In 2012, Fedrigoni, the international paper producer, challenged renowned or emerging international designers to interpret their special papers with graphic art. Since then, the project has produced three volumes—16/1, 16/2, and the latest, 16/3, to be presented at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair on October 20. In total, 24 artists have contribute to the development of the project.
Volume 16/3 exclusively focuses on designer graphics, bringing together the works of eight designers from different parts of the world who have created their graphic projects
The authors of the book are:
Frenchman Mathieu Desailly, co-founder of the Jardin Graphique studio;
Portuguese Vera Velez, who specialises in art books and has worked for major Portuguese institutions;
David Barath, Hungarian, founder of Visual Group, who boasts numerous publications and appearances in international exhibitions;
Fraser Muggeridge, founder of the studio of the same name in London and creator of Typography Summer School in London;
Adam Michaels, of the Project Projects studio in New York City, winner of the 2015 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, the highest pinnacle for American design;
Italian studio LeftLoft, which also has offices in New York City and winner of numerous international awards;
Sulki and Min, Korean designers based in Seoul, who contributed to the BMW Guggenheim Lab and numerous other international projects;
Nej de Doncker, a Belgian designer who was for many years head of Kluwer Publishers and is now guest-lecturer
These designers used different types of paper of their own choice, such as Freelife Kendo and Vellum, Arcoprint Edizioni 1.3, Stucco Sirio Calce, Old Mill, Arcodesign, Splendorgel and Sirio White White.
All these artists used the space of a sixteen page section, i.e. a sheet measuring 70×100 cm folded and cut into 16 pages, sewn individually and then together with the others to produce the overall volume in keeping with classic bookbinding.
The quality of the paper becomes an integral part of the work itself and its design. 16/3 is an astonishing volume: not only an object to admire and browse through but also a depiction of stories and games to be touched and explored. In this project, eight designers highlighted the various characteristics of paper—such as brightness and opacity, texture and volume, sealed or porous surfaces, refraction and interaction with light; at the same time, the types and shades of paper enhanced and at the same time even modi ed the designers’ work.
