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An annual report full of light and colour

Books, Graphic Design

Posted by Mark Sinclair, 24 August 2012, 15:04    Permalink    Comments (13)

For Austrian lighting company Zumtobel's 2012 annual report, design studio Brighten the Corners worked with artist Anish Kapoor to create a two-volume publication: one book contains the facts and figures for the year, the other is a beautiful printed version of a 1998 video piece by the artist...

Brighten the Corners used Kapoor's video projection, Wounds and Absent Objects, as the starting point for the commission which, unusually, meant designing a text-only volume (with graphic elements that link to the Kapoor work), and a lavish colour publication, which sees a rainbow of hues bursting from the centre of the spreads (and features ten neon colours).

So the first volume looks like this:

While volume two is full of pages of blended, saturated colour, like this:

 

As annual reports go, Zumtobel's rather conspicuous display of inks and paper does much to suggest that the company had a pretty good year (group revenue was up 4.2% at €1.2m, though growth had slowed steadily over the year, apparently).

But that said, it's interesting to see a relatively dry document incorporating an actual artwork into its structure, and one that chimes so well with the nature of the business in question: light and colour. Zumtobel CEO Harald Sommerer puts the commission in simpler terms in his foreword to the report: "[Kapoor] has used this medium to illustrate the power of colour and its effects on the observer."

The entire report is available to view here on the Zumtobel website, while physical copies can be ordered here (tick the box marked, ‘Annual Report 2011/12'). The original 1988 video piece is on Kapoor's website, here.

Art direction: Anish Kapoor and Brighten the Corners. Graphic design and layout: Billy Kiosoglou and Frank Philippin (BTC). Printing: EBS, Verona.

13 Comments

The last spread looks like my vagina
Joe Baglow
2012-08-24 17:25:51

I love color so this is great. I was an Interior Designer and found many people were 'afraid' of color maybe they would not be after seeing this....wished I could see it with the text interface too.
Janice D'Amore
2012-08-26 22:09:51

The text part is all im interested in, shame its not on show following the link?
Stu
2012-08-28 10:11:25

Hmm, last spread looks more like a Choir boy's anus.
Rich.
2012-08-28 10:16:41

Considering Coporate and Social responsibility have become more important for these companies, and many are finally moving away from paper-only based reports and embracing the real benefits of digital reporting..... I find this expensive 'paper-fest' baffling!
Shai
2012-08-28 10:53:45

[deleted by moderator]
Sandra
2012-08-28 11:02:00

I know what I see and it aint no anus! Prob coz I damn straight and I don't wanna see it! Cheers for the gross image though wish I hadn't got out of bed. Can anyone see the difference!
Rich
2012-08-28 11:23:08

This looks a lot like my son's nappy rash.
Chris Barker
2012-08-28 13:55:26

To me it looks like a tasteful piece! I like the concept and the colours are beautiful. Probably worth a mention, design with purpose,, hope all the flowing text is up to scratch!!!
Richard
2012-08-28 15:12:15

beautiful stuff, really great colours and spreads, its this sort of work that keeps print relevant and desirable. Lovely work, id like a copy.
Tom Jennings
2012-08-28 15:14:19

What obnoxious comments. Why waste your time?

It's a very different approach to a document that is essentially a necessity, and very often extremely boring because of it. I'd love to see a printed copy.
Marc
2012-08-30 10:35:00

Of course, it's easy to make snap judgments and critique design on screen, without seeing the work up close. And having received a physical copy today it's definitely a case of needing to hold a copy to fully appreciate it.

It's a wonderful, imposing size and printed on gorgeous substrates. The printing of the gradients is superb, with each page looking as though it's been hand sprayed with aerosols. The typography is beautifully simple yet effective.

It get a thumbs up from me.
Ryan Dixon
2012-09-14 10:11:06

The printed piece is lovely. I ordered one from here: http://www.zumtobelgroup.com/en/Ordering.htm
Liam
2012-10-01 21:53:33

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