Friday 13 October 2017

The Observable

I've written many posts on this blog which includes the phrase "...just the cover makes the difference!" and this is certainly an excellent example.

This is the publication by London gallery Rossi & Rossi for the show by artist Faiza Butt titled 'The Observable'.  Size of the catalogue is A5, portrait with a 4pp cover and 20pp text. Due to the tight restriction of the budget, the text is printed on a 'house silk' 150gsm, which works perfectly well but what makes this catalogue stand out, is the use of Colorset Flint 270gsm on the cover.
 The cover is simply printed in one colour, offset litho in silver (pantone 877) one side only, so a very economical print specification.
Print is also on the outside back cover.
 and the designer, Michael Windsor-Ungureanu was so impressed he wrote about how impressed the silver looked on the Colorset Flint....
Design is by Thread Design (Michael Windsor-Ungureanu). Printing is by Bowmans based in Leeds.

http://rossirossi.com/
http://www.threaddesign.co.uk/
http://www.bowmans77.co.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 13.10.2017

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Grey Goose VX

Grey Goose VX is a pioneering new spirit, created by crafting Vodka with a hint of precious cognac.

This new spirit has been created by Grey Goose creator and MaÎtre de Chai, François Thibault. His passion for crafting extraordinary spirits began as a Cellar Master in Cognac and led him to create Grey Goose. By delving deeper into his expertise, Thibault has created a unique, new spirit - one that draws from past tradition, and expertly marries a hint of precious Cognac with Grey Goose vodka to create something truly distinctive.
 
This is a brand book produced to introduce Grey Goose VX. The size is an 'almost square' 210x190mm, with a 4pp cover on Omnia 320gsm and a 12pp text on Omnia 150gsm and uses singer sewing for the binding.
The cover is printed in "Grey Goose Blue" which is rich and the solid has printed beautifully. Printed offset litho throughout. The cover is hot foil blocked in silver (the goose) and in gold for the VX. The cover also has a debossed wave texture over the blue solid, stopping before the white border, so that's quite a tricksy bit of printing and finishing and it looks amazing
Click on images to enlarge
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 wonderfully detailed and glass is not always the easiest thing to reproduce.
Centre spread....
Click on images to enlarge
Detail showing the singer sewing:
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.
 
Posted by Justin Hobson 10.10.2017 

Thursday 5 October 2017

Studio Culture

Studio Culture is the publication produced by this year's graduating students from the Kingston School of Art at  Kingston University's Art and Design Faculty.

To accompany their end of year show, they produced a publication which is a visual diary of ideas in their final year, an insight into the way they worked and played, emphasising the studio culture which has been developed on the course.
There are two publications. There is a fold out broadsheet (above). The size is 225x160mm which folds out 640x450mm. This is used both as a poster and also has the details of all the individuals on the course. The folded broadsheet is inserted into the main 'Studio Culture' booklet as you can see in the below image...
Click on images to enlarge
Above is the front cover and below shows the front and back cover opened out. The size is 232x165mm, portrait and is saddle stitched. It is a 64pp 'self cover' publication.
The paper used for both parts is our Shiro Echo Bright White 90gsm. Shiro is a 100% Recycled text and cover paper from Favini and as I'm sure you will be able to see from the images below, it prints beautifully. The publication is printed offset litho in CMYK throughout.
Click on images to enlarge
It's a very interesting insight to the final year of the course. It is well written with articles by students and tutors.
Click on images to enlarge
Centre spread:
...even though it's a 64pp, because it's on 90gsm it flows beautifully.
Design is by Ellie Game, Caiah Morash, Harriet Payler, Karen Tsang, Amber Ng. It was Ellie Game who dealt with the paper (me) and also with the print production with Paul Martin at Jigsaw Colour printers.

This really is an excellent publication and so much more engaging than most 'end of year show' publications. This is a far more insightful piece of literature.


http://kingstongraphicshow.co.uk/
http://www.jigsawcolour.co.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 05.10.2017

Monday 2 October 2017

Jobs from the past - Number 96

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...

Oyuna - Womenswear Autumn/Winter 2010
Founded in 2002 by Oyuna Tserendorj and launched with a capsule homeware collection, OYUNA was born out of a desire to showcase cashmere, and more importantly Mongolian cashmere in a contemporary manner. Growing exponentially, OYUNA was soon stocked in some of the world’s most prestigious department stores and boutiques alike, culminating in the launch of a ready-to-wear womenswear capsule collection in 2009.
This was one of the first look-books they created. The size of the publication is 220x170mm, portrait and is saddle stitched.
The images have lots of detail but many have dark shade garments (as this is Autumn Winter!) and therefore it was important to retain as much detail, especially in the dark areas. This is the reason that Omnia was chosen rather than a regular uncoated board, Omnia gives the uncoated look and feel but with great colour reproduction.
The 4pp cover is printed on Omnia, White 200gsm and the 16pp text is on Omnia, White 150gsm.  
It has just the right feel and flows well in the hand.
The founding values of OYUNA have never faltered, with meticulously sourced cashmere now sitting alongside the finest cotton and silk. The reproduction of these garments is really important and as you can see from the detail below, it is truly impressive...
Graphic design is by April. Printing is by Chadbon Printing based in London.

https://oyuna.com/
http://www.studio-april.com/
http://chrischadbonprinting.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 02.10.2017

Thursday 28 September 2017

National Poetry Day 2017

Today is National Poetry Day! The annual celebration that inspires people throughout the UK to enjoy, discover and share poems.

National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by the charity Forward Arts Foundation and today it enjoys the support of the BBC, Arts Council England, the Royal Mail and leading literary and cultural organisations, alongside booksellers, publishers, libraries and schools.

...so what better day to write about a wonderful new poetry book, which just happens to be printed on our paper!
Tom Sharp is Creative Director, copywriter, co-founder of The Beautiful Meme,  a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts ...and Tom is also a poet! This is his latest publication titled 'English Pan'.
This is a 32pp publication which is 215x153mm, portrait and is singer sewn using black thread. It is printed in just one colour throughout.
There are twelve poems in the publication, all written by Tom Sharp. The superb illustrations are by Shaun Campbell.
The paper used for the 28pp text is our Neptune Unique Softwhite 120gsm, which is an uncoated off-white, smooth (yet tactile) text and cover paper - just the right material for black type to look brilliant on.
The 'cover' however, is a different matter and is actually on a brand new material in our range called SIXTIES and is 60gsm. It is a fine quality, similar to our Offenbach Bible in many ways but with one major difference - unlike a genuine bible paper which has a high opacity, this new paper has the same translucency as a tracing paper - but it feels like a normal paper! ...as I hope you can see from the picture below:
Wonderful use of a material for a cover - unexpectedly lightweight, covering up; yet revealing the title and it works superbly with the singer sewing:
Each one is hand numbered and a limited edition of 100 and my thanks to Tom for sparing me a copy.
The design is by the studio at The Beautiful Meme. Print and finishing is by Kingsbury Press.

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.09.2017