I have always believed that print will never die. Nowadays, printed items seem to have become a luxury in a world that has become increasingly digital and contactless. One of my favourite things about print is the variety of options available regarding finishes and printing techniques. From cheap and cheerful leaflet printing on a “standard GSM” to duplexed cards with embossing and foils, the possibilities are endless.
So, you can imagine how excited I was when I discovered Foilco would be holding a foiling workshop during this year’s OFFF in Barcelona . (I’ll admit I may have emitted a tiny squeal!)
We had registered for the last workshop of the event, which took place on Saturday 6 April. The workshop provided the perfect opportunity to share some of the creative ideas that had been building during the previous two days of incredible talks from renowned professionals such as Fabian Barral, also known as Mr Cup, Vincent Lammers from Buck, Timothy Goodman, and Radim Malinic.
Foilco set up a pop-up studio on Floor -1 of the DHub to provide a fully hands-on workshop experience for designers, illustrators, and creatives, showcasing the potential for foils within print and packaging.
The room was filled with incredible examples of previous work Foilco had undertaken for the likes of Burberry, Face37, Multiplicity, and Dreyer Kliche, as well as the stunning (and extensive) Foilco Index that displayed the FULL range of foils they produce.
After a brief introduction from Foilco’s CCO Matt Hornby and designer Dave Sedgwick, we were then introduced to the theme of the workshop: “Confessions of a Designer”.
We were all tasked with producing artwork that when foiled revealed a confession based on our experiences and life as a designer. Naturally, all three of us took a different approach to the task…
Tom chose a physical approach to replicate the soles of his trainers, which raised a few eyebrows from passers-by. However, the result was incredible once revealed. Conner expressed his confession through a haiku and created a design that was fully illustrated with lots of little eyes. As for me, I opted for a fully typographic design to share my biggest design confession!
Once we were happy with our designs, they were scanned and digitally printed in black toner. We were able to choose from a selection of different coloured foils that were then cut to size, applied, heated, and removed to reveal the final design (only the areas printed in black toner held the foil).
Not only did we come away with our confessions, but we were also given the opportunity to try our hand at brass foil blocking to create our own vegan leather luggage tags. To finish the day, we also came away with t-shirts, notebooks, and a special edition vegan leather tote bag.
The workshop was a fantastic way to not only be creative but to step away from a screen and be hands-on for a couple of hours. Being in a room surrounded by like-minded people transported me back to my uni days.
Huge thanks again to Matt and Mark from Foilco, Dave Sedgwick, and the team at OFFF for a brilliant morning of creativity and inspiration.
Want to see what else we got up to in Barcelona? Follow us on Instagram for the highlights @we_are_exp.
