PROJECT LIFE SIZE BY HYPERKIT DESIGNER HYPERKIT CLIENT VICTIONARY PAPER FACTS: STOCK GENERAL PAPER STOCK: UNCOATED PAPER 140lb; POSTCARD, STENCIL, POP-UP DESK-TIDY: CHROMOLUX 300lb SIZE 210 × 275mm (81/4 × 1013/16in) PRINT TECHNIQUES FOUR-COLOR OFFSET LITHO, SILKSCREEN ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUE DIE-CUT PRINTER PERFECT ART PRINTING CO. BINDING SEWN BOUND SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: “Our aim was to produce a book that could be used in everyday life. Throughout you will find items such as a penpot, a photo album, a stencil, and place settings. There are areas that the reader can change and adapt to suit them. Life Size uses a number of different paper stocks that work to help bring these ideas to life.” Tim Balaam, Hyperkit, UK

Created to change perceptions of how a book is used and how it behaves, Life Size is a collection of investigations into and fascinations with the scale of objects. It questions how the shape and size of a book governs the way its contents are presented. The book takes as inspiration home-improvement and homecraft manuals. Cutting and folding techniques are employed throughout in the highly creative presentation of a host of disparate objects—buttons, a die-cut mug, a set of perforated pull-out postcards—all presented at their actual size.

The book’s dimensions dictate how objects are displayed, whether on one page or across a series of pages. By showing these objects at life size within the format of the book, the reader is encouraged to engage with them in a different way. Readers also encounter a number of objects that can be used within real-life situations, such as a place setting at a dining table. By incorporating such objects, the designers question the function of the book and push the boundaries of what a book can be.

PROJECT ABOLISH THE FOREST BOOK DESIGNER HENRY HOBSON CLIENT SELF-INITIATED PAPER FACTS: STOCK GF SMITH COLORPLAN FOREST GREEN 135gsm SIZE 148.5 × 210mm (57/8 × 81/4in) PRINT TECHNIQUE COVER: SILK SCREEN WITH CEMENT—INK REPLACED WITH CONCRETE PRINTER SELF-PRINTED BINDING FRENCH FOLD, PERFECT BOUND SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: “The fine Portland cement was mixed with a textile base and printed with standard mesh screens. The textile base gave it the flexibility that paper demands yet cement does not traditionally allow.” Henry Hobson, UK

To accompany Abolish the Forest, a movie he produced in conjunction with illustrator Adam Hayes, Henry Hobson reflected the provocative title with an equally radical solution. Screenprinting with cement on virgin paper stock was the perfect metaphor for concreting over virgin forests.

The promotional material comprises a book and poster. The book catalogs the travel journal, research material, and background to the movie and the poem it animates.

The innovative technique was key to the project. By printing with such a destructive medium, Hobson felt he was able to convey perfectly the inherent tension in the title. In this way, medium and message are cleverly combined.

Printing the piece himself, Hobson’s diligent research into the optimum silkscreen method to achieve flexibility, superfine image reproduction, and color matching paid off with an Innovations in Concrete award, sponsored by the British Cement Association.

PROJECT GUM 2 DESIGNERS KEVIN GRADY, COLIN METCALF CLIENT SELF-INITIATED PAPER FACTS: STOCK COVER: SMART PAPERS, CARNIVAL HOPSACK STELLAR WHITE 90lb; TEXT: PORCELAIN GLOSS TEXT 100lb AND COUGAR OPAQUE SMOOTH TEXT 100lb SIZE 5 × 7in (127 × 178mm) PRINT TECHNIQUES COVER: FOUR-COLOR PRINT WITH OVERALL SATIN AQUEOUS; PAGES 1–132: FOUR-COLOR PRINT + PMS 504 WITH OVERALL GLOSS AQUEOUS; PAGES 133–184: FOUR-COLOR PRINT + PMS 504 WITH OVERALL SATIN AQUEOUS ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES CARDBOARD DIE-CUT, PERFORATED, AND FOLDED TO MAKE AN OUTER BOX WITH A GUMBALL DISPENSER AT THE BOTTOM PRINTER THE POND-EKBERG COMPANY BINDING PERFECT BOUND

GUM is an award-winning art and design collectible, published occasionally by design duo Kevin Grady and Colin Metcalf. Intended to appeal to the creative inner child in its readers, it is described by its creators as “a piñata filled with Pop-Art goodies.” The materials used and the print and finishing techniques employed all work together to achieve the playful effect. The outer box holds a gumball dispenser at the bottom. Open up the box and a wealth of goodies is revealed—including the GUM book, an activity book, a View-Master reel, ten trading cards, Puma candy gummies, and three gumballs.

After printing, the paper was too thick for the size of the signatures that were to be used in the book, making the folding and binding very difficult. The team overcame this production issue with advice from an experienced binder. On their release, GUM and its follow-up GUM2 were both met with fanatical praise, being described by Anthem Magazine as “perhaps the most innovative product to hit the street market in years.”

PROJECT Ready Made : HOW TO MAKE (ALMOST) EVERYTHING DESIGNER VOLUME INC. CREATIVE DIRECTORS ADAM BRODSLEY, ERIC HEIMAN, ELIZABETH FITZGIBBONS, AKIKO ITO ILLUSTRATOR KATE FRANCIS PHOTOGRAPHER JEFFERY CROSS CLIENTS Ready Made /SHOSHANA BERGER, GRACE HAWTHORNE PAPER FACTS: STOCK COVER: EXPOSED CHIPBOARD; INSIDE: JAPANESE WHITE A PAPER MATTE 140gsm SIZE 71/2 × 9in (191 × 229mm) PRINT TECHNIQUE FOUR -COLOR OFFSET LITHO ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES COVER: FOIL STAMPING, BLIND DEBOSSING, ADHESIVE STICKERS (PRINTED OFFSET), SILK SCREENED TAPE BINDING PUBLISHER CLARKSON POTTER PRINTER ASIA PACIFIC OFFSET BINDING SECTION-SEWN, Three -PIECE CASE WITH EXPOSED FRONT AND BACK BOARD; SPINE IS IMITATION CLOTH SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: “Since the book’s content was structured much more like a magazine, we had to free ourselves from the trappings of traditional book design, including how we considered the packaging. We put a lot of our money into the cover packaging, which uses foil stamping, blind debossing, adhesive stickers, silkscreened tape binding, and exposed chipboard, so we had to settle for simple white matte paper and four-color offset printing on the inside.” Eric Heiman, Volume Inc., US

Written by the cofounders of US magazine ReadyMade, this book bears a family resemblance to the magazine, but with a distinct visual identity. Based on the reuse of six key building materials, the design nonetheless stays away from the usual brown recycled-paper look of environmentalism. The book itself is reusable: the spine doubles as a ruler and a perforated back panel becomes a picture frame. Readers are invited to interact by signing the ReadyMade manifesto, proposing their own projects, and suggesting alternative uses for the book.

PROJECT CECIL GEE LOOKBOOK SPRING/SUMMER 2007 DESIGNERS JIMMY YANG, TOM RAPACIOLI at YANG RUTHERFORD CLIENT MOSS BROS GROUP PAPER FACTS: STOCK BOOK: INCADA SILK 350gsm BAND: CHALLENGER OFFSET 190gsm SIZE 190 × 130mm (71/2 × 51/8in) PRINT TECHNIQUES BOOK: FOUR-COLOR OFFSET LITHO ONE SIDE WITH SPECIAL GRAY ON THE REVERSE BAND: SPECIAL GRAY ONE SIDE ONLY ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES ALL BOOK PAGES MATTE-LAMINATED ONE SIDE AND DIE-CUT TO GIVE ROUND CORNERS; FRONT PAGE SILVER-FOIL BLOCKED PRINTER PEARL PRINT BINDING COLLATED INTO ORDER, DRILLED WITH ONE HOLE IN THE TOP LEFT-HAND CORNER, BOUND TOGETHER WITH NICKEL BINDING SCREWS. CREASED IN FOUR POSITIONS, TRIMMED, WRAPPED AROUND THE BOOK, AND TAPED IN ONE POSITION TO HOLD CLOSED

Achieving standout requires out-of-the-box thinking if you don’t want your mailer filed in the circular filing-cabinet—in this case, “out-of-the-book” thinking. International creative consultants Yang Rutherford eschewed the usual brochure solution when conceiving the design for Cecil Gee’s Spring/Summer 2007 Lookbook in favor of a striking swatch book that is as hot as its printed bellyband claims.

The unconventional approach started with the choice of paper. The book uses 350gsm Incada Silk, a boxboard usually used for packaging. Coated one side with a matte reverse, the stock offers the book a substantial and tactile quality, with a different effect created on each side. A host of finishes offer depth and appeal, from the die-cut rounded corners to nickel binding screws that allow a swivel action. Eye-catching silver-foil blocking adorns the cover.

PROJECT PAR AVION WALLETS DESIGNER TERRENCE KELLEMAN CLIENT DYNOMIGHTY PAPER FACTS: STOCK TYVEK® SIZE 3 1/4 × 8in (83 × 203mm) OPEN SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: “Stitching is always the first thing that rips in a wallet, so I designed this wallet without any parts or stitches. It is simply one single sheet of hi-tech Tyvek®, folded to create this seamless design." Terrence Kelleman, Dynomighty, US

The Par Avion wallet is intended to evoke that youthful excitement you felt when you first received an international mail envelope. The wallet is made from Tyvek®, a material that feels like paper, but is actually made of thousands of long plastic fibers, creating a surface that is lightweight yet durable, superthin while also tear-resistant. As it contains 25% postconsumer recycled content, products made from Tyvek® are also environmentally friendly and can be recycled.

The clever construction of the wallet from a single folded sheet offers a number of features. The tucked-in flaps allow the wallet to expand gradually with use, providing extra room as needed—capacity can expand from 5 to 25 credit cards. The flaps also offer a secret storage area. The Tyvek® will wear and become supple, but will not break. And because Tyvek® is water-resistant, it will protect against the humidity inside the pocket that destroys the leather of a traditional wallet.