is an 8pp section printed on Offenbach Bible 60gsm - which is printed sensationally with an amazing image ...the alloy wheel below:

...and below you can see the way the very lightweight Offenbach Bible flops and flows:

The majority of text is printed on our Omnia 120gsm. The majority of pages are printed in a solid black, which looks wonderful on the Omnia.

Click on images to enlarge

...but to keep the reader stimulated there are eight "tip- ins" 140x110mm, which are printed on our Astralux 1 sided 90gsm, which is high gloss one side and an uncoated reverse.

The below image shows the way the uncoated and coated combination of the Astralux works really well.

Many of the spreads are also vibrant colours or solids which all work equally well on the Omnia.

The publication is printed offset litho throughout and there is also gloss UV which runs throughout the book. Unlike most uncoated products, you can successfully gloss UV varnish on Omnia (with a single hit) and it works really well - as you can see in the below pic...

Click on images to enlarge

Another luxurious touch is the use of coloured thread for the section sewing:

Concept, art direction and design of the publication is by Brand Union.

This is an exquisitely produced book which using a great choice of materials does "excite the senses". The project is printed offset litho throughout. Print is by CPI Colour with Alan Gillespie handling the project.
https://www.jaguar.co.uk/index.html

http://www.brandunion.com/

http://www.cpicolour.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.07.2017

Verge

Verge is the name of the collaborative exhibition showing the work of the graduates from the 2016 BA Honours Photography course at the University of Portsmouth. The exhibition was held at Hoxton Arches in London in June 2016 and included a panel discussion on Collaborative Practice after University held on the Saturday.

The superbly produced publication is a professionally produced gallery catalogue. The size is 265x210mm portrait and it is perfect bound.

The 4pp cover is hot foiled blocked in metallic blue foil on the front cover and also on the inside front cover, listing the 26 photographers on the course. The 4pp cover is produced on Colorset Aquamarine 350gsm.

The 64pp text is printed offset litho on our Marazion Ultra 115gsm, which is a bulky sheet and gives the publication a spine of 5mm, although as you can see from the below image it flows really nicely.

Click on images to enlarge

Marazion Ultra was chosen mainly because of it's matt flatness which would reproduce the artworks well without a glossiness which can often detract from the images. The combination of the Colorset and Marazion Ultra is a simple but effective choice of materials.

Anca-Ioana Pirvu

Krasimira Butseva

Emma Durrant-Fellows

It's not been possible to reproduce all the spreads in the publication, so there are just some of my favourites here. As you can see from the spread below, even when the images are very dark and saturated with CMYK, the detail has been retained.

Sarah Benstead

For readers not familiar with Marazion Ultra, it's a fully coated paper but it really does have a dead flat MATT surface. There are many papers on the market which profess to be matt (and some which incorporate the word matt in the name, but aren't!) ...but this really is - and if you don't believe me, just ask for a sample!

Chris James

Detail showing the 5mm spine

Catalogue design is by Éloïse Parrack. Print was handled by Philip Herridge at printing services at the University of Portsmouth. Print is by PPG who are based in Portsmouth. 

http://www.source.ie/graduate/2016/univportba/univportba_index.php
http://www.eloiseparrack.com/
www.port.ac.uk
http://www.ppgprint.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 25.07.2017