Letterpress – Select Designs from San Francisco and New York by Miki Usui

Article by Martin Gibson – @embody3d @martingibson – 02.02.2011

Letterpress, published by Pie Books, can be best described as a cute little book showcasing the best letterpress designs from New York ad San Francisco, but is unfortunately written entirely in japanese. Due to the narrow scope of the book and the fact that the author took the time to reveal some interesting and inspiring work the Japanese is quickly forgiven.

The technique of letterpress comprising simply of pressing a metal tool against a paper giving an embossed effect has seen a re-emergence in graphic design trends in the last decade. I am not sure why exactly this is? Perhaps it is to give designs a bit of historical edge to them…you know going back to how things used to be to juxtapose the modern 75GSM Reflex paper that everything seems to get printed on. Or perhaps it is to give a more premium feel to things like brochures and invitations…as letterpress is certainly not cheap. In fact for a job of 1000 copies or less the letterpress is likely to far outweigh the cost of paper and ink. Despite this, letterpress has seemed to overcome the digital divide, and for all we know may be hear to stay.

Letterpress by Miki Usui covers are a variety of different studios, that seem to have eerily similar designs. The designs are mostly modern, quirky, cute and most of all crafty as these are designs developed by small operators, not multinational print organisations. For anyone considering using letterpress for a wedding invitation or a birthday party, this book truly is a must-have for good ideas. Often designs that work effectively on letterpress don’t work as well on print and vice versa, so this book might be a good unofficial guideline. There is really no limit as to what mediums or subject matters can be covered from the letterpress technique, whether it be invitations, coasters, brochures, tags, letters, clothing and apparel, reports…you name it.

Some chapters of Letterpress include: Dutch Door Press, Austin Press, Carrot & Stick Press, Hello! Lucky, Chewingthecud, Pancake and Franks, Small Square Design, Old Tom Foolery, Ensatina Press. Some studios featured include: Sesame Letterpress, Moontree Letterpress, Hijirik Design Studio, Paper+Cup Design.

The book also features an interview with Julie Holcomb and Daniel Gardiner Morris, but unless you decide to learn Japanese before you purchase the book the interviews will be of little value. I am giving this book a reserved 3 Stars, and if my ability in Japanese improves this score could easily fluctuate.

[rating:3]