Since 1904: House of the Golden Fleece is a book that spans the
history of the Isaac Spiewak & Sons company, a promotional piece that would teach, stimulate, and promote the brand within its own group. With the wealth of materials available in the company archives, it began to be conceived more as an art
exhibition than a brand piece.
A volume such as this one usually includes at least one production detail that stands out. More often than not, it strikes the match that lights the fire of what can become a production nightmare if the proper solution can’t be found.
Working closely with the print manager, we explored several options for the cover. One process involved laying down a spot UV and overlaying the hydrophobic Soft Touch aqueous to settle where the UV wasn’t, providing two distinct textures. Unfortunately, the fine lines were getting lost. We also attempted a clear foil stamp but due to the reflective white paper, the indentation didn’t create the level of contrast that we had in mind. Ultimately, we decided to go with something far more hands-on: A
clear spot varnish, tinted with a Metallic PMS directly on press.
The cover features a subtle spot gloss varnish over an overall Silk aqueous coating. The varnish was hand-mixed with a Metallic PMS color to a final value of around 10%. The subtle metallic ink causes light to absorb differently, effectively making it legible in an unassuming way. This solved the problem of allowing the spot gloss to be readable on solid white without the alignment issue that presents itself when printing gloss over a color. It was quite an experiment, but the results are outstanding. The graphic appears very slight in low light and vibrant in direct light.
An ingenious solution to a common problem, and a good inspiration for a future project.
A digital version of the book is available in the history section of the Spiewak website.
Editor of FPO and co-founder of UnderConsideration LLC.
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FPO (For Print Only), is a division of UnderConsideration, celebrating the reality that print is not dead by showcasing the most compelling printed projects.
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UnderConsideration is a graphic design enterprise that runs a network of blogs, publishes books, organizes live events and judged competitions, and designs for clients.
online
Brand New / Displaying opinions and focusing solely on corporate and brand identity work.
Art of the Menu / Cataloguing the underrated creativity of menus from around the world.
Quipsologies / Chronicling the most curious, creative, and notable projects, stories, and events of the graphic design industry on a daily basis.
Speak Up (2002 – 2009) / Discussing, and looking for, what is relevant in, and the relevance of, graphic design. Archives Only.
Word It (2003 – 2010) / Encouraging creative diversity in the community through monthly, one-word challenges. Archives Only.
Brand New Classroom (2010 – 2011) / Providing a space for critique and opinions on student identity workArchives Only.
graphic design
Department of Design / Designing corporate and brand identities and full development of printed and digital matter for clients.
publishing
The 2010 FPO Awards / 2011, self-published.
The 2010 Brand New Awards / 2011, self-published.
Flaunt: Designing effective, compelling and memorable portfolios of creative work / 2010, self-published.
Events & Judged Competitions
Brand New Conference / A one-day event on the development of corporate and brand identity projects by some of today’s most active and influential practitioners from around the world.
Brand New Awards / Celebrating the best identity work produced around the world.
FPO Awards / Celebrating the best print work from around the world.
Writing
Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design / 2009, Rockport.
Women of Design: Influence and Inspiration from the Original Trailblazers to the New Groundbreakers / 2008, HOW Books.
The Word It Book: Speak Up Presents a Gallery of Interpreted Words / 2007, HOW Books.
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