In 2018 we printed over 3 million newspapers (!) here at Newspaper Club for creative people all over the world. Below are 18 that stood out over the year, for one reason or another—from showstopping portfolios to waffle-inspired typography to an obituary for a very good dog. It would be impossible to come up with a list of the “best” things we printed, but every newspaper here delighted, surprised or moved us.

With that said, scroll on—and maybe get inspired to print something yourself in 2019! (Some free samples might help with that, too.)

Pacific Tribune Sunday Comics

This beachy broadsheet, part of the packaging for Pacific Tote Company’s canvas bags, is printed with their own spoof comics—like “ToteTote” drawn in the style of Tintin. It’s a fun surprise for their customers that reinforces the brand’s playful personality.

OFFSET magazine

Putting on an exhibition at this year’s OFFSET festival in Dublin was one of our biggest highlights of 2018. We’re pleased to have this newspaper as a souvenir, featuring interviews with all the speakers and a beautiful cover illustration made especially for OFFSET by Chris Ware (who even signed our copy after his talk!)

Nocturne Workshop

Nocturne Workshop lamps are designed and built by Simon Day in Manchester. Creative studio Modern Designers created this newspaper to introduce the range of simple, midcentury-inspired lamps at Clerkenwell Design Week. All the product photography was shot on film and paired with the tactility of newsprint the catalogue reflects the handmade quality of Day's lamps.

Mathilde Karrer portfolio

Photographer Mathilde Karrer's gothic still lives are paired with text from Wagner’s opera Der Ring des Nibelungen in this sleek, dramatic portfolio. Designed by Marick Baars.

Pitch

Pitch was a 3-day event in Old Spitalfields Market, organised by design students from Camberwell College of Arts, that imagined how design might respond to the changing shape of public spaces. We love the playful illustrations in this newspaper created by first year students Cara Watson, Lena Yokoyama, Mona Neilson, Sam Moore, Patrick Thomas and Syzmon Pajka.

Maya & Cody wedding programme

Zine collectors Maya and Cody created this newspaper programme for their wedding in March. With charming illustrated details by print designer Maya, it's got all the practical info guests need for the day plus a massive maze, just for fun.

The Warp and Weft of Memory

This newspaper was published as a part of "The Warp and Weft of Memory", an exhibition and online narrative exploring the wardrobe of Dutch artist Gisèle van Waterschoot van der Gracht. Combining writing, photography, and illustrations, artist Renée Turner reflects on Gisèle’s belongings, the intimacy of the closet, and how its content reflects her life before, during, and after the war. Designed by Cristina Cochior, the newspaper folds out into posters showing Gisèle’s clothes and was available at the exhibition at Castrum Peregrini in Amsterdam.

60 ans Hervé

This lovely 60th birthday newspaper was made by French entrepreneur and baker Pierre-Antoine Arlot to celebrate his father, Hervé. “We didn't want to be nostalgic but rather highlight moments that make him such a beautiful person,” says Pierre-Antoine, who organised old family photos by character trait: bon vivant, trailvelleur (worker) and aventurier (adventurer).

Objects of Love

For this year’s Biennale Interieur in Belgium, Connie Hüsser, a designer for Vitra, curated 45 objects marked by unusual details for the exhibition Objects with Love. This broadsheet poster, designed by creative studio Unfolded, shows all Hüsser’s finds— from an egg-shaped salt shaker to bookends inspired by metamorphic rocks—at a glance, and pleasingly grouped by colour.

The Wing Midterms broadsheet

To make sure members would “show up at the ballots inspired, informed and ready”, women’s club The Wing printed this broadsheet ahead of the 2018 midterm election. It’s a simple but powerful piece of print, featuring a wonderful illustration by Kelly Thorn on the cover.

Lucy: A Good Dog

The world lost a good dog this year. David H. Taylor created this newspaper in memory of his family's black lab, Lucy, who made many friends at David's psychiatry practice in California during her 15-year life. "I’m a lifelong obituary reader, so telling her story in that way seemed a natural fit to mark her passing properly," says David, who left copies in the waiting room at his office for patients to read. "She greeted everyone at work and is missed by many people from various walks of life."

An Ode To Potato Waffles

An Ode To Potato Waffles is pretty self-explanatory: design student Beth Wilson printed this tabloid with “the sole aim to praise the under-appreciated waffly, carby goodness that is potato waffles.” Created as part of a university project, the zine showcases a bespoke typeface based on the grid of a potato waffle.

Blackletter Specimen

Inspired by the gothic masthead of French newspaper Le Monde, design student Marysia Cebula created the “modern and feminine” typeface Sense Blackletter. “I wanted it to be very sexy and bold,” Cebula says of this newspaper type specimen, which features vintage portraits of Susan Sarandon and Grace Jones shot by photographer Chris Von Wangenheim.

Yam and Other Hard Food

Yam and Other Hard Food is “a love note....to self” with text by artist Georgina Johnson, who works under the name Saint Lov’ie, and photography by Adama Jalloh. Produced as part of NOW Gallery’s exhibition "Another England: Human Stories", the zine is a collection of “wranglings with the contemporary black British experience.” The juxtaposition of Jalloh’s tender images with Johnson’s powerful, and sometimes painful, words is what makes this project so special.

Lecture in Progress – Issue 4

Lecture in Progress is a resource for creatives that aims to demystify the day-to-day workings of the creative industry. Twice a year they publish a newspaper featuring some of the most candid and inspiring interviews published on the site—like illustrator Sophy Hollington explaining how she made linocuts for The New Yorker or directing duo Us sharing behind-the-scenes details from a Harry Styles music video.

(Design agency Kaleido Grafik talked to us about redesigning the newspaper earlier this year.)

Vitra – Where to Work Better

“We love chairs, we even built a museum for them,” says furniture company Vitra in this guide to better work spaces. “But the human body is not made to stay seated for most of the day.” Here they offer a look at unconventional offices—from the Eames Office, where one employee was given a raise for learning how to juggle oranges, to designer Jonathan Olivares’ roving “workations” at different libraries around the world.

Footnotes

All the shoes that are fit to print—including a pair made for sheep—in this catalogue for the Footnotes exhibition at the London College of Fashion. Designed by Åbäke in one of our favourite palettes: black ink on salmon newsprint.

GDFS Young & Powerful

Part of Graphic Design Festival Scotland, "Young & Powerful" is a national poster competition for young people aged 8 - 26. Out of over 1,500 entries, 80 designs were selected for exhibition at The Lighthouse in Glasgow and they're all showcased in this bright mini catalogue, which visitors could take home from the show.

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