RMIT Design Books sustainable printing project
Melbourne's RMIT university is a world leader in technology and design - plus, it holds the title of Australia's largest tertiary institution.
The university is home to around 74,000 students across campuses in Melbourne and Vietnam, with a host of partner programs in Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia, India and Europe adding to the mix. With a focus on practical education and outcome-oriented research, RMIT leads the fields of technology, design, global business, communication, global communities, health solutions and urban sustainable futures.
Two of the programs - the Bachelor of Arts in Textile Design and the Bachelor of Design (Honours) are two of the great courses on offer at this institution. After the students in these courses created a constellation of stunning work, PrintTogether stepped in to print these images with sustainable printing processes to create end of year 2013 books.
The perfect bound books are printed with 300gsm/120gsm EcoStar post-consumer recycled paper and vegetable based inks. Both the creativity and the practicality of the courses shines through in the design, which is put together very much like a collage. The piecey design shows how the work comes together like a scrap book, bringing out the arts'n'crafts creativity and hands on learning practicality at once.
Rather than show the final product, the front covers depict the process that leads up to it. On the inside, the main work is showcased with simplistic photography on white backgrounds so as not to distract from the work. The term bricolage means creating something from a range of available materials and mediums - much like what you'll find in any World of Wearable Arts exhibit. This highlights the resourcefulness of the students, and links back to the environmentally friendly printing process of the final product as well.
