‘I am Rives / Je suis Rives’: Arjowiggins collaborate with BVD to celebrate their French classic

Carrying huge brand equity across the globe, Arjowiggins’ Rives is a prestigious and versatile range of papers. Named after the French town in which it was first created, the range boasts a worldwide reputation for its understated textures; the eight felt-marked and micro-embossed finishes that form the Rives collection are inspired by fashion and fabrics, from the contemporary to the traditional. 

Rives Dot, for example, is characterised through its understated geometric texture of fine dots, reminiscent of the concrete of the urban landscape, or the breathable mesh of contemporary sportswear. Meanwhile, Rives Tweed finds inspiration in the closely woven traditional Scottish fabric, opting for a discreet stitched effect that mimics the warp and weft of the woollen fibres. These examples, among others in the collection, have no equivalents anywhere else in the paper market.

To celebrate the range, Arjowiggins have collaborated with Stockholm-based strategic design agency BVD on a promotional tool and campaign that shed light on the exceptional quality of Rives, whilst capturing, in all their tactile glory, the contemporary design possibilities of the collection. The printed tool, exhibited within a compact and beautifully designed A5 box made with Rives Dot, brings together a set of 10 cards and two posters that showcase the eight different papers in the Rives range.

The campaign’s core theme, ‘I am Rives / Je suis Rives,’ suggests that the range is something more than just a paper; letting its quality speak for itself whilst nodding to Arjowiggins’ French heritage. This is further referenced through the bilingual text woven into the campaign’s language and the use of Rives Tradition’s three heritage-inspired colours, in addition to the range’s prominent whites and creams.

A series of phrases derived from the core theme appear as quotes on the back of each paper within the box, making a play on words using each paper’s finish: ‘‘I am all dressed up in Tweed,’ ‘I am Laid back,’ ‘I am into Design,’ and so on. The set of 10 cards demonstrates the striking results of an array of print processes – offset, digital, embossing, debossing, hot-foil and silkscreen – on the full range of Rives’ textures. “We wanted to use different print techniques to showcase the world of possibilities with the Rives range,” explains Rikard Ahlberg, design director and partner at BVD. “Inspired by the structures, the colour of the papers, in combination with the different techniques, we designed unique typesettings and layouts for each card, to give each one its own character, within the visual persona of Rives.”

Rives’ promotional imagery focuses on tactility – with a specific focus to explore how texture and touch can be expressed through digital media. The chosen direction, with a library of super close-up images of the paper’s texture and motion clips, utilises highlights and shadows to accentuate the papers’ tactile surfaces. In one of the campaign’s motion clips, a macro-probe lense travels across the surface of the papers. “We wanted to get close,” notes Ahlberg. “The idea was to make it almost possible for the spectator to be able to feel the textures and the quality. Letting the paper be the hero, we visualised the soul of Rives and found an expression that touches you – and that you want to touch – no matter what media you are using.”

Through the campaign’s beautifully crafted components, BVD have artfully demonstrated the exciting possibilities for creatives to explore. “We wanted to reach out to creatives around the world in a new way and highlight that touch can really evoke feelings and release creativity,” Ahlberg notes. “Tactility can be a true superpower if you want to appeal to someone’s senses,” he concludes. 

Both Rives and Rives Sensation are FSC-certified and provide 100% recycled options, and both offer a range of products for digital printing. The range is available worldwide through Arjowiggins’ global distribution network.

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