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BROWSE


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Client

Self Promotion


Quantity Produced

Business cards, 600
Notecards, 150


Production Cost

Undisclosed


Production Time

4 weeks

Dimensions (Width × Height × Depth)

3 in × 1.875 in


Page Count


Paper Stock

140# Holyoke 100% Cotton Rag, Bone color


Number of Colors

2 spot inks, black and orange

Varnishes


Binding


Typography

Chaparral Pro, Clarendon, and Whomp

 

As soon as I saw these cards, I was struck by the vibrancy of type and color, the texture of the paper, and the changing levels created by the letterpress. But then I looked closer and realized there was more going on than I first noticed, so I emailed Michael Faber hoping to get more information on how these cards came to be.

On the edging:

The edging was a technique that I noticed perusing through some other business cards on Card Observer, Beast Pieces, and FPO. I liked the way a thick stock could really pop with a bright color painted along the edge. As far as the actual execution of the technique, I really had no idea how to do it myself, but I knew I wanted to do it as cleanly as possible. I had the stamp pad already as I knew I was going to use the stamp on the reverse side of the card, so it really wasn’t difficult to put two and two together and use the stamp pad itself to edge paint the cards. The result is easy, quick-drying, and not messy at all. Plus I can just do a handful (10-20) at a time as I need them and there is no setup or cleanup for the job.

Adding a stamp to the alternate of your printed business card is a nice way of mixing professional printing with DIY, while adding a layer of technique and texture that can only be achieved by mixing processes such as these. Of course, that also helps minimize costs — just make sure your paper is thick enough that you don’t see the effects of letterpressing on both sides.

On the actual printing:

I fell in love with letterpress printing during this project. I am very grateful to Dave at Horse & Buggy for letting me join him in the studio for the day and showing me the ropes on his Vandercook press. At each step from mixing the inks to cranking out each print, he showed me how it was done and then let me do each step. Operating the press was definitely a great experience. You fall into an almost hypnotic rhythm as you are performing each repetitive task. Along with the ambient hum of the motor turning the cylinders and the regular clicks as you rotate the crank arm along the path, it’s very easy to let your mind wander and relax once you have your pattern.

Also, I used to do a bit of metal sculpture before moving into graphic design, so the combination of typography with an almost sculptural piece with a very hands-on, dirty process (a letterpressed card/note) was of course very appealing. I love giving the cards out and watching people rub their fingers over the impression and marvel that people still do this kind of thing. I handed the card to one of my coworkers recently and he asked me a really interesting question (we both work in multimedia/digital media). He said “Do you have trouble reconciling the old and the new technologies [letterpress + computer-based graphic design]?” I told him that this project has only made me realize how important the old techniques were and that because nowadays anyone can think that they are a designer if they have Photoshop, that the ‘old’ techniques may be seeing a resurgence as people try to distinguish themselves from the crowd. I think I had always known this, but it was his asking that actually prompted me to think even more deeply about graphic design as a real skill and trade with techniques and practices, as opposed to vectors and layers…

Horse & Buggy Press suggested Michael print his business cards alongside a foldable notecard, which could be fitted in the same plate. In doing so, he was able to print a second memento in which to engage his clients and future relationships.

Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card --- Michael Faber Business Card

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Michael Faber Business Card

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Production Method

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Design

Michael Faber

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Printing

Printing: Horse & Buggy Press
Stamp: Simon's Stamps

This post was published in the original layout of FPO so all images are smaller. Project descriptions as well as production lessons are quoted in the main content area.

Post Author

Bryony

Author Picture

Bryony Gomez-Palacio

Editor of FPO and co-founder of UnderConsideration LLC.

More: Online / On Twitter

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Date Published

August 20, 2009

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Filed Under

Business Cards

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About

FPO (For Print Only), is a division of UnderConsideration, celebrating the reality that print is not dead by showcasing the most compelling printed projects.

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About UnderConsideration

UnderConsideration is a graphic design firm generating its own projects, initiatives, and content while taking on limited client work. Run by Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit in Bloomington, IN. More…


blogs we publish

Brand New / Displaying opinions and focusing solely on corporate and brand identity work.

Art of the Menu / Cataloguing the underrated creativity of menus from around the world.

Quipsologies / Chronicling the most curious, creative, and notable projects, stories, and events of the graphic design industry on a daily basis.

products we sell

Flaunt: Designing effective, compelling and memorable portfolios of creative work.

Brand New Conference videos / Individual, downloadable videos of every presentation since 2010.

Prints / A variety of posters, the majority from our AIforGA series.

Other / Various one-off products.

events we organize

Brand New Conference / A two-day event on corporate and brand identity with some of today's most active and influential practitioners from around the world.

Brand Nieuwe Conference / Ditto but in Amsterdam.

Austin Initiative for Graphic Awesomeness / A speaker series in Austin, TX, featuring some of the graphic design industry's most awesome people.

also

Favorite Things we've Made / In our capacity as graphic designers.

Projects we've Concluded / Long- and short-lived efforts.

UCllc News / Updates on what's going at the corporate level of UnderConsideration.


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