Production Lesson(s)

I kept the design super-simple by using a tonal color palette, ample white space and clean typography in an effort to showcase the tactile properties of letterpress printing. In order to get the nice, crisp text I felt the greatness of the design relied upon, I worked with the printer to initiate a technique they were interested in but had yet to actually try; letterpress printing with cold copper plates in place of the more standard polymer plates. The difference in the definition and depth of the impression with the copper plates was outstanding to say the least. Copper plates were used for each letterpress printed piece throughout the entire suite. The crisp return address type/impression on the envelopes brings me great happiness which probably borderlines inappropriate.

In order to include the bride’s love of abstract expressionist art, I created an original abstract ink illustration to be silkscreen printed on coordinating Lettra text-weight paper in a metallic shade which stayed true to the neutral warm grey/taupe tones carried throughout the suite. I then designed a custom die-cut folder/pocket to snugly house the contents of the suite while keeping the cards nicely stacked and organized. The unexpected lines and folds of the pocket, along with the graphical silkscreen liner injects the clean and simple design with a real sense of personality and depth it would have otherwise lacked.

While only one custom mixed spot color was used throughout the cards, two plates for separate runs were created for the "Details Card". I wanted to be sure that the positive text would raise sufficiently from the solid ink areas while making sure that the solid ink coverage was satisfactory with minimal fading and show-through.