For a creative collaboration (about which, more to come), I had signed up for a workshop at Hausprint with master lithographer Simon Burder, having picked the brains of two printmakers I know.
There is so much value in learning in person from people who know their stuff; in experiencing the heft, the texture, the smell, the sound, the sheer physical difficulty of a craft.
It reminded me of being sent ‘on press’ as a rookie designer. Ostensibly, that was for quality control. But really, it was to learn respect for the skilled people who could get the extra bit of quality out of a design job that would make all the difference.
That respect stuck. And what expert knowledge brings to a project still brings me joy.
Working with translation service World Accent on a recent project, back came suggestions for the weights of a Bengali typeface that would sit best with my typography in English.
Artworker Roger Taylor responded to my brief for logo detailing (project story coming when the identity launches) with the quiet question, would I like that bit circular? Yes, I would – and it made the result just… better.
And working with copywriter and editor Fiona Thompson has reminded me recently how beautifully engineered the process of layout feels when copy is elegant and written to length.
So let’s hear it for the people who know stuff – who teach us, notice things and lift our creative projects.
