The mood took a turn for the worse and things got awkward when Keith Berger, the Cranky Pressman, took the stage at the recent Pecha Kucha Cleveland 8 event. As shown in this video, he lectures for over 6 grueling minutes about creating design and artwork for letterpress print production. It's like watching ink dry on paper.
Thanks to AIGA Cleveland for putting everyone through this experience.
¶ When I first discovered Jennifer Daniel's work I was struck by the concise wit and fantastic diversity of her portfolio which ranges from icons to illustration and information graphics. Then when our letterpress printing shop was recently called upon by Jennifer to print her new business cards my delight could hardly be contained to find out that Ms Daniel had diversified her business even further to now offering professional unicorn grooming services.
¶ Getting along with others is not easy. Relationships require all that commitment of personal time, attention and effort, even when not particularly in the mood. But it’s the price you must pay if you want a bridge foursome. Online social networking is just as difficult. The searching, writing, posting, commenting, uploading, tweeting, retweeting and even retweeting damn retweets is as labor intensive as hand-setting 12 point lead type. This recently completed letterpress project for Shadow Works depicts the big search and social networking websites as clunky old apparatus. Having plodded along for a while now with twitter, facebook and the like, I appreciate the comparison. Even though it’s made on a computer, the best social networking feels hand crafted by an actual person who cares.
Continue reading to see the whole Shadow Works series and a list of this old letterpress printer’s feeble attempts at social networking.
¶ We were proud to help designer Nathan Freeman with his identity project for International Justice Mission (IJM) a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. The piece illustrates how letterpress print is not just for lighthearted work but is also very effective for bringing a feel of sophistication, importance and professionalism to institutional or business communications.
The stationery project used three color letterpress printing in Black 6, Warm Gray 3 and Blind impression. The paper stock is Lettra Pearl White.
¶ In this second posting of holiday cards produced in 2008 we are featuring the work of another stationery designer for whom Cranky Pressman prints. Sarah Marie greeting cards often have a whimsical retro style well suited for letterpress printing. Sarah Champlin sells cards for all occasions directly to the public or wholesale at www.sarahmarie.com.
¶ It's that magical time of year again when thoughts turn to self promotion, client Christmas Cards and the joys of holiday production schedules. Usually not known as the jolliest folks around, the holiday season and the magical pieces of artwork it brings can't arrive too early for us. Order your letterpress printing now to avoid rushed and crotchety pressmen later. This is the first in a series of posts where we will share some of the cards Cranky Pressman printed for our talented customers last year.
One of our favorite card designs, it was printed for Product Superior Company as part of their stationery and card collection. Designed by Jennifer Blanco. the needlepoint inspired artwork is an idea very well suited to the bite impression of letterpress printing technique.