98 BEN WEEKS | SOAPBOX DESIGN COMMUNICATIONS
With an ominous cover reading “Bad Words” in bold red type, Pen Canada’s 2005-06 Annual Report commands immediate attention. The organization —known for assisting writers around the world who have been oppressed for voicing their opinions—commissioned design guidance from Soapbox, along with illustrator Ben Weeks, whose loose drawings complement the thought-provoking words in the annual.

Soapbox has designed Pen Canada’s annual reports since the mid-’90s, but had worked with Weeks just once before. Their second collaboration was welcome: “Soapbox are great people with oodles of talent. It’s a joy working with them; we can almost communicate telepathically now,” says Weeks. The illustrator is well known for his expressive, improvised fonts, hand-drawn using a partial blind contour method that, he believes, “makes the type more accessible or human somehow.” The visceral forms that Weeks creates are intended to dissolve the boundaries between font and form. “My old college teacher, Paul Dallas, said my illustrations for Pen help save people’s lives,” he says. “The drawings attract attention to Pen, which leads to increased support and hopefully less writers jailed or executed for their reporting and ideas.” Weeks discloses that, after the annual report was released, he received an e-mail stating, “I condemn you and your client.” He forwarded the message to Pen and they responded, “Welcome to our world.” by Zoe Weisman