her majesty's dark green (originally posted in 'me news' on the 17th of january '10)
the green cover shown (above right) belongs to a british 'highway code manual' dating back to 1970 which i have had in the bookcase for years, it represents a certain period in the history of graphic design and the advent of a form of modernism in british design that had been steadfastly avoided by pretty much all areas of design in the UK untill that point, this in stark contrast to the surrounding countries such as holland and germany whose golden age of modernism was by that point already so ingrained in their cultures that it was a given 
the (then) brand new national roadway signage system by 'jock kinneir' had just been introduced (see earlier post in 'me stuff' from 2007) and it's characteristic dark green, white and blue colour scheme serves as a basis for the cover design, i recently discovered a previous issue of the same publication dating back to 1961, displayed in full on the wonderful 'things magazine' site
the two publications laid side by side show some interesting developments in design technique but to my mind, perhaps also reveal certain cultural traits albeit unintentionally, both books were published by 'her majesty's stationary office' (HMSO) and were intended to be a formal, no frills instruction manual for the correct use of 'her majesty's roads', but compared together they also clearly show an evolution in design, fashion, automotive, typography and printing technology between those nine years... whereas the first one still displays some of the 'homely' naivety of the late fifties with kids sat on fences and young men in open-top sports cars etc. the second has a certain serious, more business like tone of voice to it, to me they represent and nicely illustrate the end of one era and the birth of the following one
the first thing that i note is that the former version relies entirely on pen illustrations (in very typical style of that era, reminiscent to my mind of walt disney's '101 dalmations' film released in that same year) to show the various forms of information from graphic road signs to anecdotal illustrations describing the various situations a driver nedds to understand, both the '61 & '70 versions are produced in a set of 5 spot colours for the 1961 version this is black and four very 'fifties' looking and rather washed out pastel tints of red, green, blue and yellow, to me they look hopelessly nostalgic but perhaps at the time they were impossibly modern, who knows? by the time the book was remade in 1970 these colours made way for a set of harsher and more business like tints, the signal function of red used very modestly before now also became much more prominent as does the 'corporate' dark green; whereas the graphic styles, clearly influenced by new technology in plate separation and printing, had become more diverse and adventurous, boasting a mix of line illustration, icons, bold use of colour bars, even photography and scale models were now put to good use for the various levels of information and the whole was printed with relatively complex transparent colour separations and overlays 
the typography, previously a mix of such british stalwarts as 'gill' and 'times roman' mixed in with a modest amount of various condensed grotesque sans serifs made way for the more modern and very sixties sans serifs such as 'helvetica' and bold display fonts like 'frutiger condensed', the format remained unchanged although the stock quality appears to have been upgraded by 1970 (judging from the available images and my paper copy alone)
some of the details in the images provide a fascinating insight into the culture of the time: for example, whereas in the '61 version shown here below the illustrator allows himself the luxury of combining the necessary infographic information with more 'informal' and almost decorative elements (such as the happy family waiting for dad on the wall, the 'crazy paving' on the garden path) it is quite a detailed depiction of the street scene and the cars (the whole book is full of open top bentleys, rolls royces and american exotic cars like the ford consul with 'fin tails' and chrome hub caps) 
in the 1970 version a similar scene is reduced down to more factual information, the scene is now devoid of humans, our viewpoint is now higher and more graphic than pictorial, the streets have become a more spartan affair and the scale model has been photographed in black and white with colour overlays added to show the relevant areas for the reader, the cars have now made way for more contemporary ones like the 'austin 1300' (shown here above), at the time a modern wonder and a source of great pride for motorists… the scene has somehow lost it's innocence and charm, perhaps in much the same way that society was moving away from the post-war comfort and great britain was facing a more outward-looking perpective, the economy became global, america was at war in vietnam and society began to emancipate and diversify rapidly
having said all that i still really love the technique used on the scale model images with black and white photos and semi-opaque spot colour overlays, the crude masks and hand-cut separation shapes have a lo-tech naivety to them that for me always hold a lot of charm, interesting to note that a similar yet much complexer and certainly much more sophisticated mix of techniques had been used many many years before in such publications as for example the legendary 'het boek van ptt' from dutch modernist pioneer 'piet zwart' back in the mid 1930's
i recently sent a complete set of scans of my 1970 version to the editor of 'things' magazine (jonathan bell) who has uploaded them on his website so that you can see & compare both versions 1961 here and (albeit incorrectly dated) 1970 here (many thanks to jonathan for allowing me to use his images for this piece too)
what still remains a mystery to me is why the braking distance chart on the back cover suddenly reversed direction facing upwards, was there a specific reason for this other than chance? and what was it? and does anybody even care, except me? probably not...
update (february 8th '10): i have recently found an even earlier version of this book: posted on a UK blog here and dating this time from 1954...
m / 17-01-2010 13:36
the connection (originally posted in 'news' 7th jan. '10)
this beautiful, pristine book recently (and quite unexpectedly) became mine for a low price after placing a 'not too serious' bid sometime before christmas on an online auction for photography related stuff, the book dates back to 1962 and is in fact what i suppose you would call a 'brand book' made at a time when nobody even really talked about brands…
it is called 'de verbinding' or 'the connection' (yes there was even an english version made at the time) it was comissioned by the dutch post and telecommunications companyy (PTT) to mark the completion of the brand new national telephone network that same year, it was produced in collaboration with the late 'piet brattinga' and made by a constellation of creative people such as designers 'jurrian schrofer' & 'jan bons' who provided pen drawings, photographers 'eddy posthuma de boer' & 'violette cornelius' who provided the grainy black and white street photogrpahy whilst 'paul huf' made the colour photo spreads with a mix of colourful characters all deep in conversation on the phone
the whole book is loosely based around the theme of 'connections' and the real charm of this obscure (and fairly unknown) book is precisely the fact that it is has such as a loose, nonchalant feel to it… the colour spreads contain large fold out pages with more technical information and black and white diagrams and technical images of cables etc… the makers were even confident enough (or vain perhaps?) to use their own faces on the cover 
the book compliments very nicely the groundbreaking 'boek van ptt' made by piet zwart in the late 30's (and which i also happen to own, see my post about a year ago in 'me stuff') both books demonstrate just how progressive and design-minded dutch companies like PTT were, i stress 'were' because it's pretty hard to imagine the contemporary equivalents (KPN and TNT Post) even contemplating anything as visionary or qualitative as these books… oops there i go getting all nostalgic again…
m / 08-01-2010 12:48
hi martin...
two students from a UK art school mailed me this week with some questions about book design, using paper and inspriration sources, these are the answers is sent back, i generally respond quite quickly to these kinds of mails and usually write down the first things that come into my head, these are my answers as is…
Dear Martin
I am a student, studying Graphic Design and am working on a presentation about book publishing, editorial design and what happens behind the scenes. I was hoping that by contacting you I could get a new perspective on this industry…. I hope that you wouldn't mind answering some quick questions.
Professional Practice in Graphic Design Presentation Questions.
1. How does the editorial book design industry differ from other areas of Graphic Design in your view?
books are much more collaborative than say posters or stamps, in those areas you generally get a brief go away and 'do your thing' whereas with books there are generally speaking many parties involved, a publisher, a writer (or several) picture editors, photographers/illustrators etc etc.
2. What led you into editorial design? What experience would you identify as essential to get a job within the industry?
a love of books i suppose, sound typographic skills and patience are two that come to mind
3. Does editorial work give you enough creative license or is it simply dependent on the client and type of book?
yes, it is very much dependent on the type of book, client and... budget
4. How do you identify and direct your design output for particular audiences?
by learning to understand how certain types of people consume their information do people like to read, or rather speed scan and see a lot of images, is it a book that you read in a linear way or rather a book you pick up and scan from time to time... understanding people and how they interpret communication is essential (to any aspect of design really) the only real way to learn about this is experience, trial and error, making mistakes and putting in the hours to learn, there is no short cut to gaining experience, especially when it comes to understanding your audience
being curious, feeding your mind, reading a lot, seeing how others have done it before plus never forgetting to have a 'sense of play', are some useful qualities to have
5. Do you work collaboratively with other designers/artists/illustrators creatives?
yes, i often work alone (by choice) but also regularly collaborate with all of the above, other people are a primary source of inspiration so go and meet them as often as possible, they will always teach you something new whoever it is...
6. What compromises and restrictions, if any, arise regularly from client, brief and budget restrictions? How do you maintain a level of quality in your design work?
compromise is a fact of life for a graphic designer, we work for other people, unlike an artist who is generally satisfying his personal needs, designers are paid to solve problems or make things that convey a certain message, therefore we generally have to work to certain constraints and requirements either set by the client or intrinsic to the type of project
i try to maintain a high level in my work by ensuring that i don't stop until i'm happy that it is as good as it can be (unless time runs out, which it often does) i usually spend more hours on a job than i'm paid for, but that's part of the deal if you care more about quality than money... clients can sometimes be very difficult, money is almost always a problem and i'm usually never satisfied with a job when it's finished it can always be better, but that is also a driving force, the better your work, the better the jobs, the better the clients and maybe the better the money will be...
the most important factor is loving what you do, i don't have a job. i do what i love and that makes me a very lucky person... if you start by doing what your passionate about the rest will follow
hope this helps and good luck...
and here's the second (mini) interview:
Hi Martin,
I am currently a second year Graphic Design student ... We are due to present our questions and responses from companies
we admire, whom will attain honest first hand information, your company being a great example to present. A majority of my questions evolve around the use of paper mechanics in print and I found your work very inspirational.
1. It's evident in some of your print work that you use paper at it's full potential, what inspires you to use certain paper mechanics and how do you come up with your ideas?
paper is a fabulous material and it naturally lends itself for experiment i feel, inspiration comes from everywhere, looking at books, playing around and talking to other people, designers, artists, printers etc...
the netherlands (where i live and work) has a very rich tradition in book design and some of the best people in the world so i'm surrounded by designers who are constantly pushing the boundaries, that's inspiring and very much a motivation to look for original ideas and techniques...
2. When laying information down onto a page, how do you design certain templates? What processes do you go through?
mmm that's a tough one every book is different, but i suppose that i always start by creating a basic form or layout (sometimes a grid sometimes more a general feel of how it should look, the typefaces, sizes, white space, colour schemes and any graphic elements or recurring themes) once the basics are down and the information is placed in a clear and understandable way then it's time to start playing around... there is a kind of rhythm to a book (or at least there should be) and i try to keep this in mind when working through a book, varying between large amounts of text and few images to the other way round (assuming the book has imagery of course)
that sounds a bit vague but i suppose it is not really a clear process so therefore difficult to explain, the type of book, the audience, budget and the format etc etc. are never twice all the same...
3. Where within print do you think paper mechanics is most appropriate today?
books... i would guess.... the onset of digital media and the internet has had a rejuvenating effect on book design i believe, like music downloads have caused an increase in music sales, so has the internet caused people to pay more attention to the overall quality and 'tactile' side of book design, a lot of information is nowadays better sent via the net, although if something warrants a book then people seem to care more about how that book looks, designers therefore seem to spend more time and attention making book designs that work, read and 'feel' better
4. What things do you consider when choosing a particular stock? (Please give examples if possible).
price is always a factor with paper, it's usually the biggest part of the costs in any print job... i try to use contrasting paper types in books, uncoated and coated, coloured stock and unusual techniques like hot stamping, varnishes, metallic inks etc... on a recent job for an italian artist i used a special paper sort that is actually intended for the packaging industry (bottle labels) this particular paper has a shiny side and an uncoated side which worked very well for a piece of cd packaging i made... but this paper is now unfortunately obsolete
it's always worth spending time looking around for something unusual or a paper which changes the way your design feels, it can be a very important factor in a design, it's often a subliminal thing people won't necessarily notice a special paper itself but do perhaps unconsciously like the feel of it or are aware of the way it enhances the design, for example...
i am currently making a book for which i am using a paper sort called 'arctic volume' which has been a favourite of many designers here in the past few years here, the reason is that it has a greater 'volume' than regular paper, so it can make a book thicker than it would otherwise be, just because the paper itself is thicker it also feels very nice and is great for printing full colour images... not all clients can afford it though it is expensive
personally i hate glossy white paper, some people interpret 'gloss' as expensive or chique but to me it's the opposite i find shiny generally very cheap and gaudy
5. What advantages does print have over digital media? Do you think print will ever become obsolete?
the obvious advantage is tactility, you can't feel the internet (not yet anyway) holding a book is an experience in itself, the smell, the feel of the pages, the tempo in which the information is dosed, the general physicality of a book is very special and entirely different to the instant, direct and 'no frills' way that we all consume our info online, one is not necessarily better than the other they have different aims and are complimentary to each other, i do not believe that books will disappear, in fact they will become more important and more human than ever before thanks to the internet
for the record: i have a personal preference for offline design, paper and ink are my favourite tools... i spend a lot of time online as a person, but i still feel much more passionate about paper and physical objects as a graphic designer…
m / 23-10-2009 23:02
am i missing something? (original post 14 aug in 'work')
what a fascinating breed they are publishers, i will paraphrase an e-mail i got this week (one of the 2 or 3 mails i receive each week from similar publishers...) the idea is as follows they ask you for some work because they are publishing an 'amazing' new book on 'green graphics', 'design on a budget', 'fresh colour designs' etc etc.
you perhaps feel flattered and send them the requested work, they publish a book and you eventually, perhaps receive a free 'complimentary' copy for your troubles... the problem is that the quality is rarely any good and the editors have no idea what good design is, they just want to collect lots and lots of stuff so that they can flood the market with 'design reference' books and make some quick cash...
let me at this point say that there are exceptions to the norm: i have had work published in books by both, UK publisher 'lawrence king' and german publisher 'gestalten' who both make very well researched and carefully compiled books that do actually make a point and show a real feel for quality... now back to that email:
dear ........... (sometimes they add your name sometimes it just says 'dear [blank space]' or even better 'hi there!')
we are a top quality design publisher (never heard of them before) and we think your work is fantastic, we are writing because we are currently making an 'amazing' new book and would like you to submit some work (occasionally they have a quick look through your portfolio and select something, sometimes they don't bother) please choose your best projects and send them, we will need several hi-resolution images (tiff, eps files in CMYK, minimum A4 size) we cannot accept uploads so please send the files per registered post on a cd, complete with the disclaimer forms to: blah blah blah...
(here comes the good bit)
unfortunately due to the recession we are not able to provide entrants with a free 'complimentary' copy of the book, but we will be offering a 20% DISCOUNT to entrants who make it into the book... please hurry as the dealine is next monday, yours sincerely........
hang on a minute... for a start you don't know my name, secondly you just want me to send any work i fancy and when your 'amazing' book is ready i can send you some money to help pay for the costs you poor publishers have to make for all of those superfluous design books? yeah great.... sure... good luck with that project then... don't call me and i certainly won't be calling you... somebody is missing the point here and it ain't me...
m / 09-09-2009 09:33
brief (originally posted 6 sept '09 in 'news')
i couldn't even hazard a guess as to the amount of briefings i've seen in my career as a designer/art director and they, of course, have ranged from the mind-numbingly boring, to amusing, to misguided to the overly 'scientific' (with hundreds of pages of research attached), there have been some short and imaginative ones too but usually speaking the more money involved the less imaginative a briefing becomes... clients have often felt the need to tell me exactly what i should make (even what colour font and direction a design should go in) even though they hire me to make those decisions on their behalf based on the fact that that is my profession
it's not always like that though and since i left the world of overpaid advertising agencies and decided to go it alone, things have become quite a bit more down-to-earth, personal and perhaps realistic in terms of how dominant the clients are in defining what they need/want... a good thing, i promise you
the following briefing which i received by mail this week however, is untypical, i had to read it several times before it fully made sense but it goes roughly like this (i will paraphrase the actual email)
good morning
september the 1st: seems like a good day to get started, we've finally decided to stick to the name we had, i think we should focus the identity around a logo and keep the rest fairly neutral i quite liked this website (there was a link) and stuff that's fairly light and spacious, with a tactile quality to it and the text just flowing away from it, a bit like the stuff you did for.... the logo doesn't necessarily need to be graphic and doesn't really need to contain the name
as for an exact list.... we need the usual stuff you'd expect for a housestyle, well you know... you've done this before more often than us... anyway good luck and we'd like to get started in early october.
it's probably my favourite briefing thus far and at the same time one of the most challenging i've had.... no research, no self imposed restrictions and not even any "dont's" my interpretation of what it says, you see, goes roughly like this:
we trust you, you have a lot of freedom and we want you to make something beautiful for us, thanks...
i'll do my best... thanks
m / 07-09-2009 15:37
