We recently sat down with Aurelia to discuss her vision for the new Accent swatchbook, what makes this new version unique in the swatchbook arena and the importance of designing a swatchbook that serves as a source of inspiration as much as a point of reference.
Aurelia Tauscher: The theme of the previous swatchbook was Accent On and I thought a lot about that when putting together my concept for this book. I wanted the design concept to showcase why designers would want to print on this paper, but I also wanted it to feel like artists and designers were leaving their mark on it — I wanted the swatchbook to almost feel like an artist’s sketchbook, with the sketch marks on the images and pages.
I also wanted to capture the spirit of Memphis (home of Sylvamo global headquarters) throughout, and I think that’s represented with imagery that centers on music, BBQ and local legend and lore, like the Peabody Ducks.
The cover. I wanted the cover to announce the interactivity of the swatchbook. The use of a gate fold creates an element of surprise and the giant A conveys that Accent paper is here, is on the scene, so to speak. The different finishings throughout the interior of the swatchbook help demonstrate how Accent paper — specifically The Heavyweights by Accent Opaque — holds color extremely well and can accommodate different kinds of foils and embossing. For example, finishings like translucent pearlescent foils and sculptured embossing.
Also, for the first time, we made a Printer’s Edition of the swatchbook. It’s a no-frills version that gives printers exactly what they need — paper specs — and includes tear-out sample sheets that they can use around the print shop.
Absolutely! If I didn’t know anything about Accent and this landed on my desk, I would think “Oh, this is really cool, this is fun, this is a really inspirational piece that has a high level of creativity and thought behind it.”
That’s not to say the printer’s version isn’t just as cool, it definitely is, but the designer’s version really leans into interactivity and feels like a designer actually designed this for other designers.
I think any of the spreads that include a lot of the Accent red are really striking. The red prints so vibrant, so crisp. Accent’s heavyweight paper really demonstrates the different texture levels with that sculptured embossing while still obtaining the best print quality — there’s no break in the ink and the paper just holds the color so well.
I really love the sketch marks on each page and how they ended up integrating into the images. I created them by hand on an iPad and it felt like I was actually leaving my mark — or accent — on the book, which aligned with my larger design concept. With the saxophone, I wanted to sketch marks to be part of the instrument, part of the music. Music has motion and energy and I think the sketch marks play into that idea and augment it.
I also felt it was important to reference or call back to previous swatchbooks, so I left little design references throughout the book to sort of pay tribute to previous books. The little glass bottle, the spray can, the space man. It was fun working these older design elements into this new swatchbook and I think they turned out well.
The Accent Opaque swatchbook is your go-to guide to the sizes, weights and finishes of Accent paper. This vibrant, interactive book helps designers and printers alike discover what you can do with Accent.
Get your hands on a copy of the new Accent swatchbook to take your print projects to the next level.