PaperSpecs Presents: BassamFellows Brochure-Into-Map Art Catalog

When luxury lifestyle brand BassamFellows (https://bassamfellows.com/) held an exhibition of modern and contemporary art in its offices in 2021, co-founder Craig Bassam explained that their building, created by famed architect Philip Johnson in 1952, wasn’t simply envisioned as a place of business, it “was designed to accommodate life.” That same spirit of “accommodating life” can also be found in the handy program for the exhibit, which unfolds into a large, detailed map of the exhibit space when needed thanks to a clever die cut.

The exhibition, “Modern in Your Life,” featuring everything from designer furniture by the likes of Charles Eames to art by Bauhaus luminaries, had a lot to see and absorb in one space. Therefore the printed catalog had to pack information about every piece into a single, easy-to-carry-around form.

BassamFellows Brochure-Into-Map Art Catalog

Designed by Nathan Linkous Studio (https://nathanlinkousstudio.com/) and printed CMYK by The QMC Group (https://theqmcgroup.com/) under the direction of print consultancy Tocci Made (https://toccimade.com/), the 8-page brochure is the perfect size for walking through an exhibit – only 5.8 X 8.5 inches – slightly smaller than your standard paperback book today.

Inside, each art work is numbered and includes the artist’s name in bold, followed by explanatory info about the piece; several are also accompanied by a small color photograph. Each page boasts an unexpected thickness similar to what you’d experience with French folds. That’s because this guide has a secret.

No sooner do you reach the center of the booklet than it folds out into a large map of the exhibit space, complete with numbers that correspond to those used to call out each artwork in the brochure. This not only reveals just how large the historic building is, but also how impressive its architecture is in its own right.

The fully opened map holds one more surprise – the revelation that the whole seamless brochure-into-map transformation is made possible by a horizontal die cut running through its center.

Without that die cut, they would have had to use an accordion fold, which would not have given you quite the same brochure feel nor the space for a large map.

Just as important to the piece was the paper weight, according to Tocci Made – in this case 65 lb. Mohawk Superfine Eggshell Cover.

Not only does this piece shrink down a detailed map into a handy, portable size, but it also echoes the simplicity and efficiency of the art works on display!