Hallmark Press Ahead - Letterpress masterclass will influence future designs
Ten designers from Hallmark plc, all with a different brief to research in printmaking, came to enjoy unique access to our superb letterpress and a technique masterclass with Lecturer Brian Hindmarch on 13th May, as a thank you for their generous support of the School of Arts & Media. Our unique collection dates back over a hundred years and allows designers working in digital to use vintage typography they would never see anywhere else.
Hallmark’s Art Director, Angie Williams said “We have letterpress at Hallmark’s head office in Kansas City but the College has an exceptional collection. This has been an excellent staff development opportunity. We have had a good exploration of typography, combining different fonts and seeing what they do to composition. We have also experimented with printing on different materials, appreciating the textures. It has also been a creative outlet we don’t normally get. We are very honoured to be given access to such fantastic expertise and facilities.”
The day was jointly organised by designer Emma Wilcock, who continued, “We have taken a designer from each team, all with different projects set by their managers. Lisa is working on a floral range so she has been experimenting with lino print and mono print, while many of the others are working on letterpress. Inevitably what we have produced here will be worked up on the Macs in the studio and will be seen in the shops the following year. Everything is so old it is not copyright, so we are creating lots of alphabets to take back with us. A lot of our work is done on Macs so it has also been a chance to be hands on and free up our creativity.”
Brian Hindmarch is passionate about preserving this very precious resource and skills and is delighted that it is in vogue once more. He enthused, “Things are going full cycle and now hand drawn type is coming back into fashion. There is a whole revival of the vintage type letterpress and a celebration of tradition. We have a very rare and comprehensive collection and people will never get some of these typefaces again. We have given Hallmark this unique opportunity to acknowledge the close links we have with them.”