Spotlight: Iggesund
For those who love good design, the holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without a peek at the latest season’s greetings card from Iggesund Paperboard. It always features a festive design brilliantly realized using special printing and finishing techniques. This year’s piece brings to life a winter wonderland through the magic of pop-up, engineered by renowned German designer and paper artist Peter Dahmen.
Inspired by Iggesund’s guest house in Hedvigsfors, Sweden, tucked away deep in the Hälsingland forest, the card boasts storybook-like illustrations on the front and back covers, and a soaring fir tree and winter scene within.
“For me, the trees and forests are so typical of Sweden,” Dahmen explains. “As well as being very important to the Swedish economy they also play a central role in Swedish culture.” This is why the tree is so large when the card is opened – a paper-engineering feat in itself.
In fact, getting a pop-up detail as large as that fir tree to fold down so neatly isn’t easy – the tree’s top must be unfolded by 225 degrees! Fortunately for Dahmen, he was able to work with Iggesund’s Invercote Creato 260 g/m2, which is double folded and glued to create a strong base for the pop-up.
Not only did the paper artist appreciate the tactile feel of the paper’s silky-smooth surface, Invercote handles this type of construction particularly well thanks to its tear strength and unsurpassed ability to be folded many times without the slightest sign of cracking. When you’re dealing with a piece that’s doubtless going to be passed around, opened and closed many times, that is absolutely vital.
The card was 4-color printed by German pop-up specialists Albrecht Creative Paper Products, who also did the hot foil stamping, embossing, protective varnishing and assembly.
“We could have poured on masses of bling and graphic effects,” says Dahmen. “But both Iggesund’s project manager, Anna Adler, and I wanted a restrained card with an understated tone and not a graphic fireworks show.”
Understated in this instance being another word for sophisticated.
“For Iggesund Paperboard the annual card is not just about sending a greeting,” says Adler, “it is also an opportunity for us to inspire people to use our paperboard materials Invercote and Incada more. We try to set a challenge with exciting techniques or difficult constructions.
“The dominant fir tree is a reminder of the importance of the forest and its trees to forest industry companies like Iggesund Paperboard. They are the foundation of our business and our success depends largely on how well we manage this renewable resource.”
Capture this magical Swedish winter scene for yourself – enter to win one of 300 pop-up holiday cards right now! Hurry, contest ends Dec. 28th!
SORRY THIS OFFER HAS ENDED.
