We don’t owe designer Fabien Barral money, nor does he hold incriminating photos of the PaperSpecs staff (that we know of). All of which is to say that we coo once again over another Barral project so soon after his letterpress calendar because we are genuinely impressed by his gradient-inked business cards.
Rejoicing under the company name MR CUP, Barral is particularly adept at blending taste, quality and a bit of an “outlaw” sensibility, all without flirting with up-itself artiness. His business cards capture this aesthetic wonderfully.
In the habit of designing a new card for himself every year to demonstrate his graphic design skills, Barral found a willing partner in a letterpress studio he frequents – and the experiment began.
Using “split fountain” inking, several colors were mixed directly during the printing process resulting in the various gradients you see here – no two are exactly alike.
So congratulations once again to Mr. Barral…and we’d really like those photos back now please…
