Skagen Blue – a book crafted with the same care as the jewelry

In early January, jeweler Brian Bach Mouritsen approached us with a vision:

To create an exclusive coffee-table book that would tell the story of the Skagen Blue jewelry piece—from the initial ideas to the finished masterpiece.

The result

The result is an impressive hardcover book in an extra-large format of 30 × 40 cm, with 68 carefully crafted pages.

To ensure the best possible conditions for both the jewelry photographs and the magnificent nature scenes, several different paper stocks have been used throughout the book. Each type of paper has been carefully selected to highlight the colors, details, and atmosphere of the images, and all images have been individually processed and optimized for the specific paper stock on which they are printed.

The cover enhances the book’s exclusive look with a soft-touch lamination, partial glossy UV varnish, and an elegant blue foil stamping that complements the jewelry’s distinctive blue hues. The blue details are repeated on the headband as well as the front and back endpapers, creating a cohesive and harmonious whole.

In the middle of the book, the reader is surprised by a fold-out page that unfolds into an impressive panorama measuring a full 120 cm. This unique design—combined with the book’s large format—required extensive manual bookbinding work, carried out in collaboration with Weber & Poulsen in Svendborg.

The book has been produced in an exclusive edition of 300 copies.

Johnsen has been part of the project since the initial ideas were conceived.

Throughout the entire process, Martin Hougaard has served as a graphic design consultant and sounding board for both the photographer and the jeweler.

Together, they have explored various paper collections, foil samples, and creative production options, which have formed the basis for the material choices and details that give Skagen Blue its distinctive look.

Examples of books

Are you thinking about publishing a book? Take a look at various examples of finished books below and learn more about how Johnsen handles book production.