Greetings and Birthday Wishes from Lawrence Azerrad

Happy Birthday!

Grammy award-winning designer and creative director Lawrence Azerrad says he was excited to be part of the collection of designers who helped create the "A Year’s Worth of Greetings" promotion to celebrate the re-release of Neenah’s ENVIRONMENT® and ROYAL SUNDANCE® Papers.

“Greeting cards are distinctly connected to imparting an expression of care from one person to another. Quality in materials, craft, paper, design, and of course, what is written in the card comprise a little package of authenticity that can’t be shared digitally in the same way. It’s why I was inspired to bring a little piece of art to each card for the project,” said Azerrad.

These Alexander Girard ribbons designed for Herman Miller in 1957 were a major inspiration for Azerrad’s birthday card design. “Alexander Girard was a master. My vision was to merge ribbons and celebration in a design-like way.”

Of his inspired design, Azerrad says “The overlapping transparency in color reinforces the sense of movement. The ‘ribbons’ cut a geometric pattern, but the overlapping color imparts the curl of the ribbon, the spring of the birthday cheer. Whatever the age, birthdays deserve spring and bounce. The least we can do is spring and bounce with style.”

Azerrad says the spirit of his birthday card design and his second greeting card design came from the same place. “It’s special and fun to get a note in the mail. I wanted to be inspired by art that reflected this.”

“I’ve always loved this LP package from The Roland Kirk Quartet. The package has these wonderful die cuts and folded sheets of paper inside. But one doesn’t even need to look at the inside to take spark from it. It is the use of bold color, the circular rhythm, and the balance between the action in the graphics and the negative space that inspired me when designing the blank card for the collection,” says Azerrad.

All 24 cards and envelopes in A Year’s Worth of Greetings feature papers from the refreshed ENVIRONMENT® and ROYAL SUNDANCE® Papers. These two established brands now work side by side within one portfolio: The Naturals.

Contact your Neenah sales rep to get a copy of The Naturals, the new, shop-by-attribute swatchbook featuring ENVIRONMENT® and ROYAL SUNDANCE® Papers, or the "A Year’s Worth of Greetings" promotion.

Lawrence Azerrad is a Grammy award winning, Los Angeles–based graphic designer and creative director. Azerrad founded LADdesign, a graphic design studio specializing in design for music, culture, and arts experiences that result in impactful creative. LADdesign is also developing initiatives focused on Designing the Future of Music.™

Since 2001, LADdesign has created graphic design and comprehensive visual identity systems for clients such as Sting, Universal Music Group, UC San Diego, USC Roski School of Art and Design, Berklee College of Music, Blue Note Records, Silversun Pickups, Esperanza Spalding, five albums for Wilco, The Beach Boys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, WeTransfer, and UCLA.

Lawrence is the author of Supersonic: The Design and Lifestyle of Concorde published by Prestel. As a producer and creative director of the Grammy Award-winning The Voyager Golden Record 40th Anniversary Edition, Lawrence worked on the record-breaking boxed set that commemorates the original Voyager Interstellar message.

Azerrad has spoken on design and inspiration at TEDxUCLA, for AIGA, and at colleges and universities nationwide.

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