We’re pretty used to design magazines publishing a special issue annually dedicated to the best designs of the year, which is what makes this Spanish Advertising Annual unique. No flimsy magazines here – the C de C (Club de Creativos) picks a design studio each year to craft an honest-to-goodness reference book looking back at the year passed. This year, they commissioned Barcelona’s Córdova Canillas to design the 17th edition. While there’s much to appreciate in this volume, you can’t help but be drawn first and foremost to the holographic foil edging on its pages. As you can see, it’s even more stunning when the book is opened, creating a beautiful multi-colored frame for the content inside, no matter where you start reading.
In essence, Córdova Canillas set out to make a Spanish advertising “encyclopedia” for the previous year – annual as art object, if you will – describing it as “nostalgic and obsolete, since nowadays having a book of this nature is like inheriting a gold watch [from] your grandfather or keeping a vinyl record player at home.” Contributing to that feeling is the special attention they paid to the cover design.
As they explain: “For the cover, spine, and section dividers we have commissioned a series of drawings under the premise of the creation as concept, illustrated by the artist Marc O’Callaghan. With clear references to medieval symbolism and classical art, O’Callaghan has skillfully synthesized each of the sections by creating symbolic landscapes full of hidden meanings.”
At a time when even some design magazines seem more suited to the recycle bin than the bookshelf, it’s inspiring to see the annual raised to the level of treasured tome.
Love this piece? Like it, share it and add your comments below.
