Remembering Print

We have all heard the expression “Print is Dead”, but is it true?

Is there honestly nothing new in the medium? It is certainly clear that the world is evolving to the digital word, with news services focusing on web delivery, social interaction happening on our phones, and magazines being read on iPads. The classic movie exclamation “Stop the Presses” never seemed more poignant. But is print really gone?

At High Seas, we don’t think so. Though we focus the majority of our attention on interactive projects, we still have a soft spot for print. Many of us started in the industry as print designers, after all. We spent our days working with the page as if it were a canvas that was full of possibilities. We learned to treat text as more than a means of communication, but as a visual method to delight and involve the reader. We strove to create a sense of reader interaction from a static layout, and to embrace the unique qualities of each font, from Avenir to Zapt Dingbats.

I know it sounds sentimental. Maybe we just don’t want to see print go.

We are also realists, and can see that the future clearly belongs to the screen. And we know that we can help shape that future, not only by pushing technology forward, but also by applying all we have learned from the page to the screen. By taking those hours spent working with text, images, color and concept, and incorporating them into our process. It is an ideal that is on the rise in interactive design. The ideal of bringing the mature sensibilities of print into the interactive realm.

Print may be dying, but at High Seas we are dedicated to keeping her memory alive.