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Harry BennettAntalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three pieces that champion the paper and printing process
Earlier in 2022, we brought you news of the Antalis Creative Power Awards – a celebration of printed projects by international paper manufacturer Antalis. Once the deadline was closed and all of the entries were in, we travelled to Paris to take part in the jury alongside a range of talented individuals from the design industry; helping to select the finalists from the awards’ eight categories.
From there, we have curated our favourites, and will be presenting them to you across a series of eight articles before unveiling the winners. The finalists in the Packaging & Promotional category prove how the right papers and printing processes prove themselves ephemerally irresistible – sure to stay part of any creative’s ever-growing collections of printed matter.
Depicting the Bern-based collaborative endeavours of photographer Rob Lewis and writer Jürg Halter, Home Over Time sees the duo combine poetry, landscape and imagery to craft nine unique printed tableaus of the Swiss Alpine Passes, exhibited at Bern’s Holligen Castle, with a single hero image duplicated for public sale. “The idea was to create an art poster that would interpret one of the nine images of the exhibition,” Lewis tells us, working with Müntschemier-based printer Lorenz Boegli to produce the silkscreen. “Lorenz had free choice in the selection of the subject,” Lewis recalls, having routinely worked with the printer. “I strongly believe that the best result can only be achieved if the craftsman,” he suggests, “is given a task that motivates him to give his best and in which he sees a chance to fully contribute,” praising Boegli’s artistic credentials. “Lorenz understands like no other to take on the matter and to bring this creatively with his repertoire of possibilities,” Lewis concludes.
With this in mind, Boegli opted for Keaykolour’s Sombre Grey as Home Over Time’s poster stock, noting the paper’s natural finish, organic qualities, and suitability for his colour separation printing technique. “When we do the separation of colours for printing,” Boegli tells us, “we treat the colour of the paper like a printing colour and integrate it,” leaving some tones unprinted, with the colour of Keaykolor allowed to take its place. “So the paper is more than just a carrier for the image,” he concludes, “it is also a component of the image.”
As part of Sabat Magazine, London-based graphic designer Cleber de Campos has crafted a mystical 78-card tarot set inspired by the ancient divination practices of Le Tarot de L’etoile Cachée. The card set is the result of a fundamentally collaborative process, from printer Gavin Martin’s technical expertise and Elisa Seitzinger’s ethereal artwork, to the words of writer Pam Grossman featured in the deck’s supporting booklet.
Across the packaging, text and the cards themselves, the set exhibits a metallic monochromatic palette, printing lithograph silver abreast Pop’Set Extra Black paper stock. “We wanted the block of the deck of cards to be completely black when stacked, so it was important for it to be printed on black paper,” de Campos tells us, additionally looking for an uncoated stock in contrast to the plastic lamination of traditional playing cards. “But to do so, we needed a paper with a bit of texture to avoid the cards sticking together or retaining oil from fingers,” de Campos caveats, searching for a deeper colour and texture, eventually landing on Pop’Set Ultra Black.
The engaging tactility of Sabat’s tarot cards extends further into the delicate embossing introduced on the packaging; as de Campos explains, “we wanted something more luxurious, so we designed a rigid box with foil, ribbon and a metallic paper for the inside,” cut to bespoke shapes and continually prototyped. The embossing takes the form of Larish Alte from Radim Pesko, a typeface chosen previously for Sabat Magazine due to its Middle Age witch trial references. “It’s a robust typeface for small sizes and long texts,” he remarks, “it’s also beautiful in huge sizes, allowing it to be used as a single typeface for everything in the magazine,” adding, “we call it gothic minimalism.”
With 15 years of collaboration to their name, British-based independent record label Ninja Tune and Rochester-based printer Delga Press have a wealth of experience under their belt – continually working together on projects from records and packaging to stickers and labels. Enthralled by the fluidity of Ninja Tune’s creativity and their openness to exciting printing processes. As for the release of Atlas, by Northern Irish electronic duo BICEP, the record is no exception to the rule, utilising Antalis’ Curious Matter Goya White alongside five-colour lithography. With design from Porto-based The Royal Studio, who decided to introduce fluorescent orange to the standard four-colour set-up, the result is a punchy, deceptively luxurious piece that will undoubtedly catch the eye.
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