“My grandfather was in the war but he never spoke about it” is an all too familiar phrase. Cold Stream Guards came to us looking for book design and printing that showcases over 40 soldier’s stories showcasing what they had experienced whilst on tour in Afghanistan, this includes funny stories, moments of true comradery, and challenges they faced, as well as the more tragic stories and memories of fallen soldiers, it will join the distinguished annals of the regiment in the latest phase of its long history.
Commissioned authors normally write the accounts on behalf of the soldiers, however, we wanted to modernise this approach by inviting the soldiers to copy write their own stories into the book. To tie in with this modern approach our book design was more contemporary, with a magazine style approach from the fonts right through to the layout.
Working as part of a team within the military was phenomenal, their part of the team ensured structure was precise leaving us alone to focus on the creative. The army archive was full of superb photography, their team of professional photographers had captured the occasion is so many compelling ways we decided to extend the book designs pagination to allow for more fun page photos.
Our production team had some strict quality guidelines as this book will not just be keep for memory of the starring soldiers but a real account of soldering history to be kept in the Briish Army’s archive.
The soft touch cover offered a scratch proof outer to the hardback 264 page book and the heavy silk inner pages ensures the photos really jumped out from the pages.
The Dougie Dalzell Memorial Trust, who funded the production of the book, a foundation set up by parents of a soldier who lost his life. The book sold over 1000 copies within 1 month of being on sale, with the profits going to the Regimental Charity, which helps soldiers and families of injured or killed Cold-streamers from all conflicts – we’re very proud to have contributed. The book was even featured on the BBC when the trooping of the colour took place as well as the Queen’s birthday.
On the book launch at the Guards Museum on Birdcage Walk, Seenindesign were proudly singled out for praise by the General of the British army, it’s not until you see the look on the soldier’s faces flicking through their book that you realise you have not just printed a book, you have framed memories and made history.
Would you or your business like to talk about book design or book printing?
Please call 01626 331 000 or email studio@seenindesign.com
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