Analogue and Digital

Found an interesting blog post by Robert Urquhart about print media in the digital age. This article is relevant to me because I am currently writing an essay on the subject as well as gaining a passion for analogue techniques such as traditional print.

The article provides quotes from practicing artists and studios that use traditional print methods so I researched into them further to gain a better understanding of their style of work. These could be clients that I can contact in the future.

Dan Mather

"When printing in a shared studio, for me, there is a noticeable difference between those who are designers printing for themselves and those more on the side of commercial printing. Experimentation is vital to the development of a solid portfolio, understanding and confidence in the the process of silkscreen. A sense of ownership is a part of a design and print occupation."

I will take this on board as I want to experiment with more techniques and concepts to create contemporary graphics. 

Mather has documented his work well on his website as it is predominantly visual so the audience can see how tactile his prints are. This is another example of how professional photography is beneficial. 

Mather's array of contemporary prints are well considered, especially when choosing the amount of colours/layers that are required. He effectively combines text and image but makes it engaging for the audience due to patterns. 

Caspar Williamson 

Caspar Williamson is a an image maker and illustrator based in London. Recognition from the screen printing community has led to invitations to partake in a number of the UK’s most highly regarded exhibitions.

"It is easier to sell artwork if it is marketed. I think a lot of people have seen the way artists such as Banksy have skyrocketed-- £50 screeenprints suddenly appearing for £10,000 in auction and the buzz that is created around artists and designers that become the 'it girls/boys' of the art world. Lots of auction houses, art fairs and art agents have seen this happen and are on the hunt for 'the next big thing' constantly. However I think the overall outcome from the current wave of 'graphic design celebrities' is ultimately a positive one, as it pushes people to be come up with continually more creative and original work if you don't want to simply be written of as a rip-off or copy-cat."

Williamson has made a big influence in the screen printing community:

F L Y I N G M A C H I N E S

Caspar created FLYINGMACHINES which is a design, illustration and art direction company based in London. Recent projects have included packaging and merchandise for independent and major record labels such as Universal Records, EMI and Rough Trade, as well as large-scale interior graphics for Spotify, Samsung and MTV.

Williamson has also written two publications about screenprinting and I think 'Low Tech Print' will be a useful publication to read because it will provide me with a range of printing techniques that I can do with limited budget:

Low Tech Print profiles more than 100 studios and creatives using traditional print methods. The book is divided into four chapters: screen printing, letterpress, relief printing and other methods. Each chapter includes a step by step guide to the technique, a brief history of its development, and an in-depth look at a particular method within that craft.

Flyingmachines also have a blog so I can keep up to date with a personal angle of the studio: http://flyingmachines-uk.blogspot.co.uk/

Williamson is also part of Print Club London:

Print Club London was established in 2007 and is run by managing director Fred Higginson (Sculptor/ Illustrator M.O.L.) and director Kate Higginson. The studio is open for any member to use 24/7 with an array of top quality equipment such as Macs, exposure units and an array of screen beds. Members have to pay £100 a month to use the facility which is expensive, however it would be extremely beneficial as I'd be working in a creative, analogue environment. It also states that you must be familiar with the equipment so I would need to gain more experience with screen printing. There are also workshops which they recommend.

Print Club London is a great source for finding other artists and designers. There website hosts each one and provides examples of their work. I will return to the site to gain more inspiration and find artists such as:

Patrick Concepción

Joe Cruz

There are hundreds of artists and members pages on the website.

Pleased that I have found some websites and studios that are updated regularly so I can return to the site to gain inspiration and see what's going on in the print world. 

Kate, Director Print Club London:
"We see young graduates thinking about design as a business. Be good at design but also be better at selling your own brand and marketing yourself. Expose your work to a world outside of the creative sector which is really key in expanding what we all do."

This is a useful piece of advice because I tend to publish my work into the creative world which means it is critiqued a lot because the audience is already familiar with good design. If I was to share my work outside the creative sector more people may like it because they're not familiar with rules of design, etc.

Jennifer Mehigan 

Ideas and brands don't plan for a legacy as much, I guess, and I think this is also largely related to the social media idea.

Publication:

Specific gestures: brush strokes, licks, screen swipes combine to form a fluid visual language that deconstructs desire, touch, and reality.

Inspires me to push the boundaries of techniques such as screen printing - Layering techniques

People of Print

Mehigan features on People of Print which is a unique creative community driven by an experienced force of art directors, project managers, graphic designers, illustrators, developers and printmakers across the globe.

As well as creating bespoke and high quality screen prints, they also create a magazine:

http://www.printisntdeadmag.co/element003/

ELEMENT 003:

Useful publication to talk about in my essay. The magazine consists of a contemporary, rule breaking layout, especially with typesetting. Some people may argue that this makes it disjointed and hard to read, however I think it makes the text easier to read and interpret because of the diverse size of type. I can use this publication to inspire my layout for future publications. People of Print's attitude towards creativity is positively similar to the way I interpret design. 

Kate Gibb

"I do feel that part of the success of the hand rendered approach also has to do with our current and past financial climate of the last few years.  Not just an aesthetic change in culture and creative trends. Consumers have lost faith I guess and the hand rendered / craft approach emotes nostalgia, feels familiar and subtly instils a kind of trust from a product."

Screen printing images makes them look vintage due to the grainy finish from the screen print. I could screen print my images into my notebook in order to get a textured and muted outcome:

Illustrative style provides a lot of scope for graphic outcomes, especially if type was added. They would work well as posters or album covers:

'Bits and Bobs':

Soft, flowing texture created by analogue technique. This would be hard to replicate digitally. 

Gibb is part of JEALOUS which is based in London and is one of the leading screen printers in the UK:

They provide a one to one service from creation to completion so that the client leaves the studio with the highest quality edition and happy that everything has been tried and tested to reach the finished artwork. I like this attitude because having a one to one relationship with the client makes the outcome personal and they'll be likely to come back. Experimentation is a key element with JEALOUS and I think there working style is similar to mine. I would need to gain more experience with the screen printing but there is a high chance I will visit this studio in the future to get a feel for a working print studio.

Christian Majonek - Guerilla Print

"Letterpress and other traditional printing techniques are manual processes that perfectly coexist with digital graphic design. In my opinion, the two can also inspire and profit from one another." - Agrees with the argument in my essay.

Carey Ellis

"Traditional screen printing goes hand in hand with fashion, and anyone involved with the industry will instantly see the unique craftsmanship that goes with screen printing that cannot be fulfilled by digital. I work with both techniques, but have more of an attachment to my work that i produce using screens because of the handmade element."

 "I think many designers today use digital print as it is great for mass production, but the smaller more individual designers are keeping the traditions alive and ensuring that screen printing is still fashionable."

It is refreshing to see the original article because it opened up so many other connections into practicing print designers which will benefit me when I start using screen printing and other print mediums. It seems that although the digital age is still growing, there is still a space for traditional techniques and I think some of the artists have summarised that well in the blog post. It's a shame that almost all of the design studios are based in London. I'm not surprised by this, however it is a very expensive place to live.

The information that I have gathered from artists and designers website, especially their views and opinions on screen print in the digital age is relevant for my COP essay as it will provide more research content and quotes to support arguments. 

I now feel a lot more confident with the direction I want to take my design from this year to second year because there is a huge backing for traditional printing technique, especially from the likes of People of Print, Print Club London and also JEALOUS.