This is also RPG Online part 2, yes i used hellvetica
We have been in Level 2 since 13 May 2020. NZ has been handling the COVID-19 fairly well and I have been impressed how it’s been handled by NZ as a whole. (this is more context, to my rambling on this post, a nod to my friend that has passed a few years ago, who enjoys his rants.).
I make my living with print in the last 20 plus odd years. I have seen it change and grow and even back at school they were talking about the Death of Print ( Post-modern, blah blah, New Paradigm…Hell, we likely gone into Neo-Modern or The Days That Was), this is when the Internet started to be a thing, you know back in the late 90s. I have evolved from being a print designer to layout designer working for both Print and Digital mediums along with many other formats. Design is still design and communicating visually has always been a thing.
Do not get me wrong. I am an old-school Print person. I many ways I am a print/physical collector (I want my Stuff), from stacks of comic books to fancy artbooks and business cards printed on yummy paper. While on holiday, back in the Days That Was, I would collect brochures and flyers as an example/research of print and design. But I am just as keen for Digital content.
As they say it the writing is on the wall… Note – I have been working from home as a freelancer for a few years now.
Of course, I still working on-site now and then.
With the whole lockdown, people need to work from home. They have to embrace technology if they are to continue working ( I am talking office-based jobs, respects to the front line workers and people who work in different areas where they can not work from home.)
So, meetings are now over video conference ( Zoom, Skype, Discord), the quick phone call for clarifications, emails and text/chat messages are sent. I have been sending PDFs as artwork proofs. Docx and Doc are being sent around. Even, Cloud documents such as Google Docs and Sheets are being worked on collaboratively. Project management done off tools like Trello and Asana. Coffee breaks are done via Slack, Discord and Facebook groups. CRM and VPNs… don’t get me started. Evens, Notes are kept on your devices ( I use Google Keep and Evernote)
It’s kinda great for the environment with less paper using used, but we are also missing the feel of paper, texture, permanency. The Feel of Real. I know the face-to-face office will start back up, but I am sure some offices have questioned whether they need an office space and staff can be working off-site as if we were still in lockdown. I saw the amount of “For Lease” and empty buildings in Wellington ( sure some are earthquake risk)…
What if, we are starting to embrace data readers ( iPads, tablets, phone, etc) just like in Star Trek, Next generations…. accessing the Network and Services remotely. Humm… I think we are already here. We just don’t know it yet. I’ll be designing the layout of these screens and documents.
A clear example is the weekly Rpg game over lockdown. My group meet almost every time for a short session, to catch up and have seen everyone over a brew and game. This was done over many apps but we have settled with Discord and Zoom. We are not tactical gamers, but it does help to have maps and visual references. In the middle of the session, I need on many occasions to draw a map. A quick screen share of my blank sheet in m drawing programme of choice ( Photoshop) I was able to run combat and exploration with some adjustment layers. Lots of friends, have recommended VTTs but as yet I am to fully explore this. I know of groups, instead of bringing books, minis and dice, they bring a laptop and hook into the WiFi and they are not LAN gaming but roleplaying! Dice rolling? there are apps on the Discord and on your phone, but again we are all telling the same story, why let dice ruin the fun? ( I also trust my players 😎 ) . In the same way, you don’t feel as “you have the Control of the Dice” by rolling the actual dice if you didn’t roll the dice…
There will always be a need for print with “important documents” and other communications (and STUFF).
The need for physical product… is it the same to receive a birthday card physically or digitally, having the Letters in the letterbox or in the Postbox app ( I am as guilty of not reply to physical letters). I think we need to start making Physical Print more special, go and back that Kickstarter with the Premium Paper and binding or buying that Jim Lee pencils “Justice League Unwrappped”.
Or seek out something special … I have a set of prints of Betty Page Rocketeer Cosplay signed by Riddle (@Riddlesmessywardrobe) and able to meet conversation her at Armageddon (another blog post me thinks) – which lead me to photograph her in the cosplay and also prompted me into creating my Capturing Cosplay brand. That time I was given some old Anne Rice vampire novels, (hardcover, large format, bound book with semi deckle edging, yellowing of paper, I think it was 2nd printing…). Damn it was special to me. Likely junk for many others.
There really is no point I am making but an observation that I need to get on my digital blog.