D&AD, TASCHEN announce the most sustainable D&AD Annual ever

The annual is claimed to be the indispensable guide to the celebrated work from the 2011 D&AD Awards. The book is the 49th in the series, considered to be the authoritative archive of commercial creativity, advertising and design, and is claimed to be hotly anticipated by industry and design fans, and previous designers have included Peter Saville and Neville Brody.

The Idea

The 2011 Annual is claimed to be TASCHEN's most sustainably produced title to date. Its carbon footprint is 82% less than the 2010 edition. Both the design and production of the book aimed to push the boundaries of environmentally conscientious publishing. The D&AD team and TASCHEN questioned every element of the production process to develop a manufacturing model that could be replicated - and bettered - in future years. For D&AD president Sanky, the idea was to encourage other creatives and publishers to reconsider their methods: "If we haven't moved on from this in ten years, we've failed. However, there was no question that the Annual should be a physical book. I grew up in a house FULL of books. Books change the sound of a room, the smell, the light and most importantly what could happen in the room. Books, we need them."

Production

The team started by looking at the sources of each material needed to manufacture the Annual. Instead of cheap pulp from South America, the book uses 100% recycled material from Austria, sourced locally to Lenzing's Austrian plant, which has the highest international environmental standard (ISO 14,001). This pulp was manufactured into wood-free, 80gsm compostable paper. By making the paper stock as light a possible, the team was able to save almost a kilogram in weight from the 2010 Annual, driving down shipping costs and the paper's carbon footprint. The decision was made to leave the paper uncoated, further reducing the weight. Producing the paper in Austria - where 70% of electricity comes from hydro power - also had a dramatic impact on overall carbon reduction (see stats below).

The inks used for printing were vegetable based, minimising the damage to waterways caused by chemical run off from traditional printing compounds. The pages were then bound in 100% recycled board, covered in FSC sourced paper, and laminated with a cellulose finish.

Design

Harry Pearce's cover design pays homage to Fletcher Forbes Gill's iconic D&AD logo, which has remained essentially unchanged since its creation in 1962. The result aims to be a classic package made in a completely modern way.
For more information email D&AD head of communications Liam Fay-Fright - gro.dadnad@thgirf-yaf.mail

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