CLIENT
Adris Group d.d. is made up of two strategic business units: tobacco and tourism. The business strategy of Adris Group—to be first, better and different—is the basis on which their mission and vision statements were created: further development of operations, and continued expansion on the national and regional markets in order to remain one of the leading regional companies.
BRIEF
To display ten short personal stories in which workers/stockholders share their view of the past, present, and future of Adris Group and how the firm impacts their lives.
APPROACH
“Good things grow in good hands.” Adris Group is a company owned by its employees and that is one of the reasons for its growth despite the recession. Adris Group’s annual report titled “In good hands” reveals a green floral texture when exposed to the heat of the hands, thus metaphorically showing that hands can achieve whatever they want to. The specially calibrated thermo ink that was used on the cover was also used on internal illustrations.
PRODUCTION LESSONS
One challenge was engraving the text “In good hands” on text block—it turned out to be pretty tricky until the proper settings for the machines were discovered. A big production problem was the chemical reaction between the material printed with offset technology and the one printed with thermo ink. Most of the prints lightened to the extent that the color was too bright to perceive the floral texture. Why it came to that is a mystery to this day. Printing was repeated and the amount required for publishing was fully achieved.
Judge’s Comments
Everybody in design loves a good gimmick—a good gimmick is worth a thousand words. This is a medium that communicates in ways NOT provided by the written word. So, when a corny idea like a heat sensitive material used to act as a metaphor for the “hands-on” experience of this company is used—it WORKS. Sometimes the simplest idea—no matter how clichéd—can be the best idea. — Art Chantry
The Adris Annual Report by Bruketa & Zinic has earned every word of the title, Best of Show. It is truly an example of the great things that can happen when a mix of clever concept, thoughtful design, and production prowess are in perfect synchronicity. This piece is really about the details. All of the design disciplines are expertly on display in this piece. Masterfully set text is beautifully balanced against the simple and evocative illustrations. The brilliantly applied thermochromatic specialty ink, perfectly reinforces the concept that hands can change anything. Even the blind stamping on the book’s edge showed great attention to detail. This is an exceptionally engaging piece. — David Dodde
The craft on this project was amazing. It was super tactile and just had to be touched to really unlock all of the great things about it (heat sensitive inks, super heavy book, etc)—also the illustrations were very well done and really fresh feeling—not forced. Every page was engaging—even on a book that was sooooo many pages. — Pum Lefebure
This piece takes the traditional idea of the Annual Report and throws it out the window. This is a finely bound book worthy of proud display on your living room shelf. There is an interesting use of thermal ink on the cover and some interior images which change color when heated by your hands, but what I find most captivating are the beautiful illustrations and handsome type and layout. Oh, and you can’t forget the title carved into the edge of the pages! — brad murph
The Best of Show Annual Report for the Adris Group blows my mind. I haven’t designed an annual report in years but I still do a lot of corporate work. The fact that an annual report, basically a piece of institutional print collateral, could make it through the corporate, design-by-committee approval process and still end up this beautiful and conceptually rich is remarkable. I have to hand it to Bruketa & Zinic and the Adris Group. — DJ Stout
