Domtar Teams with Hatch Show Print® to Boost AIGA’S Design for Good

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) February 8, 2012 - Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) has collaborated with Hatch Show Print^® to create a limited edition poster that supports AIGA’s “Design for Good” initiative – an effort to recognize and support pro bono social engagement design projects.

The “Good Design Still Matters” poster is part of Domtar’s commitment to graphic communications and its award-winning “Paper Because” campaign, which showcases the importance of paper in our daily lives. “The ‘Good Design Still Matters’ limited edition poster is a special project for Domtar, because this single printed piece embodies so much of what the ‘Paper Because’ campaign is all about,” said Lewis Fix, Vice-President of Sustainable Business and Brand Management at Domtar. “Domtar had the chance to work directly with Hatch Show Print, a legendary letterpress printer that traces its roots back to 1879, on a project that will help support the efforts of today’s graphic design professionals to make the world a better place.”   As part of the “Good Design Still Matters” project, Domtar is making a cash donation to the AIGA’s “Design for Good” initiative. The company will also distribute copies of the limited edition poster – which is printed on Domtar’s Cougar Natural 80lb. cover stock – to graphic designers attending the HOW Conference in Boston from June 21^st to 25^th.   Hatch Show Print is one of the oldest working letterpress shops in the United States. Throughout its history, the company created iconic posters for vaudeville and circus performers; auto races, boat races and rodeos; and a range of musical acts that include Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Elvis, B.B. King and the Rolling Stones. Hatch Show Print is part of the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum. It has thousands of historic pieces of type and woodblock art that it still uses – often on Domtar’s Cougar paper – to produce approximately 600 letterpress jobs annually on hand-powered roller presses.   “The Hatch Brothers are quoted as saying that ‘Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms’,” said Jim Sherraden, manager of Hatch Show Print. “We firmly believe good design is more powerful than ever, and a project like this that brings a printed poster together with a great cause is proof.”   “‘Design for Good’ is more than just pro bono design projects. It is a broader movement to encourage and enable designers to bring their creative problem solving to the assistance of their communities as they approach community and social problems,” according to Richard Grefé, executive director of AIGA. “‘Design for Good’ offers a means for creative professionals to play a central role among concerned citizens, demonstrating their commitment, talent and leadership to power change in ways that are important to others in their communities.”   AIGA, the professional association for design, is the world’s largest and most influential organization for communication design. For nearly 100 years, AIGA has responded to the changing contexts of design practice. AIGA oversees a network of more than 22,000 professional designers, hundreds of design educators, 66 chapters and 200 student groups. Through a range of programs, AIGA demonstrates the value of design and supports designers across the arc of their careers.   DOMT20947