![]() There is also a lot of entrepreneurial enthusiasm. There seems to be a high number of designers and developers in our little town. What makes Champaign, Illinois a city in which living and being an artist and developer is feasible? The talent pool is very high for a small college town. I also knew that, realistically, I would not be using them all the time and it would be a shame to have them sit idle, so I came up with the idea to create a co-op. I knew that these things were hard to come by and most people cannot house an 1,100 lb press in their home or studio. I knew I would need the type and a press or two to create the App - but I wanted it to be much more. Some had very nice equipment that was collecting dust, so I would make them offers. All of the research I did put me in contact with collectors and printers. I didn't jump into being serious about letterpress until after I came up with the idea and we created a prototype. Moving to collecting wood type was more recent, but pretty natural since it involves all of my personal and professional interests. I studied hand techniques and began collecting vintage tools. As years went by, I began learning woodworking and lutherie. And when I came back to grad school the focus was on computers. Unfortunately, I didn't know the great asset I had under my nose. They were so cool! They stuck in my mind. I used it for a few projects and started rummaging through the type cases and saw these large old wooden letters. ![]() While an undergrad at Indiana University, we had access to their letterpress studio. When did your passion for the press begin? Did you have previous experience using a letterpress? I've always had a high respect for commercial printing and the skill it requires, being a designer and working with good printers throughout my career. It was the most exciting times of my life! What made you stay in Urbana-Champaign after you finished your graphic design degree? I began working at Wolfram Research while I was a graduate student. What was the one greatest pieces of advice you were given when working through this application? From my collaborator, Jeff Adams: "Avoid the use of dialog boxes." How long have you been working on this particular project? I came up with the idea in April of 2010. Occupation: Principal and Creative Director, Bonadies Creative Inc. Smile Politely proudly approves of John Bonadies.Ĭonsumed by: eBay/craigslist/ One thousand, six hundred and one people believe in John's project (there are definitely more individuals out there who didn't have a chance to donate) and you should, too. It's the letterpress that kicked off this whole printed word thing we call writing, and without it, Smile Politely wouldn't be around. In the same vein, I do not think that replacing the letterpress with a digital application makes the original form less dynamic or less important. But there is no question that the live experience is still important and relevant. Certainly, the idea of streaming a live concert over the internet is not a bad one, and recently for fans of a band like say, LCD Soundsystem, that access provided a lot of their fans worldwide a type of access that we couldn't previously attain. Yes, we all know that the letterpress is a dying art form. On April 21, the project was fully funded and now Champaign-Urbana will get to reap in the many benefits of John's success, such as having access to three full-functioning letterpress machines, along with many catalogs of wood type that John has purchased or collected from all over the world. But, when people have an exciting concept and they have already completed a huge majority of the legwork - how can one not support such a project? There are so many Kickstarter projects out there, it is almost overwhelming. ![]() and I stumbled upon his wickedly amazing talent through a friend who forwarded me his Kickstarter project: a virtual letterpress for the iPad. John Bonadies runs his own graphic design business in Champaign, Ill.
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