Last week John Maeda of MIT's Media Lab wrote in his blog, Simplicity, about The Color of Black.
I sent John some thoughts, and he has posted them in a follow-up post. John picks up on two items and elaborates:
Josh makes two important points in the second paragraph: weight and expense. In the Internet age we don't have digital paper with varying weights; we also don't have digital paper with varying expense as related to quality (aside from the cosmetic difference between lcd/plasma/crt). I see a business opportunity for Adobe ...
As I mentioned to John, I always use the smoothest, brightest white paper with the heaviest bond. In the 10 years and three companies I have been involved with, I can point to countless times when a potential client would comment on the quality of our stationary. Was the paper the deciding factor in clients selecting us? Probably not, but it definitely gave us a leg up.
While it is still true toay, in the mid-90's when web firms were popping up all over the place, having a 'weighty' paper in subtle ways told a client that you weren't some fly-by-night company.
The weight of paper has always been something I pay very close attention to. In many ways, it's a subtle indication of the 'quality' of a company. The selection of paper is just as important as the logo.
Recently I received a letter from a firm which will remain nameless. They have a very crisp, clean, modern logo. But something seemed out of place. The paper was a linen blend with a traditional linen texture. It just did not go with the logo. They should have used a smooth paper. A friend of mine who works in advertising also received the same letter. I told him my thoughts, he said, "That's it, I knew there was something that just didn't feel right about this letterhead"
When I encounter a company that has 'cheap' paper it tells me they don't put a focus on quality. Now some may argue that a company is being fiscally wise to not go overboard on paper costs. I disagree. Ever been handed a business card printed on an ink-jet with perforated edges? Not a very good first impression.
So how do we assses the 'weight' of digital paper as John asks? Could we buy a heavier bond from Adobe?
