More than a Piece of Paper
“[From] a two-dimensional virtual reality, you eventually have to take your plans to the third dimension,… making that leap requires paper.”
In todays day and age it seems as though every single interaction is between a person and their screen. But do you remember the woman at the conference who handed you that flyer? Or the attorney who gave you his business card? Here, how about that new folder and book you just bought from the store? Those were all interactions with paper! Yep it is still relevant even if we don’t think it is. Paper is a huge part of a brand but to understand why you need to know a bit about the variety of paper and what experiences they can create.
Characteristics and variety of paper such as weight, texture, pulp, finishing, coat, opacity, brightness, and size allows for the paper to invoke emotion. By using a paper that aligns to your business or personal values it carries your brand through the touch, rather than just visual. As a designer I know that all of these paper traits and qualities are important to a brand and that brands experience. So what are some aspects of paper that give it different characteristics?
It isn’t just this flattened, ink soaked, dead tree.
Coating
The coating on paper regulates how much the ink bleeds and absorbs into the paper. If you are seeking to print large pictures coated paper is great because it will keep the colors from mixing and make the images sharper.
Hand
The hand is the way the paper feels when it’s handled. This texture gives anyone holding it an experience or at least a feeling. If the paper is more textured, ridged or toothier, then they may experiences feelings of hand-made, organic, environment, heavy-duty, and old. If a paper is silky smooth you may experience thoughts of high quality, sophistication, clean, and modern.
A Few Traits
Brightness | This is the amount of light that reflect off of the paper back at the user. If you are publishing a book stark white paper may not be the best option, Why? Because if they take that book out to read on a bright day that sunlight is going to reflect off of the paper and cause the reader eyestrain.
Opacity | This is how much light can pass through the paper. If you want to make a notebook you would want to use higher opacity, or opaque (less transparent) paper because you don’t want to see the text from other pages or have ink bleed through.
Now that you know a bit more about paper and the experiences that they can enhance or destroy are you going to be more aware of your paper choices?
