Saturday 27 February 2010

The Consult

When it came to unearthing crisp, clean & professional looking design that dealt directly with elements of print finish it wasn't hard to arrive at the work of The Consult. As a Leeds based agency it is nice to have fortunately discussed design decisions & thought processes behind the work with Creative Director Alex Atkinson & therefore I feel a passion in talking about it.

In relevance to the Fedrigoni brief I am particularly drawn to how tactile the developed resolutions actually are & upon seeing a selection in real life I was reluctant to put them down. In my opinion this a perfect example of how me & Chloe should perhaps tackle our design development.

Simple, direct layout that houses a strong typeface selection relevant to the connotations of the Fedrigoni Group & above all a utilisation of print finishes that are clever, environmentally aware & help to showcase the tactile qualities of the product in question - the paper.

Fedrigoni - Existing Invites

Derived from a cynical approach to the brief published on the YCN website it was almost a given that Fedrigoni had a vested interest when it came to event invitations & after a brief look on their own website it soon became apparent this was certainly the case.

The following designs were created for previous events held at the showroom & reveal that an invite to multiple events may well be an appropriate resolution when it comes to answering the requirements of the brief.

Manchester Christmas Event - 08/12/09

Christmas Cocktails - 15/12/09

Games Night - 25/02/2010

Fedrigoni - Calendar

The Fedrigoni calendar is a pre-existing object that can be purchased direct from the Fedrigoni website & is obviously a design outlet that appeals to the company themselves. As a means of showcasing an array the papers they have to offer in one neat desktop package, it would be wise to consider similiar design-led solutions in context to the given brief. To give an additional insight on how the company perceive the item:

'This unusual desk calendar draws its inspiration from Post- it notes, but radically reinvents the format to make a usable desk calendar that will look at home on any designer or printers desk. It fulfils both function and beauty with laser cut day-to-view pages in an amazing array of colours, Including the 3 new additions to the Sirio Color range Pietra, Foglia and Vino...the calendar makes a practical yet design-led desk object. Printed onto the Fedrigoni SIRIO Color range of uncoated coloured papers and boards the swatch provides a snapshot view of the Sirio portfolio including its 3 new colour additions.'

Friday 26 February 2010

Fedrigoni - Case Studies

To get a feel for the range of clients, end users & designers that may attend potential events at the Fedrigoni London showroom...

D&AD Annual 2008

Spendid Stationary

Fedrigoni - The Company

The following statements are snippets of text taken from the Fedrigoni / Fedrigoni Group websites that I consider relevant in terms of determining what the company is about & where their goals lie. I think it would also be useful to understand what their ambitions are, what makes them tick & where they stand ethically on certain issues; particularly the environment considering that they are a paper manufacturer:

Part of the Fedrigoni group:

While our business is rooted in tradition & heritage, it is driven forward by innovation & advanced technology. We produce papers that are as technically sophisticated as any silicon chip. We are pioneers of high-tech anti-forgery features. Our advanced production & logistics processes, together with our state of the art plants & machinery, make us one of the fastest, most responsive paper enterprises in the industry. Every day, we invent the future of paper.

Fedrigoni Group manufactures a wide range of fine quality, technically advanced paper and paper-related products & distributes them all over the world.

We pride ourselves on our close relationships with our customers.

Our most important asset is our people. It's their dedication & passion that make our business what it is.

The future of our industry depends on stewardship & protection of the environment & natural resources. Environment is absolutely central to the way we do business, influencing every part of our operations.

Our London showroom is situated in EC1, central London.

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One particular statistic to note is that the companies turnover dipped slightly in 2009. This shows that making money is definitely an aspect to consider in context to this brief, in addition to public relations & ethics etc.

Fedrigoni - The LDN Showroom

The Fedrigoni showroom in London is decorated with high end furniture set in a minimalistic arrangement. The mannerisms of the environment are simple, straight-forward & maintain a clean, crisp & somewhat welcoming appeal.

Although this may seem irrelevant upon first glance, it is in fact incredibly revealing about what the companies aesthetic aspirations may be like in all aspects of their business & with what clients they intend to engage with. With this in mind, it is likely to be a good idea to consider this upon approaching design decisions regarding layout & typeface selection.

Friday 5 February 2010

Keep Me Sane


ITC Caslon 224 Black