Wednesday 13 May 2020

Design Interview 1Q

One of the good things to come out of the Covid-19 lockdown...

Design Interview 1Q is a You Tube channel set up by Fabio Mario Rizzotti to generate content to share with all of us trapped in the current lockdown situation. While the world has stopped Mario has been busier than ever with a series of online interviews about design. He has interviewed some great people, exploring their philosophies and thoughts - not just a showcase of that interviewee and their work but a much deeper and more insightful discussion.

Each interview is based on 10 questions with topics like the essence of design, the role of the designer in the future, the design process, design education,  the impact of the internet and many other subjects.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEX1w6yLz4_uV4KUQg9SBmA
It's been very well received and recommended by many people I've spoken to and you should check it out. Mario has conducted 28 interviews to date including Studio Dumbar, Adrian Shaughnessy, Steven Heller, Paula Scher, Karel Martens, Studio MUT, Studio LaTigre, Erik Brandt, Niklaus Troxler, Anthony Burrill, Marion Deuchars, Michael Bierut, Dafi Kühne, Nikki Gonnissen to name a few. 

It's a wonderful initiative and it's great that it has been supported by so many well known, and some not so well known, design personalities.

Well done and thank you Mario.

Fabio Mario Rizzotti is an independent graphic designer based in Milan and you can see his work here: http://www.fmrizzotti.it/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEX1w6yLz4_uV4KUQg9SBmA
https://www.instagram.com/designinterview10q/
Posted by Justin Hobson 13.05.2020

Monday 11 May 2020

The Make Bank

During the Covid-19 Lockdown period, Fenner Paper has supported a social project called The Make Bank. It was set up a year ago by Kirsty Thomas, founder of Tom Pigeon, to provide support and materials for disadvantaged school pupils to enable them to pursue creative education and creative careers. Their work is predominantly with senior pupils and they have sent over 200 kits out to young people in the past 12 months.

During the lockdown period The Make Bank have created ‘Mini Kits’ for the UK's most vulnerable primary pupils to help them create and learn at home. The kits have been sent to kids nominated by their teachers who are dealing with poverty, domestic abuse and extreme living conditions.

Kirsty approached us to see if we were able to supply the paper for the packs...
During the lockdown period, Fenner Paper has been open for business running with a skeleton staff. Using our spare time during the day, a team of three of us have hand collated packs of A4 plain white paper, together with 20 sheets of assorted coloured papers and boards.
We collated 250 packs, which will go with drawing and colouring materials to help make the kits for the kids.
We were particularly pleased to be able to help as we normally use our offcut papers to support the St Brides Wayzgoose where last year, we raised £357.00 for the St Bride Foundation. This year's Wayzgoose was due to be held this coming weekend but has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

You can read more about The Make Bank and how YOU can support the project here: https://www.themakebank.org.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 11.05.2020

Friday 8 May 2020

75th Anniversary of VE Day

Today is a bank holiday to celebrate the day that 75 years ago marked Victory in Europe. With the current Covid-19 Lockdown restrictions, the remembrance will be less prominent in public, although with people forced to stay at home, it might actually mean that they reflect more about the event. Most of the coverage is focused on those that served in the armed forces (and quite rightly so) but I thought I'd write today about an individual who was a designer, typographer and illustrator, who also wore a uniform.

Some of you will have heard of Abram Games. During the Second World War he was appointed 'Official War Poster Artist' and designed over 100 posters. It's worth remembering that posters were one of the most effective ways of getting messages across to a mass of people and had equal if not greater importance than newspapers, magazines or the radio; and exceptionally well designed posters could be exceptionally effective!

I was fortunate enough to meet his daughter, Naomi Games, who gave an excellent talk about his life and work, including the war years.
Click on images to enlarge
Abram Games was born in 1914. He attended St Martin's School of Art and was already working as a commercial artist before the war. Following 6 months training in the infantry, he was transferred as a draughtsman and after winning a competition to design a poster, was posted to the War Office in June 1941 and his work designing posters for the war effort began.
These images are taken from a booklet about the work of Abram Games, printed on Omnia, which I wrote about here.

In November 1942 he was promoted to Lieutenant and became the Official War Poster Artist, a title never before or since claimed by any other artist. You can see much more of his work here:
https://www.abramgames.com/
Click on images to enlarge
He tried to re-join his regiment, concerned that he had a "cushy job". His commanding officer replied 'You have been appointed to do a job and as far as the army is concerned, you are the only man who can do this and you will bloody well get on and do it! We can always replace a soldier, but we cannot replace you'. He ended the war as a Captain and had designed over 100 posters. Very few examples survive, as they were pinned or pasted up and rarely endured the war.

Last year, there was an excellent exhibition of his wartime posters at the National Army Museum called 'The Art of Persuasion' and I was kindly shown round by Malcom Clarke at the NAM.
Alistair Hall of We Made This wrote about his visit to the exhibition in an article which puts my writing and photography on this blog to shame! ...so I suggest you have a look: https://www.wemadethis.co.uk/blog/2019/04/abram-games-the-art-of-persuasion/

Here is the exhibition guide...
After the war, Abram Games had a wonderfully successful career with a prodigious output. He designed the symbol for the 1951 Festival of Britain and clients included Guinness, the Financial Times, British Airways, London Transport and British Rail.

Although not serving on the front line, Abram Games was an exceptionally important part of the war effort and like the millions of other exceptional, yet ordinary, people who made their own quiet contribution to the eventual victory over the Nazis, deserves to be celebrated.

https://www.abramgames.com/
https://www.nam.ac.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 08.05.2020

Wednesday 6 May 2020

De La Warr Pavilion Summer Events Guide

This is last Summer's events guide for the De La Warr Pavilion. The De La Warr pavilion is on the seafront in Bexhill in Sussex and is an iconic modernist building by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff which opened in 1936. Following a major renovation in 2005, the pavilion hosts many shows, exhibitions and cultural events. 
The finished size is 210x111mm, folding out to 420x553mm and is a 20pp concertina letter fold. Side view.... 
Click on images to enlarge
 Below image shows the concertina folding...
This guide is printed on our StarFine White 130gsm which means that rather than feeling like the vast majority of mass produced leaflets printed on a bit of silk or gloss, this has real character and value. The design is such that the listings of the exhibitions, activities and events are all listed on one side (outside)
Click on images to enlarge
 ...with the inside being reserved for a full size image from the exhibition. The below image taken from the HOW CHICAGO! exhibition.
Gladys Nilsson, A Cold Mouth 1968
The De La Warr identity and design (including the website) is by Playne Design who have studios in London and Hastings. Creative Director is Clare Playne. Print production is handled by Simon Hack. You can read more about the creation of the new identity here:
https://playnedesign.co.uk/our-work/de-la-warr-pavilion/#branding-modernist-cultural-icon

The project is printed offset litho in CMYK by Empress Litho with Jason Maclaren handling the project - and my thanks to Jason for very kindly sending me some file copies.
https://www.empresslitho.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 06.05.2020


Monday 4 May 2020

Jobs from the past - Number 126

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 this publication is from 2017.

Sophie Jung - Come Fresh Hell or Fresh High Water
November 29, 2017 – January 13, 2018

Blain|Southern is a contemporary art gallery with galleries in London and Berlin. It was started in September 2010 by Harry Blain and Graham Southern, who had sold their previous gallery, Haunch of Venison, to Christie's.
 
Sophie Jung was invited by Tom Morton for the second in a series of exhibitions, collectively titled “Lodger”, a new series of exhibitions at Blain|Southern, running concurrent to the exhibitions in the central space, the series expands Blain|Southern’s programme into new territories. “Jung is a storyteller,” says the gallery, “she weaves free-wheeling, deeply idiosyncratic, and sharply funny narratives, which draw on everything from pop culture to philosophy, the idlest of thoughts to the most heartfelt of convictions. Both objects and language are prone to slippage in this work. Form and content is always shifting shape"
 
This is the catalogue for the exhibition... 
Size of the publication is A5 (210x148mm) portrait. The cover is on Heaven 42 170gsm silk coated paper from Sappi and the text is printed on our Offenbach Bible 60gsm.
The text pages are digitally printed in just black, including some images.
Click on images to enlarge
The text comprises 28pp on Offenbach Bible 60gsm plus 4pp inserts on Heaven 42 coated 115gsm as the image below:
The reproduction of the images on the Offenbach Bible 60gsm just in black, mono, is excellent as you can see from the image below.
With such lightweight materials, the thickness of the booklet is 2mm, but as you can see from the image below the spine is nice and neatly creased and folded...
The 28pp text on Offenbach Bible 60gsm is digitally printed on a Ricoh digital press and flops and folds superbly in the hand.
The excellent digital print (on this very lightweight 60gsm paper) is by Identity Print in Paddock Wood. Art direction and design is by Blain|Southern.

https://sophiejung.allyou.net/
https://www.blainsouthern.com/
http://www.identityprint.co.uk/
Posted by Justin Hobson 04.05.2020

Friday 1 May 2020

May Day ...a preview of our new range

May Day was traditionally celebrated as a festival announcing the arrival of Spring and has since become a holiday, so what better day than to give you a sneak preview of our brand new springlike handmade paper range...
Here is the paper in the packets - the edge looks a bit rough ...that's because it is handmade and has a 'deckle edge' which is the natural edge of the paper.

Click on images to enlarge
As you can see from the images, the surface of the paper contains flower petals and looks wonderful. Aside from the stunning visual effect of the petals, the paper also contains flower seeds! Because great care has been taken in the making process, using 100% cotton, without chemicals and dried naturally only by air means that they will germinate and flower... 
Below is a detail image of the new paper...
Click on image to enlarge
The size of the paper is an imperial size called Royal, which in metric is 560mm x 760mm.

Given the current virus lockdown situation, there are no swatches available yet but more information will be available in the future, but if you want a sample (a very small sample) just email me: justin@fennerpaper.co.uk
Posted by Justin Hobson 01.05.2020

Tuesday 28 April 2020

The Weeping Cufflinks

This is the latest poetry publication from Tom Sharp and is described as "a capitalist folk-horror cautionary tale in the manner of a Jacobean pamphlet". It is designed and woodcut illustrated by Katherina Tudball. This is their third creative collaboration and a part of the Faery Fellers project.
Size is 230x145mm, portrait and is a 24pp self cover printed on our Redeem 100% Recycled 100gsm.
Click on images to enlarge
Below is centre spread. The binding is three hole sewn, in keeping with a style of binding that would have been familiar even in the 17th century ...before the invention of staples!
The below image shows the binding, using natural thread
Redeem 100% Recycled is a neutral white shade and is just perfect for this publication - many designers might have just used a cream paper, but this is just the right paper and really works superbly with the wonderful type and woodcut.
Detail of the woodcuts...
Click on images to enlarge
The below image shows the external image of the three hole sewing,
The printing, finishing and binding is by Boss Print who are based in Acton, West London. The edition is 1000 copies and you can buy a copy here.

https://www.thepoetryofitall.com/
https://www.faeryfellers.com/
https://www.bossprint.com/
Posted by Justin Hobson 28.04.2020