happy accidents
Francis Ford Coppola said, “Art is partly being available to accidents that fall into your lap.” I agree. I have experienced some of these seemingly lucky accidents while printing, through something called make-readies. Make-ready sheets are something that are most likely as old as printing itself. When setting up a press and adjusting details like ...
color science
I recently updated our collection of Pantone Matching System (PMS) swatch books, and opening the package when it arrived was a bit like Christmas. Always elegantly packaged, it’s a delight to pull off the shrink wrap and thumb through crisp new books with their thousands of colors. This particular package was special because it also ...
white space – an exercise in brand consistency
Recently, towards the end of a branding phase for a client, we were finalizing page designs for their website. The site was essentially a reproduction of the paper materials. While they liked the design on paper, the same design on screen felt cool to the touch – overly so. We agreed with their perception. Adding ...
an open love letter to Garamond
Garamond is one of a handful of typefaces that designers of all eras return to again and again. Apple used the condensed form in the late eighties, and it became the quintessential typographic solution for business communications in the early nineties. People who make lists of the most readable fonts tend to pick Garamond first. ...
printing in the digital age
A recent New York Times article discussing print vs. e-books for children suggests that even many avid Kindle and iPad digital book readers prefer printed books over digital for their children. The experience of flipping through a printed book is inherently more personal and unique. Paper thickness and texture, colors, page sizes and bindery can ...
on the care and feeding of colors
Most people have experienced falling in love with a paint color only to be appalled by the same color when seeing it covering an entire wall or room. Color is not just a tricky thing, it is the trickest thing. Everyone views color differently to varying degrees. I seem to remember a dispute my parents ...
