A 28"-wide invitation for Gamut Theatre Group

For Gamut Theatre Group, Fathom stretched a limited budget to the limit with a 28″-wide invitation for their annual fundraising event. Printed in just two colors (and using a duotone to add richness to the artwork), Fathom displayed a panoramic etching of London which accordion folds to fit inside a translucent vellum envelope. Visit gamutplays.org if you would like tickets to the event (22 April, Shakespeare’s birthday celebration…very fun!).

This brochure folds into a triangle!

Fathom was recently tapped to design a brochure for an art event held in Los Angeles. Playing off of the event’s logo (which was supplied to us), Fathom created the piece to fold down to form a triangle. Kudos to Anthony who envisioned this innovative solution (and hand-folded 4,000 of these beauties!).

Bluestone Farm brochure: lots of angles.

Working with our client the Episcopal Church Foundation, Fathom created this interesting capital campaign brochure to assist the Bluestone Farm, an innovative ministry of the Community of the Holy Cross. Admittedly, we cut a few corners to come up with a solution. The result creates a layered effect but required no die cut to produce (just a very patient and quality-minded printer).

Well-designed printed brochures are an excellent way to push your message to your audience. Fathom is an expert in stretching budgets to create distinctive experiences that get picked up, read, and shared.

Does he really?

Two years ago, Fathom published a post on its website which was politely ignored by those who ran across it. (Or perhaps, like WW1 dazzleflauge, the message was so absurd-seeming that it was effectively invisible to readers?)

Dazzleflauge. Look it up!

Fathom’s post was about how using MORE paper is GOOD for the environment. This idea runs counter to our society’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation” view of communications, where “if it don’t glow, it must go!”

But this weekend, the film The Lorax hit movie theaters. This flick is designed to make money by furthering fears that one day evil industrialists who support the Patriot Act will chop down all the trees to make cereal boxes, brochures, houses, and such.

As a company that produces printed matter, we feel is is our responsibility to stand up to Danny DeVito’s mesmerizing voice and explain ourselves. And so, below, you will find a re-posting of our previously ignored post about why using paper is in fact good for the environment. Perhaps this post will convince you why buying one of the millions and millions of copies of  the BOOK, The Lorax, is a good deal better for our world than watching the FILM.

(Then watch the film anyway, because it glows.)

. . . . . . . .

The original post:

Some people are a little nervous about “killing trees” to get their message out. However, printed materials are an essential component of a successful communications strategy. And here’s the good news: if your paper comes from renewable sources, the more you paper you use, the more the earth benefits. Sound crazy? Read on!

A Tangled Web
Conventional wisdom says that to reduce our impact on the earth, we should use online communication instead of printed materials whenever possible. Unfortunately, online communication has its own set of environmental pitfalls.

World-wide, the data farms that serve up web content consume 0ver 100 billion kilowatts per year (for comparison, the Hoover Dam produces only 4 billion kilowatts of energy per year). If all that power came from green sources, it might not be so bad. But 57% of the electricity produced in the U.S. comes from coal, which is responsible for 67% of all sulfur dioxide emissions.

Coal Powers the Web

Microsoft’s data center in Quincy Washington alone is 450,000 square feet and contains tens of thousands of computers. They have seven such centers worldwide, and that’s just Microsoft. On average, server farm computers have a lifespan of only 4 years. After that, these toxic little machines are off to the landfill. Only 18% of computer hardware is recycled. 70% of the toxic waste in landfills comes from e-waste.

A Toxic Graveyard

Electronic communications take a toll on the environment in the form of strip mining (for coal), air pollution, the export of toxic trash to the Third World, and more. And if people like the message they see on their screen, they are likely to print it out anyway. Because people like paper.

This is not to say we should shut down the web. But it is to say that you have a choice in media and that every web site you visit has an environmental cost.

The Benefits of Paper
Now, let’s look at the environmental effects of using paper.

If our goal were to put as many cows on the earth as possible, what would be the best way we could make that happen? By consuming more milk. More demand means cows are worth more, and more cows are required to meet the demand. When it comes to trees, it is a similar equation.

Tomorrow's Brochures

1,700,000 trees are planted each day to meet the demand for wood in America. And that’s not counting the trees that grow from seeds naturally. Trees planted for paper are planted just like any other crop. But because they take 10 years to mature, we enjoy environmental benefits throughout their life-cycle. Through photosynthesis, trees scrub the atmosphere of CO2 and produce oxygen. The more trees, the better.

For paper making, any sort of tree pulp works fine, so quick-growing trees are economically wise and entirely sustainable. Forests used for paper production are growing more than 20% faster than they are being consumed. The 13.2 million acres of old-growth forest in the U.S. is kept safe through regulation; the paper industry creates its own forests.

Pulp can also be made from the scraps left after boards are cut to make lumber. So paper making actually helps use wood that could otherwise be wasted.

Paper Mill in Southeastern U.S.: Water Supply, Trees, Woodchips, Plant

The paper-making process requires chemicals to separate pulp from lignin (the stuff that makes cheaper papers yellow over time). 99% of these chemicals are recovered through internal recycling.

Other forms of fiber—from cotton, flax, hemp, and more—are often blended with the pulp. Some paper is made entirely from non-wood sources, like cotton—even cotton from old clothes! Recycled paper content may also be added to the pulp, or the paper may be made from entirely recycled paper content.

Recycling
Recycling programs are efficient, save landfill space, and cause a quicker production cycle—recycled paper is ready for re-use in months versus the 10 years it takes to grow a 40′ pine tree.

57% of paper is recycled after use—a higher recycling percentage than metal, glass, and plastic combined. And paper can be recycled an average of five times!

Ready for Recycling!

100% recycled paper does not always perform as well as paper made from virgin pulp (it may not fold as well and can contain specks). But most paper has some recycled content as it makes good economic sense.

Being a Good Steward
In order to ensure that the paper you are using comes from renewable sources, a number of certifications have been established, including the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. Fathom can let you know the specifics of any paper we propose, from how the paper is certified to its percentage of recycled content. We can even spec paper that is made using 100% wind energy.

We can also ensure that your job is printed using non-petroleum-based inks. Petroleum-based inks release gases (volatile organic compounds or VOCs) as they dry. Vegetable-based inks don’t.

There are other creative ways to be a good steward. We can design in ways that minimize paper waste, we can use paper that printers already have in stock, we can even use paper that printers were otherwise going to recycle (take a look at the below invitation we designed that used cardboard from a printer’s recycling bin).

Conclusions
Communicating in print is as environmentally viable as communicating online—and print has distinct strategic advantages: conveying a message that is immediate, lasting, dimensional, and harder to ignore. Select a medium for strategic reasons, because environmentally, both pixels and pulp have their pitfalls.

Whether your message requires a web site (we design them!) or a printed piece (we design them, too!) your decision to communicate a message will consume resources and will have an impact on the earth.

Excellent design will ensure you have an impact on your audience as well.

Meet Warren Blayney.

Fathom is staffing up, no question about it. We recently added the talented Nick Chohany (videographer) and Anthony Smolenski (print designer) to the mix. And this week, we announce the addition of Warren Blayney.

Warren hails from Great Britain (Northern Ireland). With a degree in Interactive Media Design from the University of Ulster, Warren is also educated in business, entrepreneurship, and marketing.

“A good web designer must be able to code as well as design,” says Warren. “You need to know the limitations as well as the potentials of the medium.” Having studied under the famed “Web Standardistas” at university, Warren is as much a stickler for precise coding as he is for eye-popping visuals.

He is excited about the idea of print, video, and web under one roof. “Video is ready for the web, or perhaps I should say that the web is ready for video,” he explains. “The bandwidth is there. The demand is there. Of course, they can live separately, but together, they work a whole lot better.” He adds, “Oh, and print is always going to be necessary—as a live, in-your-face communications tool.”

Warren believes that all sites should be scalable, that good coding leads to intrinsic SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and that a site without tracking capabilities is about as smart as an ad without a headline. He has a few opinions.

Warren comes to Central PA by way of Alexandria, Virginia, where he worked for Redmon Group (with clients such as the Smithsonian, World Bank, and the DEA). Warren founded Glossy Pixel, a web development firm, prior to joining up with Fathom.

Stop by and say “hello.” And when you are done talking web sites and eating McVities digestives, ask Warren about his childhood days spent picking potatoes. (Um, he said we could mention that.)

Fathom was tapped by the Midtown Scholar Bookstore to assist with the creation of its new publishing arm, Midtown Scholar Press. Fathom created the logo for the venture and worked with Fathom Collective member Scott Boggs to design the book. Over 400 pages in length and featuring numerous vintage photos of Harrisburg’s history, the work features gold metallic ink on the cover and tasteful typography throughout.

The talented Scott Boggs

The book is a compilation of articles written by award-winning Harrisburg Patriot-News reporter Paul Beers (1931-2011). Beers’ masterful series of essays charts the PA state capital’s development from a City Beautiful, with its celebrated public spaces, through the fractures of race riots and the catastrophic challenges of flood and near nuclear meltdown. Each essay is packed with interesting detail about the characters of the time, and the work as a whole goes a long way towards explaining what led Harrisburg to its current economic crisis, which has made news throughout the world.

The book will be unveiled this Sunday at the Midtown Scholar’s 2nd Annual Harrisburg Book Festival at 1302 North Third Street, Harrisburg. A panel discussion on Paul Beers’ life is at 4PM and the book release party is from 5:30–7 PM.

You can learn more at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore’s web site. (And as for that site: Fathom is redesigning it…so stand by for more news there!)

Nick Chohany and Anthony Smolenski.

Meet Nick…

With over a decade of experience serving as a producer and director, Nick is skilled in crafting commercials, shooting live events, and creating video content of all sorts—for broadcast, DVD, or online use. Thanks to Nick, Fathom now offers comprehensive video services—for stand-alone projects or as an integrated part of a total multi-media solution.

“Design, web, and video are completely intertwined,” Nick explains. “I feel that Fathom now has capabilities that most agencies don’t have, right here as part of the core creative process.”

While Fathom has offered video services in the past (and often worked with Nick), we can now integrate video into our thinking, and provide it cost-effectively. For example, plans are already underway for a multimedia direct mail effort for a client that involves video interviews which are excerpted for a direct mail piece that leads people to a web site which provides the full interview footage.

Print, web, and video alone are useful tools, but when combined, each medium can be used for maximal effect.

Meet Anthony…

Anthony is a fine artist and illustrator as well as a graphic designer with experience in prepress. He brings a unique blend of talents to Fathom which will broaden and deepen our capabilities in print as well as online.

Says Anthony: “Fathom provides access to a level of design that most clients aspire to for themselves. Fathom’s portfolio speaks for itself.” He adds, “It’s exciting to work with a team that provides a full gamut of services—from initial branding and marketing materials to online presence and visual expression, including video for web and television.”

Anthony views Fathom’s letterpress with excitement (and a healthy dose of terror) and will also be leading up initiatives to produce letterpressed goods for sale to the public.

So, when you call Fathom, say “hi” to Nick or Anthony if they answer the phone. And if you know of anyone who may benefit from Fathom’s expanded offerings, please let us know!

Verdatum
Verdatum tasked Fathom with creating two brochures for use at an upcoming trade show. While the pieces were from the same company, each product its own logo and colors. Our job was to make them look like part of a family. The result was two pieces with short cover flaps to reveal a second panel, with swooping curves that connect and carry throughout.

Midtown Scholar
The Midtown Scholar has an amazing, massive, astounding (words fail) new space. Now they have a new logo to go with it!

Boot Invites
What do you get when you have a western-themed party, a letterpress sitting around from 1886, and a client open to something “different”? Introducing the boot-shaped invitation, hand-letterpressed and die-cut right here at Fathom.

Common Sense Adoption
Common Sense Adoption Services was moving from Mechanicsburg to Camp Hill. They tapped Fathom for a new logo and identity materials—to capture the excitement of the move as well as the spirit of their services. Fathom took the “c” and “s” and knit them together to create a new visual family: at once both protective and interdependent.

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.
Good things CAN come out of Washington! Take this capital campaign brochure Fathom created for Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church. It captures the history of this historic church while also conveying optimism for the future. Incidentally, the piece also incorporates what is called a gloss aqueous dull strike-through varnish. Ask us about it sometime (!). Through the Episcopal Church Foundation, Fathom creates capital campaign brochures for churches throughout the nation, and we are pleased to have been doing this work for over a decade.

Johnson & Griffiths Studio
Fathom recently completed work on the website for Johnson and Griffiths Studio. The entire site is one giant page, and by clicking on a section, visitors slide over to the content, triggering the theme colors to shift. It’s pretty cool. The site is also easily updated by the client, via WordPress.

You could be next!
Fathom serves clients of every size, from individuals and non-profits to big organizations. Give us a call, and let’s create something great!