Exploration through letter press workshop

I decided to venture into Uni today and go to the print studio. Unfortunately, the screen printing workshop is still out of action which isn't an idea as I wanted to further my practice within this printed medium but I knew that I wanted to explore letterpress at some point so I felt now would be a good idea to explore this. 

The image shows photos taken from my own experimentation with the letterpress (Jones, 2023)

As you can see from the experiments above, each design was to depict the overall layout of the letter Alef. I had a good amount of space to work within on the Albion which made me relax a bit in terms of working out and playing around with different compositions. I started to visually see how tactile these experiments are becoming and how they connote a strong sense of modularity.

Through no thought in designing some of these printed outcomes, I actually saw some visual resemblance towards the Bauhaus and how these compositions focus on "form follows function" and how the shapes should primarily relate to their intended function or purpose. 

The image shows a photo taken from my own experimentation with the letterpress (Jones, 2023)

I feel that this composition works really well in visually promoting modularity through the different wood-type shapes. In fact, it was suggested by Jordan the print technician to explore compositions that could utilise the spacing of each shape that he had in the studio and that it would become part of the overall design of the letter. I used bold letter types to make out the rest of the shape of Alef, which to me actually worked out rather well. A close-up of this can be seen below. 

Angularity is one of many important factors within the overall design of the letter Alef, this is due to its distinctive lines that decipher its overall meaning. I feel that my own interpretation of this discovery and how it shows different ways to visualise the composition of this letter, shows how important materiality is for me and my own practice. I can actually now start to see how prevalent my question on materiality is for my own development within my practice and how it has formed part of my practice-based research within the understanding of typography and how shapes are used to identify different letter forms. 

The image shows a close-up of one of my visual printed outcome (Jones, 2023)

I am definitely drawn to further experimenting through typography, as this will allow me to open up further compositions and creative play within the perspective of materiality. Another area I feel that I want to examine is the relationship between both analogue and digital design. The idea to create and using the current analogue prints that I have been exploring so far and then scan them to make them digital by live tracing them fascinates me as it shows another form of experimentation from the perspective of materiality. I want to see how far I can push this within these relations so that I can use it in different printed mediums and see how they visually look when layering. This will create a deeper understanding of experimentation, as I feel that layering both analogue print work and digital work will create a different perspective on materiality as an overall outcome.  

Below are images taken from the work of Jordan, the print technician of a recent print project. The reason for my interest in this is because I feel that it has visual relevance to what I am trying to consider for my own work and what I would like to make to support my question of research and visually show an outcome from this.

 Photos showing the work of Jordan Baines letterpress prints (2023)

 Photos showing the work of Jordan Baines letterpress prints (2023)

 

Flicking through this book allowed me to engage with the print work and typography in a tactile way. The feel of the paper stock created an experience of a sensory nature that is important within the print design. It was good to analyse closely the different types of prints used within this book and the inks used.

Would this be something I try for myself and explore? 

I feel this was a great way to investigate physical print work that explores typography, whilst suggesting how I can implement my understanding of materiality within my own practice. I feel that the next stages will be rather interesting for me, as it will definitely push me out of my comfort zone, whilst allowing myself to be more freer within the exploration stages. However, I have always wanted to screen print large posters and there has been something on my mind to explore, so potentially this may be one of the printed mediums that I may decide to explore In creating my resolution.