Hatch Show Print: Power From Simplicity
“The Hatch poster, though, kicks with a louder boot,”
says Jim Sherraden, manager at Nashville’s Hatch Show Print. And he’s right. Just look at them – in all their bold, chunky beauty.
So what gives them the extra kick? Truth. Simple and unadulterated. The limits of the letterpress force clarity – in both message and hierarchy of presentation.
“Everything’s done by hand. Hand crank. Hand ink. Hand trim. Hand wrap. And we call the customer from a rotary telephone.”
Modern technology makes cramming in more – copy, images, logos, names, dates – the easy default for dealing with every contingency. But usually, more is just more – confusing, distracting and detrimental to communication.
Next time the urge to add-on leaks in, be a vicious editor. Imagine having to produce your ad concept or web site homepage or brand story on a Hatch Show Print poster.
Sacrifice for clarity.
Founded in 1879 and owned by The Country Music Hall of Fame since 1992, Hatch Show Print is one of the oldest letterpress shops in the country. Read more here from the Smithsonian Institution.
Update June 7: This June 4th post from Seth Godin, But You’re Not Saying Anything, hits on the same idea (perhaps more succinctly.)
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Posted by:
Bruce Kaechele
Email the author:
brucek@fathom.net
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“Be a viscous editor” and stop adding to the noise. You are so spot on Bruce.
In social media channels, I sometimes find myself rambling and getting all my thoughts out there in a brain dump because it’s just easier and faster (although Twitter forces you to “letter press” your thinking).
Clarity, brevity and the confidence to write succinctly is getting lost.
I like the Hatch Show Print approach. I will consider this when the volume of my writing amps up in a post or email. Is your writing better without the extra explanation? Are some things better left unsaid?
Answer is always yes and yes.
Seems to me, with the consensus-by-repetition that “content is king”, we have fallen into the age of “let me show you how much I know.” Of course, as in music, the beauty is as much in the space between notes as it is in the notes themselves. It lets the listener’s ears rest. In conversation, it allows others to contribute.
Do you think it’s from a fear of being shown up – not being seen as the smartest in the room – the need to be the one who gets credit?
Cool I like it, this is nice blog you have here!
I just wanted to say your blog is one of the nicely laid out, most inspirational I’ve come across in quite a while. Thx!
Sharon, thanks for your kind words. We try really hard to add new thinking – not just add to the noise that is becoming more deafening everyday. Would love to hear what you have to say about some of our specific posts. Engage us in conversation – it’s what we love. Thanks again.
Bruce