Neenah Paper develops new Environment Papers promotion 'Creative (un)Blocks', a collection of samples, suggestions to help designers tap creativity

Kendall Sinclair

ALPHARETTA, Georgia , December 5, 2012 (press release) – Everyone has hit the wall, drawn a blank, been stuck in a rut or just plain stumped. Throughout a career, no designer can avoid such blocks; they can be encountered at any time, in any environment. Neenah Paper has developed a new ENVIRONMENT® Papers promotion titled “Creative (un)Blocks,” a collection of inspiring samples and suggestions to help designers break through these inevitable slumps and take their creativity to the next level.

Neenah partnered with Josh Chen, principal and creative director of Chen Design Associates in San Francisco, to conceptualize and develop the original artwork in Creative (un)Blocks, which provides designers with actual printed matter they can turn to when doubting one’s work and looking for inspiration. Today’s fast-paced creative climate has designers juggling a growing number of project components while still being expected to deliver top quality work time after time. The piece allows designers to both see and feel how the ENVIRONMENT brand can naturally create design opportunities in a unique and sustainable way.

“When designing Creative un(Blocks), we considered our own struggles as designers and the many hats we’re asked to wear throughout the day,” Chen said. “The final product is a piece that offers numerous approaches to breaking through the blocks that any designer might encounter during the creative process.”

The 8x10 inch sized paper promotion breaks into four smaller books, each representing the various environments where designers find themselves immersed during the day. Using visual and copy prompts on nearly 150 pages, the books explore these environments and ways for designers to push through their creative blocks:
Study: Researching the who, what, where, when and why of a project
Play: Exploring new perspectives when creating
Connect: Communicating with others in new ways
Make: Turning a new idea into a tangible masterpiece

“Creative (un)Blocks is pure inspiration,” said Tom Wright, senior director of advertising and design for Neenah Paper. “Not only can it guide you out of an idea slump, but it shows you how premium post-consumer recycled colors, textures and weights can be an inspiring and foundational part of the creative process.”

ENVIRONMENT Papers from Neenah, which were the first premium post-consumer matching Writing, Text and Cover papers, are available in 20 colors. The ENVIRONMENT brand offers four sustainable fiber options ranging in recycled content from 30 percent to 100 percent post-consumer fiber, as well as papers made with bamboo and bagasse. All papers are FSC® certified, meet the mark of sustainable forestry and are made with 100 percent renewable energy.

Against the Grain, Neenah’s blog, will also host a Creative (un)Blocks interview series where designers can share their own tips, such as which environments inspire them.

For a copy of the Creative (un)Blocks promotion, contact a local Neenah Paper representative or a Neenah Paper authorized distributor. For more information about ENVIRONMENT Papers, visit www.neenahpaper.com/environment or call (800) 558-5061.


About Neenah Paper

Neenah Paper (NYSE: NP) is an innovative leader in the creation and manufacturing of premium, specialty and sustainable papers used for premium writing, text, cover, private watermarks and specialty needs. The Neenah signature portfolio includes market leading brands such as CLASSIC®, ENVIRONMENT® and CRANE® Papers, and in 2012 the company added ASTROBRIGHT® and combined SUNDANCE® Papers with ROYAL Brands to form the new ROYAL SUNDANCE™ Paper Collection. The company also produces envelopes in thousands of styles.

Neenah is committed to developing relevant mobile and online technologies including the Neenah Paper Cabinet™ for Desktop tool and the new Neenah Cabinet™ for iPad app, placing online swatchbooks, paper colors and more right at a designers’ fingertips.

With multiple manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, prime importance is also placed on recycled and alternative fiber products through the Neenah Green initiative. Visit www.neenahpaper.com for more information or call (800) 558-5061. Follow Neenah Paper on Twitter: @neenahpaper; subscribe to the Neenah Facebook page; follow Neenah on Pinterest; or visit Neenah’s blog, Against the Grain.

About Chen Design Associates

Chen Design Associates is an internationally recognized, award-winning branding, communications and design firm. The studio partners with a wide range of clients, from start-up ventures to established corporations, local to global, artistic to analytic. For more than 20 years, CDA has been helping clients find a voice to express the genuine and the necessary, the illuminating and the unexpected. CDA has been recognized by Communication Arts, AIGA, Type Directors Club, HOW International Design and ReBrand 100, among others. For more information on the studio, contact CDA by phone (415.896.5338) or email, follow CDA on Twitter, check out the CDA Facebook page, or visit CDA’s website.

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