Case Study: Single Image, Volume II with Matthew Lester
Client: Monadnock Paper Mills
Printed By: DG3
Featured as a Spotlight on PaperSpecs
Awards Won:
Silver winner in Brochures, Sheetfed category of the Gold Ink Awards from Printing Impressions.
The Finished Product:
Single Image, Volume II is a 9.5x13" saddle-stitch book that features foldouts, layered die cuts, clear foil stamps, emboss, metallic ink, and touch plates. The book is an accompaniment to an audio interview where photographer Matt Lester talks about the power of print and the life it brings to his photography.
The Brief:
Create a compelling, inspirational, informational piece for designers in the higher education profession.
The piece must deliver a dynamic, exciting experience that shows higher-education designers what is possible with print.
The featured artist would be higher education photographer, Matt Lester.
The content would be a combination of quotes from an interview with Matt Lester and his photography.
Any interesting printing techniques within DG3's capabilities could be considered.
It must include a set of sample sheets to effectively demonstrate how Monadnock's paper stocks print differently.
The Design Process:
The design process of this piece was a bit unusual. The design was completely open-ended other than it had to be a 9.5x13 book featuring Matt Lester's photos and thoughts. A full audio interview and a library of beautiful imagery to choose from was provided by Matt and Monadnock.
I started by listening to the interview several times, and pulling quotes that could be pieces of a short, yet impactful story. Next, I looked to the library of imagery and pulled photos that could pair with the quotes. From there, it was a lot of back and forth between the image library and the interview was necessary to find the perfect pairings.
Once I had the content pulled together, I was able to create the progression of imagery and quotes that would build the story. Once I had the story, I began to think about how we could bring in the extra touches like die cuts, touch plates, and foil stamps to enhance the story and give a more exciting reading experience.
The aperture shape for the die cut was the natural choice. It's a simple shape that would die cut well, and it has the intentional connection to photography.
One of the quotes is about how Matt is a "fly on the wall" when he works as to not influence a situation in any way. To capture the reality of this, I literally put an “invisible” fly on the wall in a photograph using only a blind emboss and clear foil stamp. This means that no ink is used to print the fly it’s purely a combination of embellishment techniques.
The Cover:
It was an evolution to arrive at the final cover design. The process rings true to the quote on the inside cover: ‘The final product is greater than the sum of its parts; the photography, typography, design and paper stock it’s on.’ During the process of compiling the content for the book, I caught the aforementioned quote. At first, that quote was going to serve as an introduction to the book helping to explain its intention and foreshadowing that the reader was in for an exciting experience. It was then that the light bulb went off. I could take it a step further by deconstructing the cover to show how layers and interactivity come together to create a greater experience.
Printing and Production:
We worked very closely with the printer, DG3, in creating several full-scale mockups on the paper it would be printed on. This process helped perfect the overall structure of the piece. There are many different things happening between the foldouts, layered die cuts, and the loose sample stack in the back. Issues with these complexities needed to be ironed out prior to production. The binding method and spine had to be perfect, so there were a few iterations of the structure. It was imperative that the sample sheets were secure. DG3 meticulously made sure that each sample sheet was die cut perfectly during production. Without these mockups, this project could have been a disaster!
The Die-Cut Sample Stack:
We worked very closely with DG3's pre-press department. They helped us perfect the color and contrast of the images to make sure they would print the best they possibly could on Monadnock's paper. If you're unfamiliar with printing on uncoated paper, printers have color profiles for specific specialty papers that produce the best results. Depending on surface, whether a super-smooth silk stock or a toothy vellum, the ink absorbs differently resulting in varied outcomes.
Even with mockups and a precise production plan, a press check is a must with a project of this complexity. We spent three days in New Jersey at DG3’s facility working closely with their pre-press wizard and craftsmen pressmen making sure every component came out perfectly. And it did!