Celebrating a pair of American masters

ALI: Behind the Lens with an American Legend.
28 pages 10"x14" softcover. Published on the occasion of the exhibition "I am the King of the World": Photographs of Muhammed Ali by George Kalinsky at the New-York Historical Society

It was a terrific honor to be asked to design a large format photobook of George Kalinsky's iconic images of Muhammed Ali for his exhibition at the NY Historical Society.

After showing him the large monographs we had designed on the work of Mark Seliger, Steve McCurry and Rodney Smith for Monadnock Paper, George asked if I might create something similar in time for his December opening. It was a tight schedule and the design format took a couple of turns, but the project was hugely rewarding and the book is really impressive. It is now on sale at the Historical Society's museum store.

The biggest puzzle to solve was the size and binding. At first, I planned to run it on 13" x 19" sheets on the Indigo, with a layflat binding similar to the great book on Joan Miro's masonite paintings printed by Francis Atterbury at his Hurtwood Press in London.  Chris Harrold of Mohawk had shown it to me a few years ago and I've always recalled the strong impression it made. 

However, after we sent dummies to George and the Historical Society, he opted to stick with the saddle-stitched binding on the Monadnock books. I wanted to stick with Indigo, so we ran it on a 10000 that can run 20" x 29" sheets at Sandy Alexander in Clifton NJ. Sandy's color guru, Art Bush, did a fantastic job converting an array of images of varying nature spanning George's 50-year career. George made a great decision to keep the book totally black and white and Art employed a few of his secret tricks to create amazingly rich and dense quadtones.

The stock is Ultrawhite Eggshell Superfine Digital, 100 cover with 80 cover for the text. The quality of the toner laying on the surface is something. Looks like it might be carbon black fused to the paper.  

The result is a book that reflects the heavyweight persona of Ali and his long-time friend and photographer. Both true masters of their art.

Redesigning Legacy: Mohawk Connects

Mohawk Streamline was one of the largest product design projects I've ever been involved with, as well as one of the more challenging creatively. It integrated the products of 22 paper brands acquired by Mohawk into a much simpler line of 6 major brands. In the process, a range of iconic paper brands were absorbed by the Mohawk brand, including Strathmore, Beckett, Cross Pointe, Georgia Pacific and others.

However, the result was a major elimination of redundant products, significantly reducing the environmental footprint of Mohawk's manufacturing platform as it eliminated thousands of unique product set-ups, each requiring considerable quantities of water, dies and fiber run through the paper machines during product changeovers.

It also allowed designers to navigate more easily between the product offerings, as we organized products along functional and aesthetic lines based on current design trends. It was a complex exercise of integrating fashion with papermaking in pursuit of efficiency and environmental sustainability.

The launch materials and sampling systems were masterfully designed by Michael McGinn’s team at Designframe NY, now known as Standard Issue.

Design and Print creates Impact

A cornerstone of The DPI Project is a design journal beautifully printed on Monadnock Astrolite. It features photos of iconic brands including Coca-Cola, GMC Truck, Harvard, Formica and Roberto Coin. Photographers include Arthur Meyerson, Terry Heffernan, Scott Dorrance and Antfarm.

As social media and internet marketing floods the inboxes and browsers of American consumers, print communication has never been more important for reaching audiences that are educated, discerning and committed to sustainability.

“The DPI project is dedicated to promoting best practices in print design.”

Enlightened corporations and non-profits are experiencing healthy returns on their marketing investment by leveraging the impact of well-designed materials printed on premium papers. It requires a targeted strategy, but no other media provides the same degree of engagement and retention.

In an effort to increase awareness for the marketing impact of fine printing, we were commissioned by our friends at Monadnock Paper to create a promotional campaign centered around their exceptional line of ultra-premium uncoated papers. The objective is to promote the sharing of best practices among the printers, designers and brand managers who are leaders in the print design industry in the United States.

The DPI Project is both a forum for the exchange of information and a gallery to showcase examples of best practices in print design. Through a print journal titled Single Image, a design blog and local events with designers, paper companies and printers, both experienced and novice designers, printers and brand marketing professionals can learn and share ideas, design inspiration and strategies for helping organizations succeed through the power of print marketing. 

You can find the program at designprintimpact.org, and we would love to hear from anyone who would like to contribute to the effort.

DPV / East Arlington VT

Mentors and Heroes: Mark Seliger and Rusty Truck

Mark Seliger on Caress and Dulcet, presented by Monadnock Paper Mills. Printed by Williamson in Dallas, it is one of the finest examples of printing on uncoated paper you will ever find.

A few years ago, we had the privilege of designing a terrific monograph on the work of Mark Seliger, the legendary photographer for Rolling Stone. I could write an entire post on the exceptional artistry and craftsmanship of his images, but to be honest, his music is even better.

Seliger's band is called Rusty Truck, and they've released two gorgeous albums of lyrical, bluesy country tunes written by Mark and richly colored by his velvety twangy voice. Titled Broken Promises and Kicker Town, they include collaborations with friends Mark made while shooting spreads for RS, including Lenny Kravitz, Jakob Dylan, Gillian Welch, Sheryl Crow, and Willie Nelson.  One of my biggest regrets is that his busy shooting schedule prevents them from touring very often.

Rusty Truck is a standard fixture on our road trip playlist.  You should definitely check them out.

DV / East Arlington VT

Beauty in the Details: The Wisdom of Mies Van der Rohe

As I was directing marketing communications for Simpson Paper in San Francisco, our exceptional design consultant Jim Cross once presented a set of beautiful layouts that included the well-known quote by the legendary architect Mies Van der Rohe. His adage "God is in the details" suggests there is something divine in the practice of design. The quote resonated then, and still inspires me today. Ironically, several years later an International Paper executive I worked with at Strathmore firmly insisted on the counter claim "The devil is in the details."

In fact, both expressions are accurate. One aspires to beauty and art, while the other urges simplicity for the sake of operational excellence.

At Artifact, we embrace both ideals. We find true pleasure in the details of our craft, whether the crisp spine of a well-made book, or the clarity of a logotype on a mobile screen. But we also recognize the importance of keeping things simple and actionable.

At the same time, we know that pitfalls that can arise if proper attention isn't paid to detail. And as many have learned, even the most diligent efforts to avoid them can occasionally fall short.

DPV / East Arlington VT