Designers are often accused of failing to understand what printers can bring to the creative discussion. Environmental graphics designer Pat O’Leary couldn’t be more different from this stereotype. In the ‘Think Bigger’ video interview this month she explains that she sees printers as part of the bigger collaborative team on a commission and tries to bring them into the creative process as early as possible. “Talking to them early on also means that I know whether something is possible and importantly if it is possible within the budget,” she says, adding that suppliers have grown used to her coming in with ideas to print on all sorts of surfaces. “They’ll give it a go and if it doesn’t work, we do something else.”
Printers might contend O’Leary’s attitude isn’t typical. As all industries move into a far more collaborative age when transparency and knowledge-sharing is increasingly a prerequisite for doing business, the traditional lines drawn around everyone’s so-called ‘patch’ are disappearing. More designers will have to adopt O’Leary’s collaborative mindset and this gives printers a fantastic opportunity to put themselves forward and show what they can bring to a creative debate. While she is quick to praise the inventiveness of the printers she works with, O’Leary also observes a reticence by some others to experiment and try new ideas. Such printers are effectively opting themselves out of the discussion and also serving to reinforce stereotypical views that might be held about them. This isn’t in their interest nor that of the wider print community. So make sure you become part of the discussion not the subject of it.