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Harry BennettAntalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three projects that send a message beyond the written word
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. Among the Mailers & Invitations category, our chosen trio of projects show how type and tactility in tandem can help convey more than just the written words they embody.
Utilising a recycled Eska board stock covered with Pop’Set Grey, embellished with a striking debossed illustration, 2022’s Libros Mutantes invitation, printed and designed by Labobratori Notebooks, welcomes those to Madrid’s eminent publishing fair with texture, style and grace. With Pangram Pangram’s Agrandir leading the invitation’s typographic design, the sans serif’s elegant letterforms provide a subtle sounding board for the tactility of the illustration by Enrique Barco. Discussing the purpose behind the illustration, Labobratori Notebooks’ Robert Fuster tells us of the invitation’s shadow-focused illustrative theme. “With the pressure on the paper, textures and volume are created,” Fuster explains, “something that is not common on paper by creating a new dimension with the relief,” noting the easily debossed nature of Barco’s drawings. “The postcard format of the card allows it to be a graphic work that you can keep in your pocket,” he reveals, cementing the invitation as a piece of graphic art beyond its technical function.
Punchy, precise and powerful, the invitation for Fundació’s Joan Miró exhibition – from the mind of Barcelona-based designer Wladimir Marnich – is far from prescriptive; combining characterful typography set in Marconi Lima’s serif Adriane with candid, hand-rendered text and collage.
Reflecting the intimate exploration of the artist’s life and legacy, for what is considered to be his most comprehensive personal collection to date, the silkscreen-printed invitation sees Miró’s handwriting scored on the front. “It is part of an inscription written on the back of the painting ‘Personnatge et oiseaux devant le soleil,’” Marnich tells us, “a gift that Miró gave to one of his grandchildren, Teodor Punyet Miró, and dedicated with the words ‘Affectionately, Joan.’” Further referencing the life and work of the artist, Marnich opted for Curious Matter Desirée Red as the invitation’s paper stock, noting the close resemblance it has to the creative icon’s famous use of red.
Zurich-based creative Donat Caduff has combined type and colour to make for a powerful exhibition of people, culture and community, following his commission by the Swiss governmental body to represent the 26 Cantons that make up the country. Combining four screen-printed hues, alongside Luzi Type’s Yport as the project’s hero typeface. Titled ‘Svizra Rumantscha,’ the creative tells us, “the task was to raise awareness of the Romanish language,” a language spoken by less than 1% of the Swiss population. “I was completely free in developing the concept of the artwork,” Caduff recalls, deciding on a Romanish translation of all 2100 Swiss municipalities. “Obviously, this idea seems ironic and absurd; who is ever going to use all these Romanish names?” But, he adds, “at the same time, this absurdity reveals the full beauty of a rarely noticed language,” intending to help build connections to this rare Swiss community. “Therefore, the project is not only dealing with the challenges of a linguistic minority,” Caduff notes, “but also aims to highlight its relevance for the identity of a multilingual country.”
Working alongside the printer Lorenz Boegli, Caduff produced the piece on Conqueror Connoisseur’s 100% Cotton Soft White, haptically translating the notion of connectivity rather than the more practical, technical gloss often associated with maps. “This paper was a perfect choice,” Caduff explains, “the specific presence of cotton makes the artwork appear sensuous and soft, and in combination with the strong colours solemn and precious as well.” Following extensive forethought of what hues were best appropriate for the project, the colours in question form a blue, moody and mysterious palette, appearing, as Caduff suggests, “restrained but very intense” simultaneously. “It turned out that viewers, watching the work, felt reminded of night pictures from outer space,” he remarks, “I actually like this association a lot since it kind of symbolises the fragility of humanity and, in this case, also of an ethnic minority.”
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