THE PURPLE POPPY

Have you heard of the purple poppy for Anzac Day? It honours the animals who also went to war.

For the thousands of horses that have carried our soldiers in conflicts since the Boer War, the WWII ‘paradogs’ that parachuted into enemy territory in preparation for the D-Day invasion, Simpson's donkey, and the dogs who've run messages across No Man's Land or sniffed out explosives in Afghanistan, the purple poppy honours these four-legged soldiers of our armed forces. You can wear it on its own or with your red poppy as you pause to remember the bravery and sacrifices made so we can live in peace.

The Department of Veteran Affairs has a page showing how to make your own red Anzac Day poppies from paper cupcake liners or you can use purple ones to remember our brave animals too.

Station-ery or -ary?

Stationery (writing materials) is one of those words many people have to pause before spelling because it’s so close to stationary (not moving)*.

Despite their entirely different meanings, both words have the same origin. Back in mediaeval times when other English craftspeople moved to wherever the work was, manuscript writers and illuminators decided to gather in one place. In 1403 they began the Stationers’ Guild in a large hall in the north of London where they set up their ‘stations’ and so became known as ‘stationers’, the goods they sold becoming known as ‘stationery’.

London’s Stationers’ Hall is a glorious building dating back to 1673 that still houses the Stationers’ Company. You can take a tour of it if you want. In superb British heritage fashion, they’ll give you a cup of tea too.

RESUABLE + RECYCLABLE

Instead of using adhesive tape, this innovative Nomadbox opens using Klingenberg’s Monozip closure mechanism that makes the box reusable.

Made from a wooden wedge and clever cut-outs in the cardboard, it can be quickly opened and resealed over 100 times without damaging the box. It’s also tamper-evident, secure and can be flattened with the box for storage. Being free from rubber-based adhesives makes this box also fully recyclable at end-of-life, contributing to higher reuse rates without relying on plastic or adhesives and lower energy required in its manufacture. 

The design won Packaging Europe’s Sustainability Awards 2025 (the Nobel Prize of sustainable packaging innovations) in the Pre-Commercialized Driving the Circular Economy category.

Paper, your most sustainable option.

HAPPY IS IN!

We came across US illustrator, Lindsey Made This, and love her colourful, on-trend style. Such whimsical, retro-inspired work using bold colours and designs evoke the feelgood response artists are big on creating this year for world-weary consumers.

It’s all part of the swing away from anything artificial or machine-made and towards a comforting human touch. We think Lindsey has nailed that and is a shiny example of what’s growing in popularity right now. Expect to see more of this style in the coming months.

You can see more of her delightful work at www.lindseymadethis.com and read more about what’s on trend for graphic design in our 2026 Design Trends free guide.

DESIGN, WEAR, recycle

Tasmanian artist Stephanie Reynolds has created a unique series of papermaking workshops as part of the exciting Universe of Paper event. The program culminates in an exhibition of participants' work and also a Gala Parade of high fashion wearable paper art from its international competition. Now in its twelfth year, artists were asked to design a wearable garment made from at least 80% paper for the Paper on Skin™ fashion competition, and participants could join the Universe of Paper Workshops to make paper creations from scratch that are then displayed at an exhibition of both events. It's a fabulous opportunity to get hands-on with a versatile, creative material that is easy to access and is doing the planet a favour too. The exhibition runs until the end of July. The Gala and Award Presentation is on 21 September. See the full image of the competition winner (pictured above) and other entries here.

Pack, display, recycle

Nestlé wanted a point of sale stand that would "draw eyeballs" but remain true to their environmental goals to be fully recyclable and also be strong enough to last well and accommodate the weight of their products. They opted for this fabulous Kombi-style, 100% cardboard construction display that packs flat for economical and fast shipping. Carla Bridge from Shop! ANZ, the not-for-profit industry body for retail merchandising, said, “I expect this is just the tip of the iceberg for Nestlé, who is also investing heavily in all elements of supply and logistics in regards to sustainability and packaging. Within the next five years, I anticipate that a larger percentage of the major brands will follow suit as it is important for their brand identity and customer engagement.” Nestlé is also rolling out packaging lines that have higher elements of paper to improve recyclability and reduce their waste footprint. 

WRAPPING IT UP FOR THE PLANET

With the need to reduce the use of plastics more urgent than ever, another good news item is the recent development of paper pallet wrap.

Along with compostable plastic and reusable canvas wraps now available, paper manufacturers have also launched plastic-free stretchy paper wrap (above) and expanding paper wrap (below).

Given that Australia alone expects its pallet wrap market to expand to 1.3 times its current size from 2023 to 2032, this is great news for the planet.

This wonderfully creative and clever book holds so much more than pages. The MET in New York wanted their The MET Experience book to be highly interactive. It includes coasters, a postcard, a cross-stitch embroidery pack, a tea bag pouch with teabag, a balloon, and temporary tattoos all packaged in a matching, zip-opening box. As if that's not enough fun packed into one book, there's also a page printed in photochromatic ink that reveals more to the image when it's placed in the sun. The challenge for their Canadian printer was how to bind so many elements into a book to make it all work. They chose Chicago screw binding (also known as binding screws or post screws) to keep everything intact while still giving it a cohesive, clean look.

Contact us if you need a clever product too. We have loads of ideas. 

Here's a fabulous example of how to use variable data printing, embossing, foil stamping, and custom die cutting to create a unique and memorable print product. The University of California San Francisco embossed the cover of their invitation to their Future of the Brain Summit with an image of a human brain then created a series of custom die cuts in each of the interior pages that communicate UCSF as a world leader in neuroscience. Their target market for this event was philanthropists so they chose a design that made brain health more accessible to the average person but still reflects their world standing. The invitation arrived in a classy box personally addressed to each recipient. The whole package utilised paper's qualities of discovery, layering and its tactile nature to make an immediate and lasting impact and send a personal message about how important the receiver is to the university.

We think it deserves its first-place win in the Invitations category of the 2023 PRINT Awards. 

If you're one of many people who tried out multiple designs as a child in your quest to make the perfect paper plane, you may like to hear it's still something the grown-ups are working on and getting impressive results too. Takuo Toda is the current time aloft world record holder. You can watch how to make his plane here. 

You'll also get your enthusiasm going reading about the massive paper planes being designed and tested in Japan. Their ambition is to launch one from the International Space Station. Read all about these pioneers here.

If you're after a world record, you'll need to keep your paper plane in the air for more than 29.2 seconds to break the time aloft record or 88.318m for the distance record. 

From wall to storybook

DLR Group and the North Kansas City Early Education Center cleverly combined print, interior design and gorgeous graphics to create a unique result.

The integrated design features bright graphics in each of their seven 'learning communities' that feature in the hardcover storybook given to each new child so they will be familiar with the environment on their first day of school. They are greeted by the story's central character when they arrive. 

The campaign won the 2023 PRINT Awards with a perfect score.

DESIGN SERVICE

The visual impact of professional quality graphic design is crucial to the success of all your marketing products.

Our designers are fast, creative and professional. We can add to your existing products or create a beautiful design from your ideas.

Glide Print supply all design work from simple tasks like getting your artwork ready for print to creating complex documents such as annual reports and marketing packages. We work closely with our clients to make sure your branding is consistent and the print quality is excellent across all your products.

All of our designers are based in Australia, we don’t outsource our work overseas. You receive personal attention from someone you can talk to and meet. It’s all part of Glide Print’s outstanding service to you.

Like all our products, we supply our design services at Glide Print’s competitive prices.