As much as I love the cuteness factor of baby announcements, I’m also drawn to announcements that eschew traditional baby graphics for something a bit different.  So I was thrilled when I laid eyes on these stunning baby announcements created by art director Mark Rawlins for the birth of his son Owen and letterpress printed by The Mandate Press.  Mark wanted to create something masculine for his little man, so he chose a black and gold color palette paired with a beautiful blind impression pattern.  So awesome.

From Mark: The biggest inspiration for this piece was Babies-R-Us.  Seriously.  While preparing for the Owen’s birth we, like just about everyone else, walked around that store filled to the brim with over produced, glossy, and often tasteless stuff.  I decided that I wanted to design a baby announcement counter to everything else in the world of babies.

In this case, I wanted the piece to be masculine, celebrating the birth of a little man.  That thought led me to use bold gold and black colors combined with the subtlety of a blind hit for the patterning, rather than the more typical childlike colors and themes.  We were so happy with how it turned out.  And, as always, the fine folks at The Mandate Press did a fantastic job. 

Thanks Mark!

Design: Mark Rawlins

Letterpress Printing: The Mandate Press

Photo Credits: 1 – 4 by Mark Rawlins, 5 by The Mandate Press