Pretty Paper

My paper rep from Zellerbach's asked me to design a tag for her holiday gift to area designers this past Christmas. Camille packaged assorted paper and envelopes into a shiny little bundle so recipients can create custom notes and cards. Papers included the shimmery Aspire Petallics; tactile delights such as Oxford, Sundance Felt, and even Gmund; colors ranged from silver, marigold, turquoise, rustic reds, and even translucent whites. Camille sealed the packets with a handsome brown sticker.

The reindeer is licensed from CSA Images, and I used P22 Brass Script ... typeset in brass. Ultimately we just wanted the packages to be mirthful, but with a touch of glam, to match the high quality of the papers. Thanks to Camille for including me. I wish we'd had more time to do something really over the top. Past designers have included the idiosyncratic Angela Adams and McRay Magleby, so it really was an honor that I even crossed her mind.

Toner Tall Tales

My Xpedx spec rep, Gina Girardi, asked me to create invitations and a poster for an upcoming event at the University of Utah's Print & Mail Services. She is bringing in a guru from Mohawk Paper. Chris Harrold will speak about newly-certified papers and other advances in digital printing. I'm looking forward to the event in just three days, the same day I leave for Memphis, TN for the national AIGA conference.

It was easy to take on Gina's theme of the digital guru with some recent inspirations: I just bought the fonts Phaeton by Umbrella and Fenwick by Typodermic; I have also been craving to use CSA Images new low-priced licensing for small jobs such as this. The vintage illustration is theirs. Everything came together with the right sense of whimsy I had hoped for. I wanted to do something decidely old-world and not too "digital."

I love Mohawk Papers and have made great use of their digital offerings. In the past year I have used Via Felt for events and covers; Via Smooth for this project; uncoated stock for numerous small jobs; and even a digital cast-coated sheet for a ground-breaking event at the U. I love the affordable prices and I am so excited we have these diverse options available for small press-runs.