75 years

parry field

Celebration

In 2023, Christchurch firm Parry Field Lawyers celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Partner Steven Moe gathered historical documents and interviewed former staff, partners and family members – including the wives of both founding partners – to create this comprehensive record and story of the firm’s history.

An inviting experience

Parry Field wanted a book that people would really read, and that looked inviting.

Steven provided us his manuscript, alongside reference documents and a library of images.

We started by editing the manuscript, shaping it into distinct eras, forming a coherent story, and giving feedback on what should and should not make the final cut.

Then came the proofreading and fact-checking. We verified every name, date and reference, going the extra mile to find a few obscure missing references.

Historically modern

Then came the fun part: layout and design.

The layout is image-first, giving precedence and priority to the photography and scans of historical documents.

We opted for a wide-format, coffee-table-style book in full colour.

After carefully selecting images, we placed the most important ones in frames, which delineated them and gave the images, which were often dated, significance in an otherwise clean, modern layout.

Assets developed

The soft, semi-gloss book feels great in the hand, and looks as good on a bookshelf as it does sitting on a waiting room table.

It also features a unique detail, a physical indentation on page 12, made by a device that imprints founder Glyn Parry’s ‘s seal on paper. Steven Moe found the device, made in the 1950s, during his research.