Friesens Corporation recently received national recognition for its work.
The Altona company received three Canadian Printing Awards, which celebrate excellence in print innovation, environmental leadership, and craftsmanship across Canada’s printing industry.
Friesens received an honour for Best Print Project for the prairie region for Chasing Artwork, which showcases the work of artist Justin Currie. The company was also recognized in the category of Books – Softcover Offset as well as being a finalist for Best in Show.
In addition, Friesens was honoured in the category of Best Student Project of the Year – Industry for the In the Moment school yearbook.
Marketing manager Pamela Hiebert said the recognition is really exciting not only for them but especially for their customers.
“Part of it is the fact that we can celebrate the work that our customers are doing … to be able to produce quality work that wins awards but also to work with customers who provide work that is award winning, so it’s twofold.”
One of the standout features of Chasing Artwork is the creative use of foil stamping, not just as a title accent but as part of the artwork itself. Foil was integrated into the white spaces of the illustrations, adding movement and depth, and this foil interacts with animation-style drawings, making the cover feel dynamic.
“It’s really neat to work with someone who’s local and is award-winning,” said Hiebert. “It’s just a remarkable book in itself, when you take a look at the cover and the detailing in the foil stamping and the detailing in the artwork, and you put the package together.
“It’s really exciting to see not just a book that we produced but also that an artist would be recognized in such a way,” she added.
In the Moment was a school yearbook from Arlington, Texas, and Hiebert said it was a fun project as well.
The student-led project was lauded for capturing imagination and design innovation. The cover uses luminescent lamination with white opaque print for a bright, textured look, while the knockout treatment of the word “Moment” adds depth and the blind debossing of “In The” gives a subtle, elegant touch.
“These kids worked really hard to build pages that have unique designs for their yearbook,” said Hiebert. “You can see how they worked really hard to tell the story of their year and to really capture the essence of the culture of the school, especially for that particular year.”
Hiebert said these awards are more than just accolades, as they’re a reflection of their Friesen team’s passion for helping creators bring their stories to life, so it is always a rewarding process.
“We get lots of books that come through here. Some years there’s more than 5,000 titles,” she noted. “So to work with people who always strive towards this level of excellence is humbling. It’s humbling because they trust Friesens to produce the quality that they need, and I think that’s something that we as a company always understand.
“I’m proud to be part of a company that promotes that kind of excellence. We’re just trying to help them share their story with the world.”
