As part of my design context but also enabling me to secure industry links as part of my PPD, I sent a few questions on a current topic I am very interested in; 'Print is Dead.' I adapted the questions slightly and sent these to designers, printers and paper suppliers to see the varying responses.
This is the the response from We Are Glad designers:
This is the the response from We Are Glad designers:
We Are Glad
Hi Kirsty,
Thanks for getting in touch - please see my responses below:
1. How do you think the current rise in digital has affected the way in which you design for print?
I think that print used to be about mass communication. I think that it is now more about luxury. The internet can do mass communication for us and costs a lot less. If you’re going to print something, you do it for a reason. So I think that you design for print with a knowledge that it needs to do something that digital can’t do.
2. Are more clients requiring high spec print jobs than previously?
Glad has only been around for a couple of years, but I do see a real interest in more expensive stocks, materials and processes like letterpress, foiling, embossing etc.
3. When working on a print job, is it necessary for you to take into consideration print processes and print finishes from the initial stages of the design process?
Yes - print and production is part of the design, just as central as the choice of colour, typeface and imagery.
4. Do you use print processes in your designs to demonstrate the quality of the subject/content?
We use print processes to communicate. It’s not always ‘quality’ that needs to be communicated. Perhaps the process needs to help the work feel retro or authentic, as opposed to quality. Again, it’s a tool in the design toolbox to work alongside colour, style etc. to communicate whatever needs to be communicated.
Best of luck,
Dave.
