This wedding invitation for Andy and Drew is certainly a unique format. It was designed by Drew Hodgson for his wedding in Palm Springs, CA. The bold colors and contemporary shapes make the design both modern and masculine. The invite is actually a folder enclosure that opens to reveal the invitation text on the flap. The folder opens further to reveal an interior printed with a brightly colored burst and three information cards with RSVP Hotel VIP, and Dinner information.  Drew tells us this about his design:

“The wedding celebration will be held at a mid-century hotel in Palm Springs. I came across this great typeface by John Skelton called Sessions, which in turn is based on the classic Joseph Albers typeface Kombinationsschrift. The playful, organic and modular shapes are a perfect fit for the mid-century setting and atmosphere we wanted to create for the wedding.”

“The shapes and negative space of the letterforms are also used as a graphic style to illustrate the mountains, sun and wispy clouds that dominate the landscape. I love the impression that letterpress leaves so I wanted to incorporate a linear illustration style to contrast the bold letterforms. I created a twig- or feather-like variation of the A+D monogram expressly for the tactile feel it would create.”

“We also wanted this be a fun experience for out-of-town family. They will receive “golden ticket” or “vip” card which allows them to stay at the hotel for free. The act of folding away the panels of the main invite leads to a ‘ta-da’ moment in which they are presented with the card.”

The Save the Date card was printed earlier on Crane Lettra Pearl White 220lbC. Cards for the wedding invitation were letterpress printed in two colors on Crane Lettra Pearl White 110lbC. Those pieces were printed together on a large press sheet. The folder was die cut out with scores to create gussets to accommodate three card thicknesses once folded together. Everything folded up to fit in the A6 size Orange Fizz French Poptone envelope, printed on the flap with orange ink.

We first printed these as two sheets, a natural color and black stock and then pasted the sheets together after printing. This step eliminates show through of the impression when printing a two sided design. We’ve found that the gluing of the sheet after it is printed does flatten back some of the impression, so we start with a heavy impression initially. The lighter color stock is Wausau Compliments Natural White 100lbC and is printed with a blind pass and black ink. The black stock is Wausau Eclipse Black 100lbC and is printed with PMS 8001 silver and black ink. The final thickness is 200lbC, about the thickness of a US dime. After printing and gluing, the cards were die cut to the final shape with angled corners.

Duplex means pasting two sheets of paper back to back. In this case, we had the sheets pasted AFTER they were printed. We started with a press sheet for the front of the cards and another press sheet for the back of the cards, each sheet being at 134lb Cover weight. What this accomplishes is deep impression on both sides of the card with out show through from a heavy letterpress impression. Custom duplex pasting a sheet is the best way to achieve that heavy impression both sides and get a nice thick card with the artwork on both sides looking top notch. After pasting the press sheets together they were trimmed to size and edges were colored to match the printed pms. Coloring the edge of paper that thick really makes the most of the edge coloring effect.

I think I want to buy a house from this guy.