You may not realize it, but that hot pink chipboard belly band holds a world of wonders. Ziba Design developed a remarkable and functional trio of Scout Books for the Industrial Design Society of America‘s 2010 design conference, held in Portland.
Addressing the emergent DIY ethos of the industrial design world was the conference’s focus as well as Ziba’s challenge: how do you design a conference experience that builds upon a spirit of independent creativity and innovative craftsmanship? Ziba’s vision of and execution for the IDSA conference represented a shift in the way these events are coordinated, with every touchpoint of the experience embodying new ideas.
Scout Books were part of that strategy.
That the print materials were designed into the Scout Book format was no accident. Ziba was deliberate in their intent to build upon existing platforms for their conference materials, abiding by the “DIY imperative of using familiar objects in creative ways.” We love the way that the conference materials—from signage to gift bags to these conference schedules—were considered from a conceptual perspective as well as from a functional standpoint.
Down to the details
The three-pack of Scout Books contained an informative conference catalog, a fun Portland city guide, and a handy notebook for keeping track of ideas that emerged at the symposium. It made use of the Scout Book Original book option, printing custom content on the 32 interior pages.
Black, hot pink and electric green vegetable-based inks graced the three chipboard covers, and the 32 interior pages were printed in rich black ink. Photographs, type and illustration mingle throughout the interior, all rendered expertly in high-quality offset printing. As always, these Scout Books were printed on 100% recycled papers sourced from the Pacific Northwest.
The Portland city guide features a custom pull-out section, and all three books are wrapped in a striped hot pink chipboard belly band.
Want more?
Ziba delves into the details of the IDSA conference in this fantastic article on their website. Included are some images of the Scout Books in use, as well as ways in which the trio of books fits into the overall design approach for the conference.
And to part, a gem from the Ziba article about IDSA that accurately describes our enthusiasm about being surrounded by designers, creators and innovative makers of all kinds:
“The modern DIY resurgence carries a sense of excitement and upheaval—a feeling that the tools of creation are being passed around freely, and that for the first time in decades something truly unexpected might come of them.”
