JAZZ FM

Hold onto your hats! ...this is simply my favourite job from last year - I've been keeping it up my sleeve, so I can write about it at length, so here goes...

This piece of printed literature is an LP sized brochure in a record sleeve, produced for UK based radio station Jazz FM and is a promotional piece of print, aimed at potential advertisers and clients. The mono photography, many from the 1950's by Bob Willoughby and Wiliam Ellis, is beautifully combined with printed metallics (gold & silver) with dense black and surprisingly vivid flat colours.

Brochure (r/h) sliding into sleeve (l/h)



Front cover of brochure


Feast your eyes on the spreads below and then you can read all about it....

The brochure is 305mm square, saddle stitched with a 4pp cover on Omnia 200gsm and a 36pp text on Marazion Ultra 90gsm. The 313mm square sleeve is printed on our Mandricote Cream Back [1 sided] 300gsm. All these materials just work together beautifully. The Mandricote has exactly the right feel for the sleeve (and is a similar material to what would have been used for sleeves, back in the day!) and prints the metallic gold superbly. The whole brochure relies on a lightweight feel to be saddle stitched, maintain the right flow and to slip easily into the sleeve and this is where the Omnia 200gsm cover and lightweight text on 90gsm just works. Printed in CMYK, offset litho, plus special gold and silver.

Design and art direction is by Matt Willey. Described as "sumptuous" by John L. Waters, editor of Eye magazine, who also explains that the two main display typefaces are Engravers and Timmons, a display font drawn by Willey himself (and named after jazz pianist Bobby Timmons).
http://www.eyemagazine.com/blog/post/jazz-in-print

The superb print, production and finishing was handled by John McCormick at printers DG3 Europe, who are a global company with offices in most corners of the world, although this project was handled by the London office.

So why's it my favorite piece from 2012? Few designers (these days) get the opportunity to work with the record sleeve format which was once a pre-eminent format in "popular design" Design for vinyl singles and LP's was a large part of the graphics industry from the 1940's up to 1990's providing a visual narrative of the time but has sadly all but disappeared. By selecting this format, combined with superb art direction and typography, Matt has created a truly stunning piece of literature.

...and if an accolade from me wasn't enough (just kidding) it's been selected by the judges to receive the  “Certificate of Typographic Excellence” by the Type Directors Club, and will also be shown at the 59th Awards Exhibition in New York. Recognition, well deserved.

www.jazzfm.com

www.mattwilley.co.uk
www.jazzbodyandsoul.co.uk
http://tdc.org/
http://www.eyemagazine.com/blog/post/jazz-in-print
www.dg3.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.01.2013

...from paper to data!

Below is a picture of a paper mill or rather, it's a picture of what was once a paper mill.

In what seems like a strange twist of fate with a healthy dollop of irony, Google acquired Stora Enso’s Summa paper mill in Hamina, Finland, in 2009. The paper mill which used to produce 350,000 tonnes of newsprint and magazine paper, had suffered persistent losses and with a downturn in demand, the  long-term profitability prospects were poor.

Using the pre-existing infrastructure of the mill, Google bought the site to estabish a state of the art data center. The large site sits on the beautiful Baltic Sea and is able to use untreated sea water, piped through a pre-existing tunnel, to cool the servers naturally. This natural cooling, together with large volumes of cheap electricity and green energy sources makes this former paper mill an ideal place to convert into a server farm.

With the paper machines removed, rows upon rows of servers - data is the product now.

Last summer, Google announced Phase II with a further €150 million investment. This will involve the restoration and conversion of an Alvar Aalto-designed machine hall. Interestingly, Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is the Finish born architect and designer who ranks alongside Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright in the modernist movement, so an important piece of Architectural history is also being preserved.

So what can we make of this? Well one thing it highlights is that just because something appears on the internet, it doesn't mean that there is no cost and no impact on the environment.

Ironically Google have just launched a "Go Paperless" campaign in 2013: http://www.paperless2013.org/
and perhaps unsurprisingly, there's been a bit of an anti Google backlash:
http://www.twosides.info/UK/Verdigris-urges-print-and-paper-industries-to-Go-Google-less

So if you have a client that says "Oh, I'll put it on my website because it saves paper and that's better for the environment" maybe get them to think again and look at these articles.

http://www.google.co.uk/about/datacenters/locations/hamina/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvar_Aalto
http://www.storaenso.com/
http://www.twosides.info/

Posted by Justin Hobson 24.01.2013

Duchamp SS|2012

Duchamp is a curiously British brand, tracing it's roots back to the late 80's as a luxury goods business concentrating on mens accessories. The founder named the company after the French surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp and the company is now owned and run by former Mulberry executive, Marc Psarolis.

 

The Spring Summer 2012 lookbook is designed and produced by London based creative agency, Exposure. The size of the book is 232x170mm, portrait, perfect bound. The 44pp text is printed on our Omnia 150gsm and works brilliantly with the, light, bright and beautifully detailed photography - a lovely piece of printing. The 4pp cover is on a black board (of unknown origin!) and is hot foil blocked in gloss black foil.

Alison Psarolis is Design Director at Duchamp. Art Direction and design is by Exposure. Print and print production is by Chapter Press.

www.duchamplondon.com
www.exposure.net
www.chapterpress.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.01.2013

...there's snow business, like paper merchanting!

It seems like we've again hit one of the challenges that the weather in this country occasionally throws us. Snow fall has again been pretty heavy and our vehicles have taken a little digging out of the snow.

As I've mentioned on this blog before, paper is extremely heavy and needs moving around and I guess many people reading this blog may think about samples, dummies and the nice examples of finished work but the paper still has to be moved around by heavy duty vehicles. Anyway, I'm sure you'll all be pleased to know that we haven't missed any of our deliveries or let anybody down (...yet!)

Posted by Justin Hobson 18.01.2013

Nordic Bakery on Colorset

Nordic Bakery is a Scandinavian-style café founded in London in 2007. There are now three beautifully designed cafés around London in New Cavendish Street, Dorset Street and Golden Square. Offering simple Nordic bakery products in a peaceful, simple, well designed environment the shops have gained a reputation and following. Aside from the food, the Nordic Bakery pays attention to all aspects of design. As their website states: "We have selected timeless and authentic design pieces for serving our food and drink. The tableware and furniture are designed by iconic Nordic designers, such as Kaj Franck, Alvar Aalto and Ilmari Tapiovaara".

They've produced three A2 prints on our Colorset 100% Recycled 270gsm, one for each café. Dorset Street is on Tuscan Brown, New Cavendish Street on Crimson and Golden Square on Indigo.

Here they are, fresh out of the packet...

The superbly simple design is by Supergroup Studios, based in Helsinki and London. Creative directors are Jaakko Tuomivaara and Roy Haapakoski. They have worked with Nordic Bakery since the beginning and have developed their brand in all areas, including packaging for their retail products.

The prints are silkscreen printed in two colours by Dan Holliday at The Mangle Press (apparently known locally as "Dan the Mangle"!)

www.nordicbakery.com
www.supergroupstudios.com
www.danholliday.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 16.01.2013

13 ...unlucky for some!

Today, I received a superb 2013 new year mailing from Magpie Studio concerning the number 13, which as we all know is unlucky for some - that is, unless you touch some wood! So the guys at Magpie have thoughtfully sent out a piece of wood, so you always have a piece to hand...

Size is 250x115mm and is 7mm thick. Although I can't tell the exact type of wood, it has a lovely grain. Silkscreened in one colour.

Click on image to enlarge

Clever idea and well executed - it was even delivered on the closest date to January 13th (which sadly was a Sunday this year - now that really was unlucky!)

Thanks to all at Magpie for thinking about me and my superstitious well-being in 2013.

www.magpie-studio.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 14.01.2013

Edward Green Shoes

Edward Green is a men's shoemakers founded in 1890, when Mr. Green began to make hand-crafted shoes for gentlemen in the traditional shoe making area of Northampton. The company has passed through several owners but remains owned and run by an individual, Hilary Freeman. The shoes are still craftsmen made, in Northampton using the finsest quality calf and each pair of shoes takes several weeks to make!

This is the range brochure which shows the wide range of styles available and is used for promotion to both customers and press.  The size is 155x118mm, portrait and is "singer sewn" in a green thread which matches the Edward Green brand colour. The cover is unprinted, displaying only a beautiful de-boss logo on the front (click on pics to enlarge). It has a 44pp text printed on our Marazion Ultra 135gsm which reproduces the shoes and the detail in the leather, beautifully, whilst still having a matt, tactile feel which relects the tactile nature of the calfskin. Printed in 4 colour process plus PMS 3275C.

This brochure was designed in-house by the Edward Green creative team. Print was handled by Rob Squires at Pureprint, and thanks to Rob for the file copies and the kind note. 

www.edwardgreen.com
www.pureprint.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.01.2013

Ampers-Fans unite!

On Saturday, there was a very interesting little program on Radio4 about the ampersand, which will appeal to all those with a typographic interest!


Here's the  BBC review :"Journalist Alistair Sooke traces the history of the funny little character that has quietly given joy to so many, from a
bored medieval scribe right the way through to a modern day digital font designer. Delighting type designers throughout the centuries as a chance within a font to create a small piece of art, it is a joyful moment in a functional resource. Speaking to Ampersfans Alastair enters into a world of letterpress, punchcutting and typography and discovers how the ampersand can be found at every step of the way, bringing a joyful flick of a tail to the dullest document. If you thought the ampersand was a bright young thing in the world of type, you couldn't be more wrong; first credited to Marcus Tiro around 63 BC, combing the letters e and t from the Latin word "et". Fighting off competition from his nemesis, the "Tironian Mark", Alastair then tracks the ampersand to 16th Century Paris where it was modelled in the hands of type designer to the King, Claude Garamond, then back across the sea to William Caslon's now famous interpretation, designed with a joyful array of flourishes and swirls. Alastair will discover how the ampersand became a calling card for many typographers, showcasing some of their best and most creative work. A simple twist of the pen, the ampersand has managed to captivate its audience since print began, in Ampersfan Alistair tries to pin down this slippery character down once and for all"

You can click on the "listen again" button and hear it ...but only up until Saturday 12th January, so you'd better hurry! Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gvlfr

Posted by Justin Hobson 09.01.2013

The Guide to Hondaness

This is a really well thought out piece of literature produced by Wieden + Kennedy for Honda. This guide takes the reader through the Honda way of doing things, referencing the company's founder and past president, Soichiro Honda.

The publication is 197x210mm, maling it just slightly Landscape and is section sewn. It has a 4pp cover and 40pp text and is printed on our Avebury Recycled Wove (50% Recycled) 250gsm cover and 170gsm text. Avebury was chosen because it is part recycled, has FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accreditation and has a lovely tactile feel, due in part to a small amount of rag (cotton) fibres used in it's manufacture.    

There are also a couple of really tricksy bits of print finishing, featuring duplexed text pages so that a lift up flap (bonnet) can be lifted up. Difficult to do, but perfectly executed.

Designed by Wieden + Kennedy in London. Print and the excellent finishing is by Chapter Press, handled by Jonathan Savory.

 

www.honda.co.uk/

www.wk.com

www.chapterpress.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 07.01.2013

Jobs from the past - Number 39

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 and here's one from 2009.

The Breastfeeding Chair

This publication is a research book about the development of a breastfeeding chair suited to the needs of breastfeeding women and their infants. Written by Dr Lynn Jones the book documents the project, from it's beginnings as a PhD research project at the School of Design & Craft, Faculty of Creativity & Culture at Buckinghamshire New University, right up to prototype.

Research by Professor Sally Kendall, along with other professionals, led to the premise that there was something fundamentally wrong with the way that women sit when they breastfeed their babies. Lynn Jones carried out research right up to chair development by Upholstery Trading Ltd in High Wycombe.The chair was awarded Best Product of The Year in 2005 by the BCFA (British Contract Furniture Association) and Parenting Product of The Year in 2006. The design is now registered both in the EU and US and the ongoing development of the chair continues to inform her teaching practice. Dr. Jones has collaborated with industry partners including Ercol Furniture, John Lewis and Vitra.

The book is 234 x 156mm, portrait, 4pp cover and 88pp text, printed in just two colours, black and red on Redeem 100% Recycled, 100gsm. The paper, which is a natural white shade, works particularly well with the mainly typographic design (there are only a few images) - it isn't as harsh on the eye as it would be with a high white paper and suits the subject and design perfectly.

The cover is printed on the colour range from the other "Hull based" paper merchant! (in 270gsm Bright Red) which is hot foil blocked in gloss white foil.

 

The beautifully simple, clear typographic solution is by London based designer, Jo Murray. Print is by Team Impression.   

 

www.bucks.ac.uk
www.upholstery -trading.co.uk
www.jomurray.co.uk
www.team-impression.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.01.2013