ANGUS MACPHERSON – DESIGN CONTEXT

Typography:
Process and Product

Book + Inserts
 CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Letterpress and Pre-Graphic Design

Chapter 2: Letterpress and early modernism
Chapter 3: Photosetting and High Modernism
Chapter 4: Apple Mac, Desktop Publishing and Post-Modernism
Chapter 5: Post Digital Design

Interview: Jack Featherstone

Interview: Jay Cover – Nous Vous
Interview: Holger Jacobs – Mind
Interview: Alex Bec – It’s Nice That
Interview: David Pearson
Feature: Team Impression
LETTER PRESS AND PRE GRAPHIC DESIGN
L E T T E R P R E S S A N D E A R LY M O D E R N I S M

De Stilj – Constructivism – Bauhaus

PHOTOSETTING

High Modernism – Swiss Style

DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Breaking all the rules – Postmodernism

 POST DIGITAL DESIGN

Where are we now?

Why are lofi production and design methods so important?
What can we learn from the past?
What can we borrow from the past?

1. When you embark on a new brief to
what extent does the production method
inform the ideas you come up with?
This of course depends on what the brief
is. But in general the production method
can have a massive impact on my work.
Sometimes to the extent that the process
completely takes over and the work is
based solely upon ideas and experiments
that come from it, as opposed to a
preconceived concept that id rigidly stuck
too. Usually it is a matter of starting out
with a basic idea, laying some guidelines
and then letting the project evolve naturally
through the production method.
2. With the way graphic communication,
advertising and promotion is becoming
increasingly digitised why do you think a
physical, printed products still hold such a
fasination for designers?
INTERVIEW: JACK FEATHERSTONE
Because designers are human beings
and human beings like to touch and hold
objects. We like products to have their
own personality and this can sometimes
be difficult when the product is solely
expressed through a computer screen or
mobile device.
3. To what extent do you think
expertiemental, quirky and premium
finishing techniques are relevant to non
designers? Do you think the average man
in the street will notice or care about your
beautiful die-cut, spot varnished book
cover for example?
This seems to allude to the question
of whether or not design should be
democratic and keeping in line with the
ideas that came from the Bauhaus. Should
everything you design be accessible and
communicative to the average person? I
think not, design should be custom and
relevant to the audience it is meant for. But
designers are often selfish and obsessive,
so given the chance (budget) will often
employ methods that seem a bit over the
top, which I think is wonderful.
4. Where do you see the future of graphic
communication in 20 years, how much
printed collateral do you think we will
still need?
Motion design for mobile devices will
become incredibly important, advertising
will bombard the consumer will
personalized holographic messages. Think
minority and you’ll get the idea. Printed
matter will be obsolete by then, but of
course don’t forget about the obsessive,
selfish designers who I am sure will still
produce limited addition publications.
5. Where you involved in design pre the
introduction of the apple mac?
nope
6. If you were what impact on your
personal practice did the introduction of
desk top publishing have? If not how has
the role of the computer changed while
you have been a designer?
The computer is taking more control by the
day, it scares me.
7. In our current climate where,
typographically, it is possible to do pretty
much anything with a laptop and a digital
printer, why do you think designers are
still so interested in real physical graphics
like paper cuts, models and the use of
photography and manual production
techniques like screen printing and
letterpress?
see answer no. 2.

1. When you embark on a new brief to
what extent does the production method
inform the ideas you come up with?
Depends on the brief. My general working
process is to attempt to embody the
message in the method anyway, so I sort
of preempt the notion that the method
informs the idea, but that all depends on
the brief as I usually adapt processes I use
and research other processes to come out
with an appropriate response. I suppose
what you’re getting at is the idea that some
designers have a certain working method
that they use, which mainly applies to
illustrators who develop a portfolio of work
to display a consistent visual language?
I’d say it was 50/50 really, as I occasionally
use devices that I have developed in my
personal practice, that I would like to see
applied commercially, so sometimes the
outcome is mediated by a process, which
sometimes in the right context, is far
more interesting in my opinion anyway.
But generally I take each brief as it comes
and deal with it in a way that would best
communicate the point.
2. For you what is the attraction of using
lofi processes in design and production
like screen printing and model making?
I suppose the attraction is that there is
a definite personal visual language, with
character and personality of it’s own / or
it’s makers. Also to my mind there’s a great
deal you can learn from hand rendered
processes that you can’t learn by working
on a computer. I personally, simply, like to
make things, I like what I learn from the
processes involved in production and how I
can apply & improve those processes. It’s a
good thing for expanding your mind as well
as your skill set, as co-ordination between
head & hand effects and informs ideas.
3. With the way graphic communication,
advertising and promotion is becoming
increasingly digitised why do you think a
physical, printed products still hold such a
fascination for designers?
I N T E R V I E W: J AY C O V E R
There’s always going to be an urge amongst
creative people to express themselves,
without the aid of a computer, to have a
voice of their own making. The computer
can be very restrictive and less immediate,
when you can only see your creations on
screen and not in your hand - sometimes
this just doesn’t satisfy. I guess?
4. To what extent do you think
experimental and premium finishing
techniques are relevant to non designers?
Do you think the average man in the street
will notice or care about your beautiful
die-cut, spot varnished book cover for
example?
I think if you present these processes
appropriately and you are wary of their
application, anyone will notice. You just
have to use necessary techniques and not
do superfluous things just for the sake of it,
generally for your own self-satisfaction. On
the other hand introducing unusual things
into the public arena is never a bad idea,
unless it’s antagonistic.
5. Where do you see the future of graphic
communication in 20 years, how much
printed collateral do you think we will
still need?
I don’t know exactly what you mean
by printed collateral - excess printed
material presumably, collateral just means
additional, it doesn’t mean too much?
Please advise? - sorry didn’t want to sound
patronising there, just Graphic design is
about clear communication, this goes
beyond what you produce, you have to
look at what you’re saying and question it.
I think the term graphic design is far too
general in contemporary society, I don’t
actually consider most design agency’s
- designers, they just brand and market, re-
present existing ideas and don’t do it with
much clarity, so hopefully the definition of
design will adapt and become more clear.
For me graphic design is progressive and
making information accessible as well as
looking at what you’re saying, questioning
why you’re doing it. It’s more for social
benefit than for profit, or at least for
both, design is for solving problems - not
expanding pockets. I hope design will
return to traditional values within the next
20 years, like the design of roadsigns etc,
but keep up to speed with methods of
communication being developed that will
be less wasteful.
6. Were you involved in design pre the
introduction of the apple mac?
Well the Apple Mac was released in the
80’s, and I’m not quite that old. I didn’t
actually consider myself a designer until
I finished Uni in 2007, when I got my first
few commissions and I was getting more
interested in type and reading more about
graphic design. Before that I was just a
do-er of things, visual things mainly. I guess
I was involved in it, in that I was learning
about it un-wittingly.
7. If you were what impact on your
personal practice did the introduction of
desk top publishing have? If not how has
the role of the computer changed while
you have been a designer?
Well I guess I was just on the cusp of most
development, in terms of communication.
Although I didn’t notice as I was just doing
my own thing. For me personally I use it
alot more since graduating, obviously most
jobs require being sent to printers so it’s
necessary and always has been since I’ve
been practicing, I guess communication is
the biggest thing though. Blogs were just
taking off when I finished Uni Manystuff
had just started and itsnicethat was also
just starting, I think they both started just
before I finished Uni, which wasn’t very
long ago, but they’ve come a long way in no
time at all, comparatively, well the impact
of them anyway. So the only thing I can say
I’ve noticed is the use of communication,
especially things like, anyone being able to
set up a website and market themselves
internationally for relatively low cost,
which is great and has helped my practice
enormously.

1. The identity you designed for Circus is
employed across a mind blowing range
of media. When you embark on a project
like this in what ways does the production
method inform the ideas you come up
with?
In this project there are many production
methods. We worked with illuminated
acrylics, acid etched aluminum, steel,
printing on mirrored stock, etc. Normally
we always think of the production method
right away when we do the first sketches.
However, in this case as it was so varied, so
the initial design of the logo is more based
on the interior. ‘Circus’ features a table that
doubles up as a stage with steps leading
up to it. Beside those steps the logo was
influenced by kaleidoscopes and mirrors.
Other influences came from Surrealism and
Art Deco, a period I am very interested in
at the moment. The overall identity is quite
a complex puzzle of different elements
and somehow reflects that different
people where working on it in the studio
at the same time. Many ideas develop in
teamwork.
2. With the way graphic communication,
advertising and promotion is becoming
increasingly digitised why do you think a
physical, printed products still hold such a
fasination for designers?
INTERVIEW: HOLGER JACOBS
Absolutely. There is unwritten rule in
typography: if you can’t do it in letterpress
then don’t do it on the computer. This
might not always be true but its good to
keep traditional production methods in
mind when designing anything. I am not
very interested in digital technology I must
admit. Obviously I use the computer but
the development of new programs could
have stopped for me about 5 years ago. I
rather have less functions, it helps me to
focus.
3. To what extent do you think bespoke
and premium finishing techniques are
relevant to non designers? Do you think
the average man in the street will notice
or care about your beautiful foil blocked
menu for example?
If they don’t notice they have to be
educated. Print quality and attention to
detail is important. I rather produce less in
quantity. In a way it should reflect how we
consume today. I prefer to buy one good
product and keep it for 10 years from a
company with a good identity, good design,
good packaging, etc. rather than something
from the Argos catalogue that I replace a
year later by the next model.
4. Where do you see the future of graphic
communication in 20 years, how much
printed collateral do you think we will
still need?
I hope that print will improve in quality and
reduce in quantity. Everything that is high
volume mass market communication can
be moved to the internet.
5. Where you involved in design pre the
introduction of the apple mac?
Yes, for a short period of time just when I
started studying. It was brilliant. Of course
it was all a lot more hassle but somehow
design was slower and more considerate
because of that. You only had one shot so
it was important to think it through first.
Today clients are already asking for the
third pdf version before you even had time
to think about the project properly. Its a
much more fragmented way of working
and especially since the intention of pdf’s
clients are much more in control.
6. If you were what impact on your
personal practice did the introduction of
desk top publishing have? If not how has
the role of the computer changed while
you have been a designer?
Its not so much the computer, its more the
way we communicate now. Communication
has been much more demanding and
distracting and there is just too much of
it. Sometimes I spent more time writing
e-mails explaining when and how I will
do a project than actually working on it.
I don’t do social networking and those
websites are banned in the studio. The
rare occasions when the internet is down
for a day due to technical problems, thats
usually a very productive day.
7. In our current climate where,
typographically, it is possible to do pretty
much anything with a laptop and a digital
printer, why do you think designers are
still so interested in real physical graphics
like paper cuts, models and the use of
photography and manual production
techniques like screen printing and
letterpress?
Those techniques are much closer to
production and make you work differently
on the computer. For example when you
have done a bit of screen printing it is easy
to understand how offset printing with
2 or 3 Pantone colours works and what
overprint or knock out on the computer
means. Once you understand printing
and production methods it becomes
interesting to challenge those and push
their boundaries.

1. When you embark on a new brief to
what extent does the production method
inform the ideas you come up with?
The idea is always put first, and then
the relevant tools are chosen to make it
happen.
2. With the way graphic communication,
advertising and promotion is becoming
increasingly digitised why do you think a
physical, printed products still hold such a
fasination for designers?
Because we are still human beings with
real senses.
INTERVIEW: ALEX BEC
3. To what extent do you think
expertiemental and premium finishing
techniques are relevant to non designers?
Do you think the average man in the street
will notice or care about your beautiful
die-cut, spot varnished book cover for
example?
Perhaps, if used well. The key is that
the audience’s needs are kept in mind,
regardless of process.
4. Where do you see the future of graphic
communication in 20 years, how much
printed collateral do you think we will
still need?
I think we’ll always need some printed
collateral, but there’s no way there will be
as much as there is today. The things that
still need to be printed, will most certainly
be printed.
5. Where you involved in design pre the
introduction of the apple mac?
Nope
6. If you were what impact on your
personal practice did the introduction of
desk top publishing have? If not how has
the role of the computer changed while
you have been a designer?
7. In our current climate where,
typographically, it is possible to do pretty
much anything with a laptop and a digital
printer, why do you think designers are
still so interested in real physical graphics
like paper cuts, models and the use of
photography and manual production
techniques like screen printing and
letterpress?
Because I absolutely disagree that you
can ‘do anything with a laptop and digitla
printer’ in typography. As I said before, we
will always remain human beings.

A lot of your work, a lot of your book
covers, could be described to be inspired
by vintage design and drawing from classic
penguin books and stuff. What’s your
motivation to take inspiration from those
kind of things?
Well there’s probably all sorts of reasons,
the main one is just I obviously don’t
ever feel inspired unless I’m looking at
something else or researching something.
I guess that probably says that I’m not a
particularly intuitive designer! Haha! But
also I’m just really a bit of a hobbiest and in
particular I do collect books and I’ve always
loved books. In fact I was always a bit
surprised Penguin gave me a job because I
felt like a bit of a groupie and I didn’t really
think that people like that were supposed
to get a job at Penguin. Yeah, you know all
my heroes are generally dead, so in trying
to emulate their work I think in turn my
works tends to look a bit more traditional.
And also typography, if you use type as the
main driver behind your design especially
if your not applying lots of effects to it,
like modern day effects, three dimensional
things silver and all that lot, your work can
very easily look more traditional. There’s
INTERVIEW: DAVID PEARSON
all sorts of reason really, but yeah generally
speaking I love history, I love old books, I
love old printing methods. These are the
things that really inspire me.
My book’s looking, not entirely, but quite
a lot of it is going to be about production
methods, finishing techniques like die-
cutting and foil blocking, looking at those
kind of things in design. But obviously
looking through your website I noticed,
there isn’t really any of that, how come
you don’t indulge in that kind of thing?
Your work is very concept driven or really
visual rather than looking at the finish,
how come you don’t go into those kind
of things?
Oh I mean I do look at the finish in terms
of the books production within reason.
Because as you know if you produce a
book you could be producing a run of two
hundred thousand an they could be printed
half over hear and half in the states, its
not really realistic to say do letterpress or
whatever. What you’ve really got to do is
find a way to emulate that which is realistic
in a production sense. So in that respect we
do look very closely at production, but if
your talking about the very much hands on,
almost like a printers workshop aspect then
I don’t really get that opportunity because
I’m working in a commercial design area as
oppose to a sort of bespoke design area. I
never really get that opportunity.
Alright I should be looking to do more
private, personal projects that allow me
to do that, but to be honest I just love
designing, often on a budget, to the biggest
possible audience. I get a bit tired, a lot
of designers strive to design things for
designers or themselves and I don’t really
know what they’re for and I don’t really
know why these things are going out into
the atmosphere. I’d rather do something
that has some sort of purpose. So you
know, vanity designing is something that I
don’t really agree with. It’s easy for me to
say because I work with books and there’s
never usually much money to play with. So
I don’t want to get on my high horse about
it, everyones got different jobs to do.
Yeah absolutely, but I understand kind of
wanting your design to speak to not just
designers but non-designers as well.
Oh yeah thats just really exciting to me,
when your mum understands it, thats
usually the litmus test.
That kind of leads me on to my next
question quite nicely. So do you think
those kind of experimental, bespoke
finishing techniques have much relevance
to non designers. Do you think the average
man in the street will notice a die cut or
spot varnished book cover for example?
I think so. Yeah its a very good question
but the only reason i think so is because if
you look at wedding invites for example.
Anyone who’s getting married is thrust into
this environment were they’ve suddenly
got care about finishes and how luxurious
or how tactile something is, I think people
do have the aptitude for it. I think we can
underestimate how image savvy people
are. We’re so exposed to so many images
these days people are very sophisticated
in that respect. One of the reasons ‘Great
Ideas’ solved so well it wasn’t just because
of the design it was the finish, it was the
uncoated stock and the tactile finish to
it and that can be really under estimated
within design. So sort of going back slightly
I really think what I do is very much bound

within the production, it can really get
you out of jail sometimes if you’ve done
something quite average it can pull back
some of the quality in the production
process. Thats one thing I will really miss if
books increasingly become digitised is that
ability to play with the finishes.
I think I looked on your blog the other day
and I noticed you picked up on the lurid
green on the Penguin popular classics
covers. Its a really interesting talking point
in that it is a vile colour, your absolutely
right, but the thing is, its supposed to
be vile. the main argument with those
colours, they’re basically a two quid book
covers and they were originally quiet a nice
pastally colour so it was all very gentile and
sophisticated. There was a lot of mutterings
in house at penguin, that a lot of people
would rather then buy those versions than
the ten pound black classic versions that
Penguin also sell because they actually
found them more attractive. So the whole
point of the green series was to almost; its
like a sort of Tesco’s value version. Its the
only time in my life I’ve ever been given the
brief to make them look worse, that was it!
We had to make them look less attractive
so we used that horrible green colour. It’s
mad isn’t it really, they were just worried
that they would strip away sales from their
more expensive versions.
INTERVIEW: DAVID PEARSON
Oh wow, very, very interesting.
Yeah, yeah. Oh god, I go into a bookshop
and I see a whole wall of that green and it
makes me want to be sick!
I never thought you would track me back
to my blog!
Oh god no, I’m very thorough! You’ll be
running scared now.
Ok well my next question, we kind of
touched on it a moment ago, is were
do you see the future of graphic design
going? In twenty years time do you think
there will still be books printed and what
kind of quantity how important do think
that will be in ten or twenty years time?
Well, I think there will still be books but
I honestly don’t think there will be too
many. But you know, books and printed
matter will always be required in certain
circumstances like catalogues and novels
will always have a representation in paper
form. But other books like reference
manuals and reference books and car
manuals, there is no reason why they can’t
be digitised. if you think of a student for
example in a lecture theatre if they can
have their whole years books on a palm
reader that gets very exciting and it makes
a lot of sense. I’m certainly not against this
kind of movement at all. To a certain extent
its a good way of passing on information.
But yeah I think increasingly, especially with
what I do, book objects will be increasingly
more, media driven. I think there will be
more glorious and more fine editions
around. I think the cheaper paperbacks will
fall away a little bit, which isn’t necessarily
a bad thing. I think that it will exist but
in a much reduced state as it will with all
print. We can’t keep cutting trees down
at the rate that we are doing. I think it
makes sense. The next generation, it won’t
make sense to them because the won’t
have grown up with books. That’s a kind of
rambly answer but the emphasis is on the
generation shift. If you grow up without
books your not going to need books.
Where you involved with graphic design
pre the introduction of the Apple Mac?
Hows the role of the computer changed
while you’ve been involved with graphic
design?
Well it was just coming in as I was studying.
I’m 31 now so it’s kind of always been
there for me. I’m maybe not best qualified
to discuss. Maybe five years before that
would have been the real way in sort of
thing. Macs were just starting to creep
into colleges when I was there. So yeah I’m
very much used to that really. But having
said that you only really get something
interesting out of a computer if you put
something interesting into it. You can’t
really start on a computer and hope to
create wonderful work, it just doesn’t
happen. I would always try and mention
that its a tool and nothing more, as much
as people want to celebrate virtual effects.
The other thing is I naturally distrust short
cuts. I value process even if it means I take
ages to do something I’d rather do it the
long way round. I’m interested in what that
does to your head while your working on it,
the way you’re evaluating constantly, thats
the process for me. Its not hitting the effect
that will do something on your behalf.
Has the role of the computer, in terms of
communication and blogs, changed while
you’ve been a graphic designer?
Oh absolutely yeah. Blogs are still quite a
recent thing I suppose. But yeah its great
for me to know what someone on the
other side of the Atlantic is doing with book
design. There’s a sort of solid core group of
book designers, we all kind of know each
other now because we know what each
other are working on and we commission
each other. It all stems from blogs really. I
mean I can’t speak highly enough of a well
written design blog, I think these people
should be commended. That surely will be
the next generation of star designers, they
will be people that have a blog presence
and quite a strong personality through that.
FEATURE: TEAM IMPRESSION