It’s not every day that you see this kind of collateral for a tea company. Then again, after reading Dilmah’s story, this is not just any ole bag of tea. The Teamaker’s Private Reserve collection consists of a selection of rare, fine teas personally selected by the company’s founder – talk about hands on involvement. Each one is carefully chosen and meant to present the indulgent pleasure of tea. So it stands to reason the same care and thought would go into the design and production of its catalog targeting exclusive, high-end restaurants and hotels. The team at Manic Design crafted a truly luxury experience for these buyers demonstrating the importance of what lies within before even reading a word – the proof is in the paper.
The team selected an extremely tactile paper to announce the collection of high end teas by specifying Gmund Savana in Bubinga 111# Cover. The text and cover paper features an embossed faux bois finish that lends itself beautifully to premium print techniques like the copper foil stamp featured on the cover. The paper conveys luxury, sustainability and a hand crafted quality before one even realizes the product it features – high end, hand selected tea. By selecting a deeply tactile paper and pairing it with a metallic foil stamp, the design team tapped into the haptic cue that denotes luxury. The selection of the inherent wood-grain embossed pattern paper gives a subtle nod to the company’s sustainability mission, yet avoids the extra step and expense of embossing.
What I truly appreciate is the extra step taken to craft a really special vehicle to enclose the piece in. With a string and button closure, the envelope uses the Savanna paper to really help the piece get noticed. I mean how often do you see an envelope produced from a cover stock let alone one with a colored, embossed finish? Yes, if this landed on my desk I’d rush to open it and buy whatever was featured. The one note I found interesting, is that it took the creatives four times to get the envelope just right. This is a prime example of how important dummies and mockups are to any print project. Trust me on this on, take the additional step of getting samples so you know exactly what to expect before you go on press.
Upon opening the catalog one finds textured photographs conjuring up images of a bygone, colonial era where afternoon tea was a given in a life of refinement. Again, paper selection for the interior pages was as thoughtful as the cover, by opting for a non-glare surface the idea of tea as an everyday luxury seems a foregone conclusion. Do you enjoy learning about different papers and how they’re used? Make sure to sign up to see the best in paper, print and design.
Images via Manic Design