Accent Opaque Portfolio Exchange

International Paper is one of the world’s leading producers of fiber-based packaging, pulp, and paper. Accent Opaque is its premium paper line, beloved by designers, printers, and paper merchants for its ability to keep colors true with enhanced whiteness and brightness.

If there’s one thing the Accent Opaque team loves, it’s events. For HOW Design Live 2020, the company partnered with Trekk to plan a portfolio exchange between artists, which we'd show in the booth at the event, gallery-style. Of course, when the event was postponed due to the pandemic, we had to pivot and find a way to bring people together even through physical separation. Thus, the virtual Accent Opaque Portfolio Exchange was born.

Six artists with unique styles were invited to participate in the exchange, and they agreed to produce an edition of prints using Accent Opaque's RE-30 paper, a 30% post-consumer fiber uncoated sheet. At the end, every artist would walk away with a full limited-edition set. The exchange theme we chose is a concept that’s central to International Paper’s company values: sustainability.

The artists created thoughtful work dealing with questions like, “What nourishment do we take from our natural world?” and “What is our collective responsibility?” In a time when our interactions with others and many of our normal outdoor activities have been significantly curtailed, these questions take on even greater significance.

Following the initial exchange between the 6 artists, we used the original prints to produce a set of 6 unique postcards and invited Accent fans to request their complimentary set. Even though we as a society were still socially distancing, we could still use these postcards to connect from afar. What's more, those who shared a photo of their postcards on social media were entered to win one of the 25 limited edition full-size prints.