Printed Matter
The understanding and appreciation of artist books
Printed Matter is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination, understanding and appreciation of artist books and related publications.
Founded in 1976, Printed Matter works to distribute and promote artists’ books to bring increased visibility and appreciation to the field. The range of publications stocked at the shop is a testament to our broad and all-inclusive understanding of the medium.
Objective: An exploration of Printed Matter rebrand focused on a centralized design for featured artists and books
Identity
As an art-focused publisher, Printed Matter needed an identifiable and recognizable branding that can help promote itself. While not as playful, the new logo serves to leave a bolder and more tangible impression than its predecessor while having the flexibility to be in the background. Work was also done for their micro-brand, the L.A. Art Book Fair, but through the idea of a page flip.
The concept behind the page flip was the curious nature of picking up a book and not knowing what artwork or design was going to be on the next page. This allowed for an opportunity to design around promoting new books and shine a light on artists by using numerous page flips to function as a sneak peek to arouse interest in a playful manner.
Exploration
Color
The inspiration behind the colored page flips was drawn from this image of Printed Matter’s original bookstore.
The combination of magenta and cyan-colored prints and the magenta name gave the store a sort-of intentional highlight amongst the grey and white buildings. These colors are now absent in the currently existing store and online branding.
Digital Application
The main purpose of the digital space is to help guide visitors to new art literature or artist works.
Work was done for the website, a mobile app, and Instagram
For Instagram, page flips will give a preview of the posted content, prompting users to interact with the post by swiping to see what it is. Additionally, stories could start with a flip as well.
