Using a specific paper product from Neenah Paper, UW – Stevens Point design student Jon King is being featured by the company for his work on a paper promotion project at the America Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Design Camp.

While at design camp, a representative of Neenah Paper took notice of the project King was working on, which used the Sundance paper line that the company produces. King created a poetry book featuring poems by Sylvia Plath and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as photographs he took of his sister, who modeled for the project.

“I chose a certain line of paper and had to accent the qualities of that product,” King said. “So I took photos and really wanted to show the grain of the paper and how well photos are printed on that specific line of paper.”

Photographs within the book feature a human subject that is then textured over images of the outdoors. Each of the poems and paragraphs are paired together to emphasize a specific quality of the paper that King used.

Neenah Paper met with King at the AIGA design camp. They were looking to feature student work on their company website. King explained that the experience is something students do not often get to do.

“They are my favorite paper company. The paper is spectacular. They have a really good product that I enjoy using,” King said. “I haven’t gotten to work with a team like this before because as a designer it doesn’t happen very often.”

King produced the entire project himself. He designed it, produced the insides and bound every part of the project. His goal is to stay in contact with Neenah Paper, and he is interested in working with the company again in the future.

“Neenah featured me on their blog, but it’s something more than just a blog post to me. It’s publicity,” King said. “There are people from Italy and from different places around the country that are looking at and commenting on my work online. I’m making connections and a possible client base. It’s like getting published.”

King went on to explain that the world of design is splitting and changing. The split is between print and web design. As a design student, he is interested in focusing on design used in the publishing industry and using design as a means to brand a product to make it more recognizable.

As a freelance designer, King has designed personal journals, creative books on different topics and, of course, his most recent work for Neenah Paper. In the future, King hopes to write his own poetry and design another book in the same fashion to add to his portfolio and personal collection.

“Through this experience, I think I’ve really showed off my skills as a print designer,” King said. “I took something that was bare bones and nothing to something complete. It’s something that can be picked up and enjoyed multiple times, and that’s rewarding for a designer to see.”