International Paper approached us about creating a photo book to celebrate its mill and the employees who work there to manufacture its premier product, Accent Opaque. Located near the New Hampshire border, in Ticonderoga, New York, it is situated on 6 million acres of “forever wild,” protected land.

We started by writing key words and studying hundreds of archival photos in order to structure a narrative. Historical research revealed that Native Americans named this land, a passageway between Lake George and Lake Champlain, Ticonderoga. The literal translation from the Iroquois is “the land between the waters,” a phrase later interpreted as “the land between the lakes.” These words became our title, and the idea of gently lapping waves inspired the cover design.

In addition to manufacturing high quality paper products, International Paper has a deep commitment to sustainability. We proposed that the book connect the natural environment with corporate strategy and paper manufacturing. When the narrative examines the manufacturing process, the book also demonstrates various print production techniques including die cutting, coatings and printing on colored paper. A digital section is included so that the reader can compare stocks and reproduction methods.

Aaron Kotowski, a professional photographer, was commissioned to photograph the factory, the manufacturing process and employees at work. We also tapped into the mill’s collection of nature images taken by its employees. These were images of the forest in early spring, snow-covered fields, river tableaus and wildlife. The client asked us to curate a portion of this collection as way to include employees in the collaboration.

The publication is gloriously tactile. The book jacket design is executed as a full sheet blind deboss. Each page is a double thick French fold. The production section includes a variety of Accent Opaque papers: colored stock with four-color reproduction; colored stock with a halftone and die cut. Another page is printed with four-color process with in line soft touch aqueous and spot UV gloss coating on a second pass. Every leaf invites the reader to hold and touch it—it is a demonstration of the power of the physical object in a virtual world.