Nirvana CPH x Studio Blackburn: UEFA Euro 2016

Having produced their beautifully designed wall charts for the last 14 years (one for every World Cup and European Championship) the collaborative pairing decided that it was time to change things up and bring something new, or not so new, to table. 2016’s wall charts pay homage to the Panini stickers that every self-respecting football fan has dedicated time and money to at some point or another. Regularly found in the pockets of grubby school uniforms, Panini’s instantly recognisable stickers form a major part of the youth sub-culture that football has spawned. 

Paul Blackburn, unimpressed with the quality of the freebie charts dished out by the British press whenever a major tournament took place, decided to design his own. After a few years mulling over the idea, he turned to Nirvana CPH for its expertise in paper stocks and production techniques, and the first chart hit the presses for the 2002 World Cup.

A product of Paul approaching Nirvana CPH about the project following his continued disappointment at the quality of the freebie charts dished out by the British press whenever a major tournament took place, the pair’s nostalgically endearing refresh of Panini’s famous stickers is a glorious reminder that design impacts everything we love. Celebrating the start of Euro 2016 and the seventh installation of this series, the wall charts will be available at Nirvana CPH’s launch party on Thursday 2 June, which will revolve around a live screening of England v Portugal in the final warm-up game before the real competition starts.

It’s always fascinating to get to know the creative process behind projects we love, so we asked Nirvana CPH a few questions about bringing the beloved wall charts to life.

From a creative production perspective, we always like to experiment with different materials and processes to keep the wall charts looking fresh and exciting. It’s an in-house project that combines our work and our passion and allows us to express ourselves, so we always take the time to explore, discuss and test different options and combinations. That’s a hugely important part of the production process for us, as we always want the finished article to meet the high standards we set ourselves.

One of the central tenets of wall chart design is interaction, since the very concept invites you to write, scribble and draw on it as much, or as little, as you like. We liked the idea that this year’s instalment could rethink and subtly alter that relationship; that’s why we’ve added an extra element, in the form of circular stickers that provide a graphic representation of the colours of each participating nation. For people that choose to apply their stickers to the wall chart, the effect will be to establish a sea of colour that serves as a record of the tournament’s twists and turns. On the other hand, there are bound to be some people who want to preserve the wall chart in its cleanest form. For us, one of the exciting things will be seeing the different ways in which people use and maintain the wall chart, and how that’s affected by the sticker packs we’ll be giving away alongside them.

Once the concept is in place, it doesn’t take long for everything to come together. The nice thing about Nirvana’s relationship with Studio Blackburn is that they have confidence in our expertise in creative production and know that we can bring their design ideas to life. At the same time, we’re well aware of their excellent capabilities as a graphics studio. That speeds things up a lot. A few meetings to hash out the concept and its implications from a materials perspective, followed by the finalising of the design and some testing of print techniques, means that the whole process takes only a matter of weeks.