Our friends at Henry & Company invited Grant Design Collaborative to design the theme and announcements for the 2015 edition of the Printing and Imaging Association of Georgia’s (PIAG) annual ImPRESS Print Celebration and Showcase. Happening each August, ImPRESS celebrates the enduring power of print in all its forms.
Grant conceived “Tried and True” as the event’s theme, referencing the enduring beauty, confidence and timely relevance of print in today’s economy. Print endures and, according to many industry insiders, it’s even experiencing a renaissance with the recent letterpress revival and DIY movement. It’s a tactile medium that evokes emotion and employs the senses in ways that digital media simply cannot accomplish. To imbue words with meaning through an embossing, foil stamping or engraving is a powerful thing, and Grant Design Collaborative attempted to evoke this experience with the design of the ImPRESS invitation.
We must admit, having the chance to explore all of the specialty printing techniques was a dream come true—a rare instance when Mies van der Rohe’s’ “less is more” mantra is temporarily cast aside in a strategic union of language, form, material and process. It’s not often that you’re encouraged to experiment and truly push the envelope, so we took advantage of the opportunity.
Grant even engaged the offset crew in the process. To support the Tried & True theme on the inside of the duplexed invitations, French Paper was circulated around to a group of PIAG members, and they were asked to contribute overprinting artwork to appear as a “make-ready” form. The communal composition sparked some friendly competition among printers, and their involvement and enthusiasm generated renewed interest in ImPRESS. Their contribution was also integral in providing a deep and dramatic flood of color that is revealed from the invitation’s die-cut cover through veils of abstracted imagery. French Paper’s Standard White Kraft was selected for the invitation because of its “tried and true” performance on press and ability to withstand the multiple techniques and overprinting by various Georgia printers.
Thanks to Kip, Jason and the team at Henry & Company for inviting us to participate in this “Tried and True” collaboration. The ImPRESS Print Celebration and Showcase will take place on August 14 at Opera in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Invitation: Foil stamp, die cut, blind deboss and offset on duplexed French Kraft-Tone paper (Carbon Copy Kraft & Standard White Kraft).
Save the Date: Letterpress, offset and die cut on duplexed French Kraft-Tone paper.
