With designs from Carter Wong and substrates supplied by Fenner Paper, Boss has printed 1,000 notebooks under a 'To the Trains' branding that commemorates architect Leslie Green’s influential work on the aesthetic of the London Underground, which concluded in 1907.
Multi-level debossing techniques were used on feature pages, placed within the standard pages of the notebook, to simulate the tiling of the capital’s Tube stations, and Green’s intricate designs were replicated using stochastic CMYK print using Stehlin Hostag inks.
“Once the theme for our 2017 edition was agreed, we sent our team out to explore the tiles of the London Underground first hand, taking snaps of the hidden gems they discovered on their phones,” said Carter Wong managing director Sarah Turner.
“We then worked with photographer Josh Exell to capture the most unique pieces for Noted, completed in a wide range of finishes to showcase the variety of print options offered by Boss Print.
“The hope is that To the Trains inspires people to look at the London Underground with fresh eyes, and rediscover the beautiful artistry before them every day.”
Feature pages were debossed to resemble Tube station tiles
Boss used stocks from Fenner Paper this year, having previously used Fedrigoni grades, in order to “freshen things up”, according to Boss managing director Fenton Smith. The company used its six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74 press for printing.
Fenner supplied 80gsm Redeem for the standard pages, 135gsm Gardapat 13 Bianka for the feature pages and 130gsm Starfine White for the book's wrap, which was presented to attendees at the launch at the St Bride Foundation on Tuesday (28 November). The notebooks are bound in Agenda Winner cover substrate, which Boss debossed before threadsewing and binding.
Carter Wong creative director Martyn Garrod spoke at the event about his hope that the book would show how print and graphic design are interlinked, and that designers should be paying more attention to what print can do for their designs.
Last year’s Heidelberg Bound notebooks were based on old German ticket stubs, while 2015’s edition was inspired by the design of old Italian razorblades. Garrod indicated that this year’s theme stemmed from a desire to “draw design inspiration from architecture, rather than design itself”.
Last month, Boss launched children's book A Tall Story, penned by Smith's daughter, while earlier this year it launched a new litho colour process.
