Project
To create a book celebrating Ripcurl the company and their 25 year involvement in the Australian surfing industry. A dream job - but where to start?
Challenge
What do you put in and what do you leave out? And historically, what's out there to work with in terms of photography? Images were sourced from photographers and surfers worldwide. A logistical nightmare, but Richard an avid surfer loved every minute of it...
Solution
Working with the RipCurl team coordinator and writer Derek Hynd, the decision was made to tell the story chronologically, with snippets and insights from the RipCurl sponsored riders over the 25 year period. A 25 year anniversary brandmark was designed, and a series of graphic icons created, to highlight each section of the book. A striking underwater image by Ted Grambeau was selected for the cover. It worked well with the black neoprene slipcase and the silver 25th anniversary brandmark. A 3 day photo shoot was held in Sydney Australia, with the then current sponsored surfers taking time out from the pro-tour, so their photo's could be included in the book. Historical photography was sourced worldwide and the text was penned by Derek Hynd and Phil Jarrat. The books were printed on a web press for economies of scale - with 350,000 books printed in total. A special run of books in a zip-up, neoprene wetsuit cover (made in house at RipCurl) were presented to the who's who of the surfing industry, across the globe.
Results
The surfing and design industries loved it. It was the beginning of a long and rewarding partnership with the crew at RipCurl.
• MADC silver Award
• Catalogue Awards (catalogue of the year)
Ongoing work...
RipCurl – Seasonal Catalogues
• In store promotional catalogues were produced, featuring sponsored surfers and each season’s range, including girls and guys wetsuits, surfwear, snow gear and surfboards.
• A reworking of the iconic 'rubber soul' RipCurl logo to an overall brand logo, rather than the specifically wetsuit related brandmark.
• A hibiscus pattern was designed for the summer catalogue and later used as a feature in the foyer of RipCurl Australia and later as board short fabric.
