BLOG: Sarah Jo Palmer of OFF BLACK
Sarah Jo Palmer, Editor in Chief and Johanna Bonnevier, Creative Director of OFF BLACK a biannual beauty, fashion, arts and culture magazine in London, share the inspiration behind the magazine’s ‘lost’ concept and the role printed materials played in bringing it to life
This years’ OFF BLACK magazine explored the notion of ‘lost’. In modern life, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day and lose our appreciation of where we’ve come from. In this years’ issue, ‘Some things are forgotten’, we remember lost tribes, lost communities and lost trades, connecting our readers to nostalgic memories that we hope will re-ignite the question of what is important to us.
It’s our biggest issue to date, launched during Autumn’s global fashion weeks, with 400 pages of beautifully reproduced imagery and photography. Each issue of OFF BLACK magazine is totally reinvented from the previous, so design and production plays a huge role in bringing each new theme to life. This year’s look and feel was inspired by a classic phone book, a nostalgic and familiar icon of a pre-digital age. In support of the theme we chose to showcase recycled paper in all its splendour. Cyclus Offset 100% recycled was specifically chosen for the text pages because of its unique subtle shade, high-quality texture and its environmental benefits that supported the publications ‘lost’ theme. To help bring to life the eye catching imagery used on the cover, six different versions have been designed and printed on 6 shades of Keaykolour 300 gsm (Atoll, Chilli Pepper, Lipstick, Indian yellow, Deep Black and Snow White).
With every issue we want to create a beautiful artefact to treasure and keep. Printing on great quality paper enhances the content and reading experience. Both Cyclus and Keaykolour provided a beautiful finish and printing quality with the tactile feel of the papers reflecting our ‘lost’ theme.
We’re really proud of this issue, not only for the content and quality, but also because through printing on recycled paper we’ve hugely reduced our environmental impact*.
*Printing the text pages of this issue of Off Black Magazine on Cyclus Offset 100% recycled paper rather than non-recycled paper, the environmental impact was reduced by: 938kg of landfill, 225 kg co2 and greenhouse gases, 22,015 litres of water, 2,924 kwh of energy, 1,524 kg of wood.
Sources: Comparison between respective impacts of recycled papers produced by Arjowiggins Graphic and equivalent woodfree papers (BREF data for a virgin fibre paper – non integrated production). Carbon footprint assessed by Labelia Conseil in accordance with the Bilan Carbone® methodology.