In Jan Tschichold's book The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design, written between 1941and 1975, Tschichold communicates a set of recommendations on how to produce books that are well-designed and historically grounded. These recommendations include that 'White, and even stark white, paper are highly unpleasant for the eyes and an offence against the health of the population. Slight toning (ivory and darker, but never crème), never obtrusive, is usually best.' Tschichold also states that 'White space is to be regarded as an active element, not a passive background.'
With both this and the page content in mind, experimentation with/exploration of with stock tones was required in order to identify the most appropriate and effective to the publication. I ordered 3 paper stocks from G. F. Smith's colour plan collection. This exploration is evidenced below:
Colour Plan - White Frost
Colour Plan - Natural
Colour Plan - Vellum White
Having tonally explored a selection of stock, I believe - contradictory to Tschichold - that a pure white stock is the most appropriate and effective to the publication and its content/contexts. A photographically-focussed publication, the stock for the book needs to maintain the high contrast vibrant impact featured in the images, something that the toned stocks diminish. The toned stocks also create and aged aesthetic that on one hand may have been appropriate in communication of the street's history, however on the other hand completely neglect the innovation, forward thinking and modern objectives of the fashion houses that stand on the street and the collections that they create.
The high contrast between the black type and white stock not only supplies a distinct, high-end aesthetic - but also creates a visual energy via the human eyes' inability to simultaneously view the two tones. Typographic information on the pages is also limited, meaning the strong contrast will not provide excess strain to vision.
Stock Finish
The selection of the most appropriate stock for the Bond Street Brand Directory provides difficulty in that the immediate semiotic syntactic field suggests that a glossy stock would more effectively communicate and connote luxury as a result of the perception that gloss is a more expensive medium/choice.
In contrast to this more commonly accepted notion, a trend and/or preference for matte stocks/materials currently manifests itself within the design industry and beyond (e.g. make up).
Another point of consideration regarding maximum suitability is provided through the publications content and its role in celebrating the heritage/history of Bond Street - something a glossy stock would fail to represent.
This subject was put to critique in order to gather the ideologies of others before an informed decision could be made.
Critique Question
Considering the publications requirement to represent and connote both luxury and history/heritage, do you believe a gloss or matte paper stock would be most appropriate?
Responses
- I would say a matte stock would work better in communicating the history of the street.
- Matte is a current trend in the design industry which would be effective for the book as its about fashion, which itself is all about trends.
- A matte stock, considering the trend, would represent both the history and luxury content.
- The size and full bleed images on your pages will most likely look glossy when printed anyway, so a matte stock would work because the photos would appear to have a slight gloss and the rest of the page would be matte.
- I would say matte, gloss may appear tacky.
- Keep it understated, don't try to hard with gloss.
The undivided opinion of those participating in the critique were supportive and in favour of the use of a matte stock. This unanimous result is based upon the current trend within the creative industry for matte products, reinforcing the publications heavy fashion content, as well as the matte paper quality being representative of the brands' and street's history/establishment in 1700 - which would not appropriately be communicated via gloss.
Stock Weight
As a result of the publication being large-scale photograph-heavy and will be double-sided printed, the weight of the stock needs to have the ability to feature strong colour images on either side of the page without visibility of either on the other side respectively. This means a heavier stock will need to be used in the production of the publication.
Considering the target and book contexts, a heavier stock would also be deemed more luxurious as the use of thin, light stocks is most usually reserved for cheap publications with low manufacturing costs. A thicker stock would provide a more costly feel and enhanced luxury tactility.
After exploring the availability of stocks in the digital print resource, I believe a stock with a gsm of 200 meets the criteria.
This episode of exploration has allowed for the identification of a matte pure white 200gsm stock as the most appropriate and effective medium for the publication, its content, context and target.
Stock Weight
As a result of the publication being large-scale photograph-heavy and will be double-sided printed, the weight of the stock needs to have the ability to feature strong colour images on either side of the page without visibility of either on the other side respectively. This means a heavier stock will need to be used in the production of the publication.
Considering the target and book contexts, a heavier stock would also be deemed more luxurious as the use of thin, light stocks is most usually reserved for cheap publications with low manufacturing costs. A thicker stock would provide a more costly feel and enhanced luxury tactility.
After exploring the availability of stocks in the digital print resource, I believe a stock with a gsm of 200 meets the criteria.
This episode of exploration has allowed for the identification of a matte pure white 200gsm stock as the most appropriate and effective medium for the publication, its content, context and target.
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