A highly sophisticated design and advanced finishing techniques were used to make Iggesund Paperboard’s 2020 season’s greetings card, designed by the Marianne Guély Studio in Paris. The card’s message, however, is a simple one reflecting nature and people growing together at a time when this is needed more than ever.

This year’s season’s greetings card from Iggesund Paperboard was designed by Marianne Guély, who creates everything from exclusive stationery and packaging, to elaborate artwork and scenography – with paper as their core material.

Illustrated with small garlands of people and the rings of a tree, her understated, yet elegant greetings card symbolises man and nature as one. “Man is like a walking tree,” says Marianne Guély. “Our feet are our roots, our anchor. The tree’s lifelines reflect our emotions and our link to the world and nature.”

Marianne Guély’s card incorporates multiple layers of intrigue in its sophisticated design. In addition to a layer of hot foil, tiny, delicate holes have been punched into the card to allow light to shine through it. This was achieved with Delta Neo’s high-precision micro drilling technique, a traditional mechanical process that has more recently been applied to a variety of substrates, including paperboard.

Through micro drilling, Delta Neo reproduces designs, logos and pictures using precision drills that are as small as 0.3 millimetres. “The technique offers a beautiful way to decorate and there is no burning, smell or discolouration, so the paperboard stays white,” says Pauline Gatineau, responsible for the company’s micro-drilling department. “We used Invercote Creato 380 g/m2, which is smooth and easy to work with. We will definitely use it for future projects as well.”

Invercote Creato is designed for both packaging and graphic design applications. It offers outstanding aesthetic printing properties on both sides, which are fully coated and have a silk finish. Thanks to its composition of multiple layers of solid bleached primary fibres, Invercote Creato has a superior strength and toughness compared to board grades that contain mechanical or recycled fibres or even single-ply bleached primary fibre board.

Iggesund has been sending season’s greetings cards for more than 20 years and the annual tradition creates a buzz each time, says Rebecka Almeflo Sjölund, Iggesund’s technical product information manager, who was responsible for the project this year. “It was a lot of fun working with the season’s greetings card and seeing what designers can do with our paperboard,” she says. “We send out the cards to strengthen our relationships and also inspire people to use our paperboard, encourage interesting design, and challenge what can be done with it. This year it feels even more important to keep our relationships alive when we can’t meet in person.”