Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Future of Print

So many articles being published titled, "The Future of Print" or proclamations being made that, "PRINT IS DEAD!" These seem to only lead to reactions of one of two extremes - rigid defense that print is not going anywhere or demands for everyone to get with it and scrap the presses and move to digital-only models.

Does anyone consider the future of ALL printed stuff? In every "the future of print?" article I read, book people only think about books, magazine people only about magazines, newspapers only about newspapers. The business models are obviously different, but the method of production and distribution and consumption are the same. People can't see the forest for the pulped trees.

Monday, October 18, 2010

doodles from APHA conference

(tried posting this from the train yesterday and it just wasn't happening)

Here are some doodles drawn in my sketchbook during the lectures and panels while I was at the APHA conference in Washington DC this weekend. The lectures and discussions mostly focused on letterpress and bookarts.

It was interesting to attend a conference like this as an academic, while still feeling like a working professional. The way I think and feel about Printing (not printmaking) is in the context of making magazines, running jobs for design clients, and preparing my students to do the same. The idea that most of the folks at the conference seemed to have is one of printing in the context of rare books and fine arts and, in some cases, craft. Letterpress printing as a niche craft carried out by antiquarian enthusiasts trying to keep a dead technology alive. In the world of living technologies for printing; digital offset, web presses, etc., the technologies give way to newer methods out of necessity and cost-effectiveness.

I don't see why both cannot legitimately exist and coexist, there always being the right tool for the right job. I do wonder why so much bookart is designed so poorly. By labeling it as Art it becomes like the kids work on the fridge, the process justifies any slapdash techniques or terrible end-product because of the precious nature of it's Art/craft context.

I think I'll need to expand this a bit more later.



This is "TMI" - monogram for Internet abbreviations.



My first initial, natch.



Monograms for JLN, ECN and a few miscellaneous ones.



Stacking monograms.