Printed pieces designed for Amer­i­can Roller Bearing

We recently had the plea­sure of work­ing with Amer­i­can Roller Bear­ing (ARB) and Honey Bees Event Plan­ning on the print col­lat­eral for ARB’s 100^th Anniver­sary Cel­e­bra­tion. Our respon­si­bil­i­ties included the cre­ation of spe­cial­ized print col­lat­eral, on-​site posters and a Power Point pre­sen­ta­tion. While there are too many pieces to show here, the images below illus­trate the gen­eral aes­thetic of the event.

Through con­sul­ta­tion with ARB, it was decided that all mate­ri­als would fea­ture a his­toric, turn of the cen­tury, feel accom­plished through typog­ra­phy while remain­ing very much in the now. The cen­ter­piece and most ambi­tious project was the invi­ta­tion for the event.

Graphic Designer Eliot Lytle’s con­cept for the invi­ta­tion required a leap of faith for the staff at Amer­i­can Roller Bear­ing. The design would be using spe­cial­ized print­ing tech­niques that wouldn’t repro­duce in the proof­ing process.

Eliot said, “Trust me.” They did. The results are astounding.

Amer­i­can Roller Bearing’s Cen­ten­nial Cel­e­bra­tion Invitation

The cir­cu­lar design stands out from the other 99.9% of printed col­lat­eral. A 6-​color print­ing process uses 2 metal­lic inks to cre­ate reflec­tive duo­tones of the bear­ing images not pos­si­ble through the reg­u­lar 4-​color print­ing process. Finally, a reg­is­tered emboss­ment lends a tac­tile feel to the design. The result is an invi­ta­tion that is a impres­sive to view and a joy to hold in your hand.

We thank Amer­i­can Roller Bear­ing for the oppor­tu­nity to work with them and help make their Cen­ten­nial Cel­e­bra­tion spe­cial. It’s not often a com­pany turns 100. We enjoyed learn­ing about their com­pany and how their prod­ucts have played a part in Amer­i­can his­tory. From the ear­li­est trains to the oil indus­try to the space pro­gram, Amer­i­can Roller Bear­ing has been there.

Also, we must thank Blue Ridge Print­ing of Asheville, NC. Their knowl­edge­able staff and spe­cial­ized skills were instru­men­tal in bring­ing the ambi­tious invi­ta­tion design to real­ity. There are few print shops in the region that we would trust with such spe­cial­ized work.