Hot off the press! 9 newspapers to inspire you in May

Every month, we put together a roundup to show all the different ways our creative customers use newspapers. This time we're sharing 9 projects to keep you inspired through May — from an “animated newspaper” influenced by an old-fashioned optical illusion to a zine celebrating Baltimore's food workers.

Refreshing report

“You make news that’s fit to print.” That’s the message to recipients of this annual report from Rescue:Freedom, a non-profit organisation working to end human trafficking.

“Our supporters literally make the good news we’re reporting back to them possible, so we thought this would be a playful way to show the impact they made,” says designer Mollie Thompson. "We had so much fun designing the newspaper and it gave us opportunities to be creative that we wouldn’t have had otherwise — stats fit into a crossword puzzle and we enjoyed translating our content into headlines. It just made the whole report more inviting!”

"Supporters said that it’s our best report yet — and we’ve received several unexpected large donations!"

Supporters have been delighted by the traditional broadsheet: “People are posting about them on social media, calling, and emailing to tell us how much they enjoyed reading them,” Mollie says. “Some even said that it’s our best report yet — and we’ve received several unexpected large donations!”

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Food futures

palatePALETTE is Baltimore-based chef and artist Krystal Mack’s “love letter to my food past.” The zine, the culmination of over 2 years of work, began as a response to “seeing too much food media that was PR and influencer driven,” explains Krystal. In contrast, palatePALETTE is "a celebration of workers and organizers who are putting in the effort to ensure that Baltimore’s food future is one where all can thrive.”

The zine's publisher Homie House Press says that using newsprint helped “to keep it cheap so that this work can be distributed at low cost to the community that it was made to uplift and serve.” And the digital tabloid format looks great, too: “It’s so gorgeous!!! The newspaper is so high-quality and the colors pop like none other!!!!” (It even got a shoutout from Questlove.)

palettePALATE is available at stockists around Baltimore and online.

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Analog animation

Luxembourg-based illustrator Maxime Charasson used our digital tabloids to create this “animated newspaper,” inspired by the Ombro-Cinéma toys popular in France in the early 20th century. Pulling a transparent frame over the images in the newspaper creates the illusion of movement — here’s the effect in action:

Filled with playful illustrations of “summer, surfing and good vibes,” Maxime says he made the newspaper “to allow us to travel a little” while we still need to stay home.

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Big chill 

To celebrate the launch of their new line of oils, self-care brand Chillhouse created a supersized newspaper, The Chill Times. It's got interviews, puzzles and even an astrology report to keep customers entertained while waiting for services at Chillhouse's spa in NYC.

“We wanted to go BIG and felt this was the most impactful and visual approach,” says marketing director Sara Sylvester about using our traditional broadsheets. She calls the process of making a newspaper “a joy” but does have one word of warning: “If you print a lot of black or blue don't touch it after putting hand sanitizer on!”

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Famous faces

Photographer Neil Favila’s latest portfolio is a mix of personal projects and portraits shot for big clients like Playboy, Don Julio and Ugg (“One for the books,” he says of photographing the legendary André Leon Talley in Uggs, pictured above).

“I've always been a fan of the oversized tabloid dimensions, and was looking to experiment with a promo that was a bit more hands-on,” says Neil, who is sending the digital tabloids to creative directors, art buyers and photo editors. Designed by Gry Space.

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Patreon post

Every quarter, artist Caitlin Metz sends a newspaper to the people who support her work on Patreon. “I love the tangibility and also the ephemeral nature of the newspaper,” says Caitlin, who is also the co-creator of art collective On Being In Your Body. “It’s a way for me to check in with myself, reflect on what I have been creating, thinking and processing.” And what’s the response been from readers? “Gosh, they fucking love it. Truly.” Printed on our digital tabloids.

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Research review

In this digital tabloid, Barcelona-based Fab Lab looks back at how the pandemic changed their research and what they learned in 2020. Initially intended to be an internal report, they’ve decided to share it with future clients and prospective students to help explain their work.

"It shocked people! The idea that a newspaper can be something completely different — colorful and playful but still informative."

“We choose newsprint because of the low environmental impact compared with traditional magazine formats,” says designer Manuela Reyes. “Having something physical helped build excitement amongst our project teams. It shocked people! The idea that a newspaper can be something completely different — colorful and playful but still informative."

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Making waves

Tankproof, a non-profit founded by musicians THEBROSFRESH, provides swimming lessons and food security to kids that need it most. This spring, they hosted a “crawfish kickback” for volunteers and sponsors to connect and celebrate their upcoming summer swim lessons.

“It’s southern tradition to use newspapers as a centerpiece when eating crawfish,” says designer Grace Owen. “Rather than regular old newspapers, we wanted to have branded papers that showcase our brand through photos and designs. We’ll also use these for other promotional events, to help recruit volunteers and to spread awareness!” Printed on our digital tabloids.

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Powerful plastic

Project Circleg is a social enterprise transforming plastic waste into affordable lower-limb prosthetics for people living in less developed countries. This is the second year they’ve used our digital tabloids to sum up their achievements in an annual report.

“The newspaper is an original way to tell our story and a gift to thank those who supported the project,” says communication manager Martina Horber. “Our readers said it’s a very creative and unconventional format. There was huge interest to read it!”

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