Based on the research question established in Studio Brief 1 "What effect has technology had on the design process
within Graphic design over the last 25 years?
Because of my essay I have chosen to base my practical around designing for screen & awareness and advertising. The reason for this is because in my essay research I found that technology & digital design seem to be taking over the industry and traditional design is getting left behind ever since the welcoming of the iMac computers. I've also learnt that in my essay theorists and artist have discussed themselves that the only way they think the industry could change once again back to traditional art is to teach the new professionals/students and show them the traditional ways of creating design to influence and enhance there future. It is because of these findings I decided to create a company which promotes, advertises & supports workers of the traditional art form, creating a website , posters and billboard designs. This company which will be created will also host social events for creatives/ young creatives and professionals to be able to learn off each other:
The company's objective: ( A possible company idea )
This is about group of collectives who are passionate about traditional methods of design such as screen printing, letterpress, lino printing etc., we feel that since the introduction of the Apple mac that design has undergone a huge change meaning that designers now create everything digitally and are forgetting about the old love for traditional methods, this website and company has been created to remind young creatives, company’s, businesses, professionals how traditional methods are still interesting if anything more interesting! Technology is taking over the design industry and its becoming harder and harder to be unique with art work, now we have google this company are hoping to make a change! This company will take post professionals and students work that use practical methods within their practice to not only change other peoples opinion of the 'Old methods' but to also advertise the ending possibility that can be created this way.
What I will research in this design process:
- Target audience
- Traditional print company's
- Awareness/ advertising work
- Traditional exhibitions
- Price difference between traditional digital
- Related websites
Target audience
Screen printing & Digital print
Screen printing is a printing technique whereby a mesh is used to transfer ink onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with ink, and a reverse stroke then causes the screen to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed.
Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. Ink is forced into the mesh openings by the fill blade or squeegee and by wetting the substrate, transferred onto the printing surface during the squeegee stroke. As the screen rebounds away from the substrate the ink remains on the substrate. It is also known as silk-screen, screen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing. One color is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design.
There are various terms used for what is essentially the same technique. Traditionally the process was called screen printing or silkscreen printing because silk was used in the process prior to the invention of polyester mesh. Currently, synthetic threads are commonly used in the screen printing process. The most popular mesh in general use is made of polyester. There are special-use mesh materials of nylon and stainless steel available to the screen printer. There are also different types of mesh size which will determine the outcome and look of the finished design on the material.
Screen printing has been round for years, making its appearances, and disappearing but it wasn't till a few years ago designers started to see screen printing as a "stylish" and started to use it again that then became popular with universities and colleges or young professionals who wanted to learn new things and because of the introduction to macs now people who are out of universities or in general jobs will always depend on a computers for printing. Because of this I have decided that my target audience will be young professionals and students because of the lack of knowledge of traditional printing methods and traditional methods as a whole.
Traditional Print company's & exhibitions
Leeds Print festival
Leeds print festival is a festival which celebrates traditional and contemporary print processes through type and image, it's a one day bonanaza at leeds college of music
has most of the exhibitions at their campus. The event draws attention for inspiration and innovative thinking.
These prints are inspiring and innovative they show texture & diversity, yet the designs are symlystic. If we compare these screen prints to a digitally created poster like below we can see that although the colour is brighter on the digital picture the hand crafted designs have more texture and rustic feel to them. Traditional method have a homely feel to them because of textured feel on the designs.
Discriminating digital design is not the aim, it's finding a way for traditional and digital design to come together, however from working in a studio as a designer it is challenging trying to find digital designers that also enjoy incorporating traditional methods in this work. This part of my research has helped give confidence for my subject matter.
The Munroe house Exhibitions
The Munroe house is an arts cafe which has Exhibitors of Professionals and creatives work, every couple weeks they show outcomes which creatives have created and promote the work online and on there Instagram, this will be an influence to my project to help with my design for screen. An interesting part of this company is that they incorporate a lot of music within there company which help widen the audience of creatives and audience which attracts everyday learners also, this will be inspiration when it comes to creating my own designs.
Some designers
Kelli Anderson: Don’t underestimate the power of handcraft
Speaking at Offf about her design process, she explained that while creating prototypes by hand is laborious, engaging the sense of touch allows designers and non-designers alike to learn things they may not have done through simply reading and theory.
“It’s a more accessible way to learn for those who approach the world through tactility, and who don’t have a PhD in physics,” she said. “Sometimes, everyday things don’t behave the way they’re supposed to. Intuitive understanding normally exceeds formal understanding.”
Lance Wyman: Keep your rough sketches
New York-based graphic designer Lance Wyman has been creating identity systems for over five decades. He is most famous for his work on the Mexico 1968 Olympics and Paralympics, and for transforming the metro system in Washington. He spoke at Offf not just about his work, but his life in general, explaining how a personal letter addressed to him by 1940s Hollywood actor Jane Russell and a scruffy campaign poster he created when he ran for class president at school, were what truly kickstarted his career as a designer.
From hand-drawn posters to personal letters, Wyman has kept these trinkets, alongside stacks of books detailing his rough sketches and drawings throughout his career. UK publisher Unit Editions later turned these into a book; Lance Wyman, The Visual Diaries 1973-1982. Wyman spoke about how flicking through these sketch books still helps him spark new ideas. “Keeping a design log helps me keep track of very complicated design systems,” he says. “I find things I completely forgot about when I look through it now. You can’t teach someone how to have a concept, it has to be an experiential thing.”
Leta & Wade: Let your personality show in your work
Graphic design and photography studio Leta & Wade is composed of Brooklyn-based Leta Sobierajski and Wade Jeffree. Both co-workers and a couple, the pair discussed how they had no qualms about injecting humour into their work and making it personal.
They recently released Complements, a photography book which involves the pair of them using obscure props against colourful backgrounds in different situations, showing how they have made self-deprecation part of their success, and used it to connect with people.
“We’re a little bit do-it-yourself,” said Sobierajski. “We want our personalities to shine through with what we’re creating, and to make things that resonate with people, whether beautiful, strange or offensive. We want to get emotional reactions from what we’re doing.”
Anthony Burrill: Help society in some way
Graphic designer Anthony Burrill is best known for his colourful, motivational typographic posters, asking simple requests such as “Work hard and be nice to people”. Using traditional letterpress with no digital enhancement, his posters are humble and distinctive, but aim to impart small pieces of advice and “spread the joy a little bit”, he said in his talk.
Aside from his eponymous posters, Burrill has used print campaigns to highlight social and political issues. This includes Innocent Targets, a shocking gun crime awareness exhibition featuring photographic posters of people marked with target marks, and Oil & Water Do Not Mix, a poster series Burrill printed using crude oil that had been washed up on the beaches of Louisiana following BP’s huge oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
“Making posters is not enough but it’s important to talk about these subjects with your work and try to tackle things like this,” Burrill said. “There’s a huge design industry out there making profit for commercial clients. As designers, we have a responsibility to make a positive contribution too.”
Trying to find this research i found really difficult because you don't find many big artists that use traditional methods anymore, what I did find is that you found more traditional artist in small boutique company's such as:
- Small print company
- North Print
- Leeds Printing company
- People of print
- Severn Beyond print
I think the reason for traditional printing company's being small and boutique is because of the lack of want and need for traditional print and also because it costs to. Tradtional printin methods have become pricier because of its unpopularity and digital print has become cheaper because of its popularity and because of the vast range of printing that buyers and custmers are wanting.
The Pros and Cons of Traditional Offset Printing
PROS
The pros of traditional offset printing are clear. It remains the best quality type of printing available for graphic designers, particularly when image quality is concerned. Technology has developed so that the computer-to-plate system delivers superlative accuracy and quality.
As previously mentioned, traditional offset printing enables more choice when it comes to print materials. Many graphic design projects demand unusual paper types and sizes, specialised inks and finishes. If this is the case with your project you should use a traditional offset printer. Special effects like spot varnishes are far better quality when done through traditional offset printing.
The combination of the Pantone Matching System and the Pantone inks makes traditional offset printers the best choice when complete control is needed and colour accuracy is paramount. The four colour process used for digital printing simply cannot compete with traditional offset printers, so if colour counts opt for traditional offset printing.
If your graphic design project is high volume, traditional offset printing is not only more cost effective but can be quicker. Much of the costs and time involved with traditional offset printing relate to the preparation and press set up. However, if you have a high volume print job the unit costs are drastically reduced, because once the set up is complete the extra units are relatively cheap to print.
CONS
What are the cons of traditional offset printing? It is far more difficult to personalise and customise print jobs during the print run as the printer set up has to be adjusted. This can be rather time consuming, particularly when compared to digital printing, which is perhaps the best option for print jobs requiring a lot of customisation within a short time frame.
Traditional printing is also slower and more costly for lower volume print jobs than digital printing. This is because of the time it takes to set a traditional printer up for a job, which raises the individual unit prices for shorter print runs. Digital printers remain the best choice for quick and low cost short run print jobs.
Lithography & digital print
Lithography – The traditional printing method using an offset press and real ink - this
process effectively ‘presses’ the ink into the paper. The image that is pressed onto the paper
stock is etched onto a metal plate using lasers in a plate maker and the plate(s) are then
mounted on the press. Plates are created in separations for the colours being used. For
example, if a 4 Colour CMYK press, like ours, is being used, four plates, one for each colour
are created. Because of a complicated and time consuming set up, offset printing is
intended for larger runs, with longer turnarounds.
Difference in Cost
Digital printing can deliver quite substantial financial savings through ‘print on demand’ and
this has been a key driver to its development. Customers now only buy print exactly for the
quantities they need. Litho printing has always had minimum orders to make it viable, due
to the high set up costs which is similar to screen printing.
With litho printing, whether you’re printing a few hundred or two million sheets, there is
always set up costs built into the price. That cost becomes ‘diluted’ as the number of prints
rises. The press has to have the plates made and then fitted, and be ‘inked up’ (makeready).
Then when the press starts up it needs a hundred or so sheets to get up to colour -
sometimes more, and that’s what we call waste. We do however reuse every make ready
sheet etc to minimise the waste.
With digital printing these days those factors are totally avoidable and the end user can get
just one print with zero cost penalties. This means that the customer gets exactly what they
want, exactly when they want it.
Cost and budget issues are very important when choosing how to print your project.
Essentially, if you have a low volume print job, digital printing will be cheaper and far more
cost effective than traditional offset printing.
Screen VS Digital
As screen printers are pushed by innovations from digital inkjet printers and manufacturers, we sum-up the pros and cons of these two very different methods.
When it comes to printing sign and display graphics there's a basic choice between two print technologies, screen printing and inkjet. And while the digital option has clearly become the dominant technology today, there's still plenty of life in screen printing with Fujifilm, for example, reporting inks sales at roughly 50-50 between screen print and digital. So it would seem that each technology has its own advantages, depending on the applications in hand.
Digital is best suited for producing very short runs down to one at economical cost. It’s good for turning jobs around quickly and particularly good at handling variable data applications. There’s a choice of different types of inks that are suitable for a wide range of substrates and different applications, from flexible vinyls such as vehicle wrapping through to rigid boards such as PVC foamcore that are structurally rigid. Digital printers can produce wide colour gamuts from CMYK inksets, with many also offering light cyan and light magenta to improve colour gamut and gradation at higher speeds.
Screen printing on the other hand is an analogue process. The first step is to split the image into separate colours and create one screen for each colour, with the ink then being applied one layer at a time to build up the complete image. This allows for the inks to be laid down in relatively thick layers to produce images that are noticeably more vibrant than with digital printing.
The drawback is that it costs time and money to create the screen, which makes it costly for short runs. But this method is extremely cost effective for producing longer print runs. The longer the run the cheaper the unit cost of each item. This means that screen printing is still a viable option for many graphics applications like retail displays.
But many of the digital vendors are also eyeing up this market and so there are a number of large UV inkjet flatbeds such as the Inca Onset series or the HP FB10000 that are also capable of coping with relatively long runs. However, it’s not uncommon to find both digital and screen print combined, with the special effects and white backgrounds produced on the screen printer and other colours added via a high speed flatbed, playing each technology for its strengths whilst minimising ink costs.
Screen printing is a mature technology so little has changed in the last few years in terms of print speeds and resolutions and overall capability. Indeed, most of the recent changes to screen printing inks have been prompted by legal requirements. So for example, N-Vinyl Caprolactum or NVC, which is a monomer that’s often used in screen printing inks, was recently reclassified for health and safety reasons. This in turn will mean that many ink vendors will now have to reformulate their inks to avoid using it.
Nonetheless, James Whitehead, product manager for Fujifilm’s screen and wide format inkjet inks, says that Fujifilm still sells a lot of screen printing inks, pointing out: “There are print buyers who still specify screen printing because they like the colour saturation in particular.”
Sarah Kippax, director of HG Kippax, which still manufactures screen printing presses, says that you can achieve a far better opacity with screen print inks than with digital. She adds: “You can print special colours such as an Asda green colour more easily.” She also points out that screen printing can cope with special effects much better than digital printers, explaining: “All the effects, like reflective inks where the particulates are too big and they get stuck in the nozzles of a digital machine.”
Indeed, there’s quite a range of special effects inks for Screen printing even including scented inks that react to heat or light to give off an effect such as perfume or the smell of a particular food. Also, screen printing inks can be used to create tactile effects.
But screen printing allows for a greater range of effects, from hard and soft finishes, and for deeper ridges, which are better suited for Braille effects. That said, it’s becoming increasingly common for inkjet printers to include a clear ink or varnish that can also produce tactile effects but this is not as pronounced as with screen printing because the inks are laid down in a thinner layer.
However, Whitehead says that although screen printing is in decline for graphics use, it’s still widely used for industrial applications. The difference is that screen printing is part of the manufacturing process where it can deliver lower unit costs over longer runs. This can include such applications as printing plastic credit cards, as well as garments.
Kippax says that she has also seen a growth in demand for bespoke screen printing solutions, such as putting a coating on washers for an automotive engine manufacturer. She explains: “It’s not just about getting the ink onto the material but its how to present them to the machine in the most cost-effective way so we have to find a way to register it to keep it in line.”
So ultimately the major difference between the two technologies is down to run lengths. Digital has come to dominate the graphics market where there are a lot of one-off and very short run jobs. But screen printing still plays a part in industrial manufacturing where long production runs make it cost effective.
Altogether this research has concluded that the main difference between digital and traditional processes is not ultimately the cost but the length of time it takes for a design to be ready.
Digital printing is more popular you can go into stores such as the following and get anything printed out straight away unlike screen printing and traditional methods, because of this this also pushed traditional methods away, due to the availability.
- Staples
- colour copy leeds
- WHSmith
- Libraries
- Digital Plus
- GT Printing
Awareness Advertising & Campaigns
How To Combine Print And Digital Marketing Campaigns
Magazines are being seen by some digitally based companies as the perfect medium for content marketing, despite the increased costs associated with production.
Whilst magazines are far from the only option when it comes to creating offline content, they do offer some very interesting case studies with some very prominent digital companies deciding to use them. Below are some examples:
Net-a-Porter launched its bi-monthly fashion magazine Porter in 2014.
CNET launched its quarterly print magazine of the same name in 2014, which will regularly include exclusive content that won’t feature in its digital publication until a later date.
Clearly these companies aren’t abandoning the digital marketing model, given that they are digitally based companies, but are instead utilizing the power of glossy high quality print magazines to promote their brand and encourage greater takeup of their core online offering.
The payoff from print and digital approaches might at first seem mutually exclusive due to their fundamental difference as mediums of communication. And compared to running two digital strategies alongside each other, the potential for analytical convergence and cross pollination will inherently be more limited.
Malt - Digital and Traditional print adds
Screen printed - This was a task a group of students carried out for malt, where they had to create a traditional or digital poser to advertise the creme egg. Malt wanted to use traditional methods was tradition realtes to history and they wanted to bring back a bit of there history. I think that this poster works as it keeps the use of the traditional colours and modernises it by updating the font.
Digital - This is another take on the poster using the digital method, what we can see here is how the colour of the poster is constant and not patchy, however the screen printed version looks more interesting because of its unusual texture look and because of the simplicity therefore because of this i think the poster above works best.
Posters & websites
From researching i found that there are many design websites some in which i use myself websites such as :
- Behance
- Design inspiration
- Pinterests
- Blogger
However during my reasreach I found most of these websites were very digitally based and focus on the current market and trend and what i noticed is that they all blended into each other , not one offered something different to the other, we could even say this for the layout of the websites also. This could also be another problem into why new creatives are falling into the digital age, because they don't see anyone else's work that uses traditional methods. This make me more confident with my idea, and because of this I will look to base my website around the traditional arts and make it clear simple and easy to follow and understand.
From gathering this information I then Looked at some pieces which were found on these websites which displayed traditional posters designs using traditional methods. I found that the ones in which I did find were very diverse and unique and every poster looked completely different unlike digital posters where they have a lot of similarties. I noticed that A lot of the prints were type based which is different, the effect of these traditional methods adds texture and its something which I will consider using when it comes to designing.
Modernist Design
Moderist design is often connected to the functionl design of buildings we can see this with the shapes used to create posters such as the following: Modernist design is also the Abstract Movements. Abstract art uses form, color and line to create a composition which exists outside of visual reality. From the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, Western art had been based on the logic of perspective and was generally an attempt to reproduce an illusion of visible reality.
The reason for researching modernist is because in my essay i mentioned modernist art, to help influence my art I figured for my practical that I could use this style of design to infulence the practical of choice I choose to experiment with.
What i have become to realize through this modernist research is that the use of colours are either pastal, or bright and colourful, this research of colour will influence my design. Also through research of modernist Graphic design i've found that a fair few of designed have been collaged together which is a practical/tradtional way of creating design, which links to the main idea of this project being about tradtional methods vs digital. This will most surely inspire my design experiments and ideas.
General Campaigns
This is a link to a website which i have found using google, this website promotes campaigns and arts like events that happen everyday, this website is inspirational and a learning curve.
These are some campaigns whilst I found whilst researching, what i found is that campaigns all seem to be dull and negative subject and theres always a doom in relation with it because of this its gave me an idea to try make my campaign more positive which would attract more people as negativity puts people off.
Act Fast: The longer we delay in helping children with autism, the harder they are to reach.
What goes around comes around. Delicious? No? Then stop throwing rubbish into the sea.
Again this poster works well to due its practical field it stands out and looks unique due the method use to create this, you wouldn't be able to create this effect using a computer and that is why i find its important to be practical within your design.
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