FRIENDS OF LETTERPRESS
THE CONTEXT
This proposal has been put together by Ananya, a post-graduate student of Graphic Design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad under the guidance of Tarun Deep Girdher, Senior Faculty, Graphic Design and Head, Print Labs.
There was a time when Print Labs was the cornerstone of NID. The staff did award winning work and constantly pushed boundaries. But as graphic design became more and more digitally driven, Print Labs began to lose its relvance too. The current scenario is such that students only ever go there to cut paper or bind notebboks (or worse, as a passage). Most students are completely unaware of the rich resources available there and their potential for exploration. NID is the only design institute in India to have an operational letterpress setup. The origins of printing lie in letterpress and though the technology is obsolete commercially, the possibilities of the medium are limitless, and so are its benefits. It is a very efficient medium of short run printing, uses minimal power, its tactile feel and human engagement is unmatched by any other form of printing, not to mention its an extremely fun activity. A strong need is felt by the student community of Graphic Design for a revival. Hands on learning needs to be brought back to graphic design. Its time to get off the computer and get our hands dirty. And what better to kickstart this initiative than letterpress printing. It has been witnessing a strong revival in the west and its about time we started this movement here as well.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES 1. Creating a space (an activity-oriented community-centric club) for sharing ideas, stories and engage students in a medium of hands on, extra-curricular, interdiscplinary learning.
2. Encouraging experiments in relief printing and revive and reinvent the medium of letterpress printing and promote it as a fun, hands-on activity.
3. Changing perceptions of Print Labs and utilise the existing resources available in Print Labs effectively and providing a platform to people (who are masters of the medium) to share their experiences.
THE CLUB
1 The principles of typography are not a set of dead conventions but the tribal customs of the magic forest. - Robert Bringhurst, Typographer and Poet
To achieve the objectives desired, a student-driven communty-centric activity-oriented club can be established. Vision - to increase awareness about relief printing in general and letterpress printing in specific. Mission - to conduct hands on workshops and exhibits of award winning work.
ACTIVITIES OF THE CLUB
RESOURCES / FACILITIES AVAILABLE
1. Organising demonstrations and workshops to familiarise students with relief printing in general and letterpress printing in particular. 2. Promoting the events/workshops conducted by the club to encourage participation of students. 3. Inviting relevant resource persons to conduct demonstrations, workshops and interactive sessions. 4. Sourcing materials (papers, inks, new typecases) for demonstartions and workshops. 5. Maintenance of the letterpress setup in the Print Labs. 6. Looking after day-to-day administrative activities of the club. 7. Exploring opportunities for collaboration with other disciplines. 8. Holding events such as exhibits and sales.
1. Technically trained staff 2. Inks 3. Paper stock 4. Letterpress machines - proofing press, hiedelberg, blockmaking, hot foil stamping 5. Typecases - Univers, Grotesque, Times, Plantin 6. Paper cutting machines - manual, automated 7. Screenprinting setup 8. Offset printing setup 9. Binding - spiral, center stapling
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1. Client - The client of the project is the head of the Print Labs, who would also be the defacto chairperson of the club.
STAKEHOLDERS
CLIENT
2. Resource - The resource available for accomplishing it are the technically trained staff of Print Labs who would help conduct workshops.
Print Labs head
RESOURCE
Print Labs staff
AUDIENCE
Students of NID
ADMINISTRATION HOSTS
Graphic Design department and students
SOURCES OF FUNDS PUBLICITY
NID administration
SAC, NID administration, self generated
NID CMR office
3. Audience - The audience are the students of NID across disciplines who the workshop would be conducted for. 4. Administration - The institue administration would need to give approvals for setting up this club. 5. Hosts - The Graphic Design department and students are the hosts as Print Labs is nested under the Graphic Design department and the students would form the core team. 6. Sources of funds - Setting up and running this club will require funds which may come from NID administration, SAC or may be self generated by the club itself. 7. Publicity - Any activity happening in the institute is publicised by the CMR office.
FUNDING
SELLING MERCHANDISE PAID WORKSHOPS FOR OUTSIDERS CONTRIBUTION IN KIND TRANSFERRING EXPENSES ONTO PARTICIPANTS ABSORBED BY PRINT LABS
1. Selling merchandise in NIDUS - after a workshop is complete, whatever designs and compositions are created can be printed and sold in NIDUS (with due design credit). Participants would be required to submit a certain number of prints/explorations/merchandise for PrintLabs inventory, (irrespective of the nature of workshop). These may be used for displays or sales. 2. Paid workshops for outsiders - At a later stage when workshop are conducted for outsiders, they will be paid for under NID’s IPP model which takes care of all materials required for a workshop. 3. Contribution in kind/Crowdfunding - contributions can be made on kind by supporters, such as pledging a box of ink or a ream of paper, for which they get certain privileges. 4. Transferring expenses onto participants - Some expenses can be transferred onto the participants such as they can be asked to bring their own paper, since the workshops would be free for the students. 5. Absorbed by Print Labs - Some expenses such as inks and welcome kits can be absorbed within the Print Labs inventory since a sufficient stock is already available and printing can happen in-house using surplus paper stock.
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THE MEMBERS
2 Design is an intellectual process; part thinking and part doing, but most importantly, it is a process that cannot be done in isolation. People influence people. - Ron Springett
In order for the club to function effectively, an organised structure has to be put into place for the members. Their roles, responsibilities and privileges are clearly outlined in these proposed structures. There are various levels at which one can be involved with club activities. This section also defines selection procedures as well as the decision-making process for the members of the club.
OPERATING MODELS
RASCI - RASCI Model is a responsibility assignment matrix and describes the participation by various roles in completing tasks. Matrix Management - Matrix Management is the practice of managing individuals with more than one reporting line. In this people with similar skill sets are pooled for work assignments, resulting in more than one manager. RESPONSIBILTIES OF MEMBERS
1. Administration - administrative duties like getting approvals and permissions and ensuring smooth functioning of the club. 2.. Organisation+Logistics - organisation of workshops, participant registrations, bringing experts for demos etc. 3. Promotion - promotion and announcement of workshops. 4. Documenting+Archiving - documenting workshop and
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archiving output, storing artworks and putting up displays at the end of a workshop. 5. Finances - generating revenue, finances of the club and allocation of funds 6. Sourcing+Maintenance - sourcing of materials and maintenance of equipment, ensuring it is used and cleaned properly. The members of the core committe can be divided according to the type of workshops. Each team would be responsible for their workshop but assist the others in organising theirs as well (since only one workshop would be conducted at at time). Over a period of time members will also graduate to a higher level workshop team. A. Introductory Workshop Team B. Basic Workshop Team C. Advanced Workshop Team
MEMBER STRUCTURE
1. FOUNDING MEMBERS
2. CORE COMMITTE
DECISION MAKING PROCESS
The members who would establish the club and recruit all the other members. They would include the faculty chairperson (head, Print Labs) and 3-4 student members. They would also include Print Labs Staff.
F1
* first preference for booked sessions and discounts on club merchandise.
This would comprise of the faculty chairperson, relevant staff and 8 student members ( 4 UG, 4 PG) As a rule they would only be senior graphic design students always since they would need to be technically sound.
S1
F2
S2
F3
S3
S4
* attending workshops, discounts on club merchandise.
3. STUDENT VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers would be invited to help out with the tasks of the core committee. Typically they may help out with promotional activities and documentation of workshops. This exposure would enable them to be a part of the core committee in the future. * attending any one workshop
4. WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS
The participants of the workshops conducted by the club. They are an important part as they would help generate publicity by sparking conversations about the club activities. Also they can be a part of the organising committe in the future.
ADMINISTRATION ORGANISATION+LOGISTICS PROMOTION DOCUMENTING+ARCHIVING FINANCES SOURCING+MAINTENANCE
F1
FACULTY MEMBER
S1 STUDENT MEMBER
A two tier structure would be implemented for decison making.
* being involved in club activities in the future
5. OFF-CAMPUS MEMBERS
6. SUPPORTERS/ CONTRIBUTORS
These would be senior Graphic Design students and alumni who have been closely associated with Print Labs. They would serve as club ambassadors. They can be called to conduct workshops and generate publicity for the club. * preference for booked sessions, discounts on club merchandise, taking merchandise for sale.
Any supporter and contributor (people who pledge paper, inks etc) * can attend one workshop, club merchandise according to contribution
* privileges of members
SELECTION PROCEDURE
1. Rollovers - every member would stay on for 3 semesters to ensure that there is no gap and at any given point of time all the members are not new. 2. Elections - elections for selecting members would happen every academic year. 3. Membership status - all members become off-campus
1. Decision makers - They would form the core team and comprise of 3 faculty/staff members and 4-5 student members. The structure would be flat and organic so that no decision is taken by a single individual (to avoid concentration of power) and ensure that the club is community-centric rather than people-centric. All descisions regarding the functioning and activities of the club would be taken by them. 2. Doers - they would comprise of smaller teams responsible for specific tasks as well as student volunteers. Whatever decisions are take would be communicated to them at club meetings. They would carry out the tasks assigned to them supervised by decision makers.
members upon convocating and take on an advisory role. 4. Member selection - In the beginning members would have to be selected personally by the founding team. However subsequently once the club is launched and operational students can be nominated and selection will happen by elections. All the existing members would vote, conduct interviews etc. and select appropriate candidates.
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THE WORKSHOPS
3 The physicality involved in the setting of type allows students to acquire new insights. The metal type has the distinctive tactile qualities and forms the basis of a multi-sensory experience. - Edwards, Lockheart and Raein
Since the major objective behind setting up this club is to organise hands-on workshops for students, it is necessary that their structure be clearly defined. This section also covers basic costs for conducting a workshop (most of which require no extra funds or exchange of money) as well as a schedule for the next academic year. Also workshops can explore opportunities for collaboaration with different disciplines (like block printing, paper dyeing, paper making, laser cutting).
PARTICIPATION BY REGISTRATION
1. Participation in workshops would be open to students of NID on prior registration. However due to limited resources and technical staff, participation would be limited. 2. As and when a workshop is announced, registration details would also be made known. Typically announcement would happen two weeks beore a workshop and registration one week before. 3. Registration would be on first come first serve basis. A registration desk would be set up in the campus by the club and participants would register on the spot by filling up a registration form. 4. They would also be a given a small kit at this point, which
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would contain all required material, like a welcome note, rules and regulations, safety guidelines, additional reading material. WORKSHOP COSTING
1. Inks - recurring 2. Aprons - one time 3. Paper - recurring 4. Welcome kits - one time 5. Archiving/documenting - recurring 6. Giveaways - recurring 7. Promtional material - recurring 8. Club merchandise - one time
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
The possible workshops can be classified into three levels based on level of skill and expertise required. 1.
2.
3.
Introductory - beginner level, no prerequisite skills, would give an introduction to the technique of letterpress printing.
Basic - intermediate level, participants would be required to have attended an introductory workshop or have some experience with letterpress printing, would deal with more experimental techniques that can be done on letterpress.
Advanced - advanced level, participants would be required to have attended an introductory workshop or a basic workshop or have some experience with letterpress printing, would be thematic and specific output oriented.
Experimenting with color, Experimenting with alignment, Experimenting with paper, Making rubber stamps
Making postcards on love, Happy birthday cards, Hot foil stamping, Letterpress Scrabble - DIY woodtype, Letterpress + Binding, Embossing-debossing, Block making - woodcut/linocut
Basics of Handsetting type, Fundamentals of typography, Introduction to Letterpress 15 participants 3 workshops in even semester and 2 in odd
10 participants 2 workshops in even semester and 1 in odd
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE (2014-2015)
ODD SEMESTER (JUNE-OCTOBER)
EVEN SEMESTER (NOVEMBER-MARCH)
Week
Dates
Week
Dates
1th 2th 3th 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th
09-13 JUNE 16-20 23-27 30-04 JULY 07-11 14-18 21-25 28-01 04-08 AUGUST 11-15 18-22 25-29 01-05 SEPTEMBER 08-12 15-19 22-26 29-03 OCTOBER 06-10 13-17
24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd
17-21 NOVEMBER 24-28 01-05 DECEMBER 08-12 15-19 22-26 29-02 JANUARY 05-09 12-16 19-23 26-30 02-06 FEBRUARY 09-13 16-20 23-27 02-06 MARCH 09-13 16-20 23-27
8 participants 2 workshops in even semester and 1 in odd
WORKSHOP BREAKDOWN
KEY UNAVAILABLE WEEKS INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP BASIC WORKSHOP ADVANCED WORKSHOP
1. Full day - full day sessions conducted from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (working hours of Print Labs), could be conducted on fridays and saturdays, can be open to outsiders 2. Broken down into smaller sessions - workshops can be broken down into smaller doable sessions eg. if any activity takes 6 hours, it can be conducted over 3 days in 2 hour sessions. 3. Booked sessions - these can be an additional arrangement under which students/alumni/past members who have some prior experience with letterpress can book a sesssion in the PrintLabs and work on independent projects with the help of technical staff, participants would be required to bring their own material (papers, any special inks), they would be required to leave certain number of prints (say 50 prints) with the club to be used by the club for displays or for sale (with due design credit).
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THE VISUAL IDENTITY
4 The fascination that letterpress holds is simple to explain; to a student, computers are commonplace, whereas letterpress is so old its new. - David Jury
This section outlines how the club can be launched in June 2014. Various ideas for the launch have been listed along with a detailed outine for one of them. Possible visual identities and their application on club merchandise have also been included.
LAUNCH OF THE CLUB
The club can be launched in June 2014, (next academic year) pending approval. The launch can happen phase wise. 1. Recruiting members - Before the club can be launched, the members of the core committe need to be recruited. They will have to go through orientation to understand their roles and responsibilities and how the club will operate. 2. Releasing the Identity - After this the identity of the club will be released so that students can be informed that an inititaive of this kind is going to be launched soon and what are the possibilities for their involvement. 3. Promoting the Club - Once the identity is released, promotions can begin. There are many ways by which this can be done. Short 1 minute video teasers can be screened before film club screenings, posters can be put up around college, a
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facebook page can be set up, also club merchandise can be made available for sale. 4. Announcing workshop schedule - The schedule and registration process can be announced to the students. 5. Formal Launch - A formal launch can be done in the form of an exhibition displaying experimental award winning work that helps set a context for the entire movement. POSSIBLE NAMES FOR THE CLUB
1. em-quad 2. quad rats 3. im.press.ions 4. re-leaf printing club 5. PICA club (PrintLabs Initiated Community Arts Club)
VISUAL IDENTITY
OPTION 1 - EM QUAD Em quad is a kind of spacing material used in letterpress printing. Its width is equal to the height of the body of a given size of type. For example, in a font of 10pt type, an em will be 10pt high and 10pt deep.Therefore, this unit is the same for all typefaces at a given point size. Originally, the unit equaled the width of the capital “M� in the typeface and size being used, which gave the unit its name. Under this definition, the length of an em varied with both the typeface and point size. The identity is a technical term that has connotations of not just letterpress but also typography. The given logotype uses square letters, reflecting the square unit of measurement. Also the element of a speech bubble suggests the interactive nature of the club. The name is something that is usually unheard of and has a potential to spark curiosity amongst the target audience. The edgy nature is also reminiscent of the metal type used in letterpress printing.
VISUAL IDENTITY
OPTION 2 - RE-LEAF Relief printing is a printmaking process used to make multiple images, where protruding surface faces of the printing plate or block are inked; recessed areas are ink free. Printing the image is therefore a relatively simple matter of inking the face of the matrix and bringing it in firm contact with the paper. A printingpress may not be needed as the back of the paper can be rubbed or pressed by hand with a simple tool such as a brayer or roller. Relief printing is the oldest and most durable method of making prints, dating back leven hundred years to hand printed scrolls made in China. Relief printing developed in Europe during the 1450’s, influenced by the innovation of moveable type and the printing press. Common relief print methods for monochrome and colour prints employed by artists include wood and linocuts, rubber stamps, wood engravings and collagraphs. The identity is a twist of the name while it reflects that the block is a mirror image of the final print.
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CLUB MERCHANDISE The club can produce a range of merchandise that can be availabe for sale to students as well as in NIDUS. It will help not only promote the club but also generate revenue.The club can sell limited edition prints, t-shirts, badges, small rubbers stamped cards etc. T-SHIRTS White t-shirts with the club identity can be produced. These can be given to the core committee. BAGS Small canvas bags can be made that can carry the identity and the welcome kit for the participants can be given to them in the bag. BADGES Small button badges can be produced with typographic symbols that will look visually interesting and also give information about typography.
CLUB PROMOTION There are many ways that club activities can be promoted to encourage participation of students. Short video teasers can be played in the beginning of film club screeenings as well as posters can be put up in campus. SPEECH BUBBLE SHAPED POST-ITS Since the club identity has an element of a speech buuble, small speech bubble shaped post its can be put up on notice boards that can contain details about workshops. ODD SIZED POSTERS Odd sized posters can be used for promotion of the club. The paper can be scrap pieces and the identity can be rubber stamped onto it. The posters can use typographical puns.
what’s the point? coming soon...
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A TYPICAL INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP
Introductory workshops would give participants an overview of relief printing in general and letterpress printing in particular and its possibilities. It would explain the history and set a context. This would primarily be demonstrative, explaining all the fundamentals of letterpress printing. Session would be full day and can be conducted on saturdays or restricted holidays. There would be no prerequisite skills for this workshop so it would be open to all students. However participation would be limited to 15 students on the basis of registartion. Participants would be given a welcome kit giving all necessary details. They would be required to bring their own paper, A3 white cartridge sheets for taking prints. Typically 3 such workshops would happen in the odd semester and 2 in the even. The participants of these workshops would become eligible to participate in subsequent basic and advanced workshops.
SESSIONS
COSTING
1. Presentation - the workshop would begin with a basic presentation giving an overview of relief printing and letterpress printing. This would help set a context for the students. This can happen as a digital presentation in GD classroom followed by a tour of the Print Labs and its various facilities
Pre-workshop - welcome kit for participants, registartion forms, promotional material, these costs would have to be borne by SAC or NID adminb to begin with and later can be handled by the club funds. Printing can happen in house in Print Labs and can be absorbed within the department. Most of these costs are one time, while some would be recurring.
2. Demonstration - After that the participants would be given a basic demonstration of letterpress printing wherein all its fundamentals, as well as different technical terminology would be explained to them. They would be familiarised with the machines as well as handling of typecases. 3. Handcomposing+printing - Subsequently the participants would get the opportunity to handcompose a phrase uing type from one of the cases and pull prints of the same on the proofing press using the paper they brought. They would get these samples to keep. No experimentation would be done at this stage. Only a basic introduction to the medium would be given to the participants.
During workshop - paper, inks, aprons, the cost of ink can be absorbed by Print Labs inventory while cost of paper can be transferred onto participants. Aprons would be a one time investment. Post-workshop - giveaways for paticipants, documenting/ archiving, rubber stamps, display, some of these costs can be transferred onto participants while others are a one-time investment.
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COLOPHON OUR SINCERE APPEAL
ONLINE RESOURCES
This project is a step towards revival of hands on learning at NID. We hope that you will go through our proposed design and share your feedback and thoughts with us. Hopefully this can act as a trigger for more debate and suitable action.
This project has been documented chronologically here - friendsofletterpress.wordpress.com
Student Ananya Post-Graduate Graphic Design ananya@nid.edu
27th March 2014
An online copy of this document can be accessed here - issuu.com/ananyamittal/docs/fol_proposal
Faculty Guide Tarun Deep Girdher Senior Faculty, Graphic Design Head, Print Labs tarundg@nid.edu
Paldi, Ahmedabad 380 007
Reference - issuu.com/akshanish/docs/rc_pitch