Challenge

To learn how to properly hand set type, carve linoleum blocks, create polymer plates, and successfully execute designs using the Vandercook letterpress.

Strategy

In an effort to both lessen my attachment to the computer, and gain an appreciation for hand set typography, I completed a sixteen week letterpress course. The course was both cathartic and frustrating, as the quest for precision and perfection was met with cumbersome equipment, hand registration, and on-press revisions.

Results

Upon completion of this course, I developed a greater appreciation for hand skills, typesetting, and the history of the graphic design profession. Through the design and production of postcards, broadsides, calling cards, and books, I was able to leave the comfort of computer design and create a body of work that is tactile, elegant, and one of a kind.