“What I find very
interesting is the movement of people who are savvy in digital design but are
genuinely interested in analog techniques. It is now more than a passing trend;
there must be a deeper motive why we are newly interested in the hand-made and
haptic, material and three-dimensional aspects of type and design” – Erik
Spiekermann.
Analog techniques within design have remained existent, regardless of
all the technological advances we have been introduced to within the past few
decades. The development of technology throughout the years has enabled us to
access thousands of different tools right at our fingertips, and has
dramatically reduced the time it takes to create these designs; so why are
people still interested in the more hands-on techniques?
After researching into this topic and discovering all the different
methods of ‘Hand-made Graphics’ it is clear that these old techniques will
remain in the design industry for some time. The Print Project’s, Nick Loaring
said that he is ‘utterly convinced you have to be completely insane to want to
do it (Letterpress) well, considering what you can do with a computer nowadays’
(Strain, 2016). The Print Project is a
company who specialize in Letterpress, they use equipment that is over 500
years old and produce high-quality prints. After being asked why it is so
important to keep the more traditional techniques alive, he responded by
relating the life of the methods to vinyl and film photography, and how these
‘dead technologies appeal to a great number of people who may not have even
been born when the technologies were at their peak’ (Strain,
2016).
Regardless of how easy it is to create
designs on the computer using programmes such as Photoshop and Illustrator,
they can often lack personal essence. There is not as much excitement with
digital design than using physical tools; ‘everyone has the ability to connect
to the inventiveness, danger and downright fun of directly applied
experimentation’ (Lichtenstein and Studinka, 2005).
Not knowing what goes with what, and how things work together is part of
the exciting experience of hand made design. Whilst these (what seems) ancient
techniques and materials are fascinating, ‘more information about why and how
individual poster designs came about have yielded more interesting insights’
(Lichtenstein and Studinka, 2005).
‘Most of us lead lives that are incredibly
busy and we have very little time to spend sitting down to read a newspaper
anymore. Our work hours are spent glued to computer completing tasks and even
commutes and breaks have now been filled with smartphones’ (Zesty, 2010). The
battle between modern technology and traditional methods within design seems to
be never-ending. Whilst we are being provided with newer, faster, devices every
year, how hard is this impacting the traditional techniques? This Simply Zesty
article was written in 2010, stating that traditional media and the print
industry were dying, 7 years on, the print industry is still holding on, so is
the industry really dying? The Fashion industry are allowed to go back and
forth with their unique trends, so what is stopping technology from doing the
same; linking back to what Nick Loaring said, our current day is filled with
returning crazes. Polaroid-style cameras are back in the limelight and vinyl
has overturned digital sales – ‘Vinyl sales hit £2.4m last week compared with
the £2.1m made from digital music purchases, further proof that record shopping
has gone mainstream.’ (Ellis-Petersen, 2016).
Another reason why analog techniques
within design are still alive is due to the existing companies who specialize
in traditional methods, offering workshops. These workshops ‘enable people of
all ages to connect to and learn about the process’ (the Print Project, 2015).
The opportunity to experience the more traditional techniques in a professional
environment gives people an insight to these industries, giving them a higher
chance of survival.
There are many advantages
that come along with using digital technology within design, the main one being
the speed in which work can be processed. You can easily edit and change work
made on a screen, whether that be testing colours, shapes and typefaces within
a design in just a few clicks; this is extremely useful for client-based work
so you can offer a variety of designs, and they can decide which is most
appropriate for their product or service. Another advantage of using digital
techniques is that you know that the outcome is going to look exactly how you
want it to look; with few errors in digital printing and production, you can
guarantee a perfect outcome at the end of the process. However, this is where
hand-made graphics has proven to be both amazing and incredibly frustrating at
the same time. It is a lot more common in analog techniques for errors to occur
and for things to go wrong, however Graphic artist, Anthony Burrill said “I
like that aspect of it – that I’m not completely in control.”(Burrill, 2013). Mistakes can
sometimes be revolutionary, especially in design, it makes us see things which
we may not have noticed other wise, and also introduces us to think in a
completely new way, inspiring our creative minds. Most graphic designers who
have spoken about analog techniques have said that it’s the mistakes within the
design process, which makes using traditional methods so special. “Provenance,
heritage and sustainability are now virtually mandatory aspects of brand
development – qualities abundant in the craftsmanship associated with handmade
design.”(Staff, 2013).
One thing designers who specialize in
these older techniques have stressed, is that ‘despite using time-honoured
techniques, tools or equipment, there remains a desire to make end products
that are very much centred in the present day.’(Staff, 2013). Using these
methods doesn’t mean that the work being produced has to look old, in fact that
is “something I’m very conscious of, just because I’m making something using
old techniques – I still want it to feel contemporary”(Burrill, 2013).
From my research it has been shown that
Analog techniques within design is no dying trend and that designers actually
prefer to produce work using their hands to have a more interactive experience
with their work. Modern technology is likely to override the more traditional
techniques, but so long as designers continue to interpret these methods within
their work, it is unlikely that they will be forgotten for a while.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Strain, L. (2016) The print project on letterpress design.
Available at:
http://www.theskinny.co.uk/art/features/in-design-the-print-project (Accessed:
11 January 2017).
Lichtenstein, C. and Studinka, F. (2005) Handmade graphics
refuse to go quietly. Available at: http://www.eyemagazine.com/review/article/handmade-graphics-refuse-to-go-quietly
(Accessed: 11 January 2017).
Zesty, S. (2010) ‘Blog’, 19 January. Available at:
https://www.simplyzesty.com/blog/article/january-2010/why-traditional-media-and-print-industry-are-dying-and-5-things-that-could-save-them
(Accessed: 11 January 2017).
Ellis-Petersen, H. (2016) Tables turned as vinyl sales
overtake digital sales for first time in UK. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/06/tables-turned-as-vinyl-records-outsell-digital-in-uk-for-first-time
(Accessed: 11 January 2017).
Burrill. Staff, C.B. (2013) The future of handmade
design. Available at:
http://www.creativebloq.com/future-handmade-design-5132895 (Accessed: 20
January 2017).
