MAP OUT A NEW DESIGN The Mile Marker dot-graph memo books were inspired by Jim Coudal’s love of transit maps and highway signs. But the Field Notes designers didn’t just snap a few photos of highway signs for their inspiration. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has this huge thick book.hundreds of pages of very specific instructions on the lettering on traffic signs, the colors and all of that,” says Bedell. “We got really deep into that.” Founders of the Field Notes Brand: Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners and Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Company. made from “Domtar Lynx® Opaque Smooth 60lb text ‘White,’ with a fine, 1-color application of ‘Horizon Mist Gray’ soy-based Saphira ink.” In the mock-up, to mimic the luminescence of traffic signs the designers used reflective tape for the lettering. Then came Meitzler’s search for the right material that could be used in place of the tape in the printing process. “There wasn’t really anything out there, so we went with a holographic foil that gives the same effect,” says Bedell. The bright covers are stamped with holographic Crown Foil so that, as their website says, “they’re easy to spot in the beams of your headlights.” BE FANATICAL ABOUT DETAILS Field Notes fans want to soak up every detail of the design and production of their memo books, so the company site proudly announces that the Mile Marker books are “bound with a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270 5-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer & Rima RS 10S in-line stacker, with appreciation to Samuel Slocum, George W. McGill and William J. Brown, the ‘Founding Fathers of the Staple.’” Also among the list of product specifications is the fact that the books are “The Field Notes team is obsessive about paper,” says Thomas Meitzler, Senior Vice President of Sales at Lake County Press. “They test multiple pens on the paper to ensure the writability.” So why the Lynx® Opaque Ultra Smooth? “The runnability of the sheet is fantastic,” Meitzler says. “It runs very well through the press. It’s easy to get and it’s made in the United States.” As a subscriber perk to go along with the Mile Marker books, the company created what they call “an old-school gas-station-style, difficult-to-refold-properly” Field Notes National Highway Map. Cameron Booth, graphic designer and owner of the TransitMaps website, designed the map, which features a colorful diagram of the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways. “That was another fun time of writing, looking up highway information and digging into lots and lots of history,” Bedell recalls. As with all Field Notes products, the Mile Marker memo books and maps are created with USA-made paper and supplies. “It’s essential for our products,” says Bedell. “We’ve been bragging that our books are made 6 6
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