In the center, a pink lotus blossom stands out from the picture, along with a golden dragon, lush green rice terraces, and in the background, the soft blue of the sky. Embark on a short journey to Vietnam and learn more about the choice of motifs and the production process of the new KURZ wall calendar 2024.
According to tradition, a different country decorates our elaborately designed and decorated KURZ calendar every year. It is no coincidence that Vietnamese motifs were chosen for the 2024 finishing. Find out why in this article.
The unique beauty of Vietnamese flora served as an inspiration for various calendar motifs. The lotus flower, the central motif, can be found in lakes and ponds all over the country. After sunset, the flowers close to open again the next morning. Also known as “the flower of life”, it represents purity, commitment, optimism, and the ability to preserve the country’s unique traditions in the face of great adversity. Thus, the lotus flower reflects the soul of Vietnamese culture. The flowers can have many different colors, which are attributed different meanings.
What image do you have in your mind when you think of Vietnam? Perhaps the lush green rice terraces? As the world’s leading rice producer, rice cultivation is deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture. Between majestic mountains, man-made terraces blend harmoniously into the landscape, as depicted in the leaf below the lotus flower calyx. In other leaves symmetrically arranged around the lotus petals, green floral patterns and ornaments decorate the calendar page. Finally, in the heart of the lotus flower, nature blends with architecture.
Tradition meets modernity: Vietnam still has a multitude of cultural traditions that merge with modern life. This is especially evident in the local architecture. In the Vietnamese province of Lào Cai, the Bich Van Thien Tu temple sits on the top of the highest mountain in Indochina, the Fansipan. At the heart of the lotus flower on the calendar page is the famous watchtower of the temple complex. The temple complex was built according to traditional Vietnamese pagoda architecture and attracts countless tourists and believers year after year. Opposed to this is the modern architecture of the future: Landmark 81 is a gigantic skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City and, at 461.2 meters, the tallest building in Vietnam. In the illustration on the right edge of the calendar page, it glows majestically against the dark night sky. The building offers a fantastic view over the nearby Saigon River and the city.
What’s more, the Vietnamese dragon also shapes the country’s culture. The highly symbolically charged creature, which stands out in gold in the upper right corner of the calendar page, comes from myths of the ancient Vietnamese people. The dragon represents ‘mưa thuận gió hòa’, which means ‘favorable weather’, in this case rain, which is essential for a bountiful harvest. The dragon also stands for the power of the emperor, and symbolizes the prosperity and the strength of the nation.
The color palette of the calendar ranges from white and pastel pink to rich pink and intense red, as well as from soft blue to lush green tones. Here, the contours of the lotus petals and the calendar numbers were applied by cold transfer with ALUFIN® KPS Slim and then overprinted to give them a golden shimmer. The sepals glow strikingly in a strong red with LUXOR® 392. Moreover, the color choice of the country's silhouette in the lower right corner incorporates the bright red of the Vietnamese flag. In the center of the image, the flower stamp embossed in LUMAFIN® 760 Pink attracts attention. The semi-transparent LUMAFIN® used for this gives a glimpse of one of the typical Vietnamese pagodas. But the calendar page impresses not only visually. In terms of haptics, KURZ has also demonstrated with various embossings what an enhancing effect relief contours can have. The gold embossed details such as the KURZ logo, the year with border, the dragon at the top right, the star from the national flag, and the contours of the petals were implemented with LUXOR® 385, one of the typical KURZ gold tones.
The finishing process was carried out in five successive steps: First, the outlines and the calendar element were printed using cold transfer with ALUFIN®. In the next step, the flower stamp of the lotus flower was embossed in pink with LUMAFIN® 760. This was followed by two embossings with LUXOR® 392: The surface of the red sepals was finished with micro embossing and the silhouette of the country with flat embossing. The surface in the interior also received a relief contour. In the fourth step, the gold embossing was carried out with LUXOR® 385: The KURZ logo was embossed while the year and the star were flat raised. The flower stamp, the border of the year, and the dragon were round embossed. The flower stamp stands out not only visually but also due to the haptic effects created by the fine L801-050 nano embossing. In the fifth step, the large dragon image on the left, the clouds, and the dots inside the lotus flower were decorated via blind embossing.
Stamping technology from KURZ subsidiary H+M was used for all embossing. The finishing processes used, such as cold transfer and hot stamping, are just a small part of the broad portfolio we offer at LEONHARD KURZ.
Are you interested in our finishing solutions and stamping techniques? We would be happy to advise you. Simply contact us at sales@kurz.de. We are looking forward to your inquiry!
With the Vietnam theme of our new wall calendar, we want to pay tribute to our new production site. On September 8, 2023, our new plant opened in the Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh near the metropolis of Quy Nhon. Production will commence here in 2024. This will strengthen our presence in the Asian region, in addition to our sites in China and Malaysia. Would you like to learn about the latest KURZ production site? You can find more information in our press release.
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