The Guardian has collaborated with renowned graphic artist, Noma Bar, to create an exclusive range of stationery. In his work, Noma strives for "maximum communication with minimum elements" and creates an image within an image to reveal something unexpected. He has applied his trademark style to the Guardian Collection.
For launch, he has designed a bold range of stationery that playfully illustrates core strands of the newspaper's editorial activity. When briefed he was simply supplied with a single line of text to illustrate. For News he was given Follow the Leaders resulting in illustrated binoculars with the central negative space cleverly creating an image of a person in the spotlight. For Fashion, Don't Be a Fashion Victim, he integrates the outline of an outstretched arm into the heel of a platform shoe to artistically signify our obsessive desire for the latest fashion.
Noma Bar said: "As a regular contributor to the Guardian, starting the new product range seemed like a natural continuation to my work. I was looking for a dialogue between text and visual, something that I usually do for the newspaper but in this case it wasn't with 2,000 words next to me but only one phrase. The result is a set of art works that have a first and second reading that completes the written sentence."
Noma's eye-catching prints will feature on beautifully crafted notebooks and diaries. Limited edition prints in a run of 25 will be sold for each of the six images he created for this launch.
The Guardian Collection will also feature a curated series of on-demand iconic prints from the Guardian's extensive archive with work from celebrated photographers including Tom Jenkins and Christopher Thomond.
Each photographic image has a story behind it. Whether it is an iconic image from the Olympics, a significant news event or an enigmatic landscape, anyone can own a beautiful moment in history.
Roger Tooth, Head of Photography, Guardian News and Media, comments: "The Guardian's extensive photographic archive will enjoy a second lease of life by being included in the Guardian Collection. Some of the photographs in the collection would have appeared once in the paper or on the website and some may never have been chosen, not because they are not great images, but just because they didn't quite fit the stories that day. These are all fantastic images in their own right, and I like the idea of people cherishing these iconic photographs in their homes."
An exhibition of the photographic prints and stationery collection will take place at the Guardian Gallery, Kings Place, London from 2 - 11 October.
Guardian Collection is available to purchase from the 2 October. To view and purchase the products visit: www.guardian.co.uk/collection.
