It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle who first defined the five senses–sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste–and prioritized them in order of the amount of information they deliver to the average person.†  When designers communicate on paper, they focus on sight, the most complex and powerful of the senses. But good designers go beyond just one sense.  Our third most powerful sense, touch, can add another dimension to the communication, and the best designers work with that. It may be subliminal, but it’s very effective.

You can feel the fur, feathers and flesh
Look at Anita’s illustrations. Close your eyes and feel the texture of the paper. What feedback does the texture give you? Now open your eyes, look at the illustrations and pay attention to your sense of touch. What was unconscious now comes to the forefront, and you’ll be more aware of the textures you see in the fur, feathers and flesh. This is the added dimension that an uncoated stock like Cool can bring to the communications.

The right paper for the job
Knowing how to specify the perfect paper for any given project is a skill every designer should learn. It’s the surest way to add that indefinable edge to

the project, that extra glow that lifts it above the ordinary. ¶ In the same way that the texture of Cool magnifies the emotional quotient of Anita’s illustrations, other finishes can be carefully chosen to reinforce specific messages. Consider your materials and pick your spots. And remember, as a designer, it’s part of your job.

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† Since then, neurologists have defined others, and accept that there are at least nine in humans plus another two in animals and other organisms. In humans, here are another five: tactition is the sense of pressure perception, thermoception the sense of heat and cold, nociception is the perception of pain, equilibrioception is the perception of balance and propriception is the awareness of where the various regions of the body are located at any one time. For animals, sharks have highly developed senses that include electroreception, the ability to detect electrical waves as infinitesimal as nerve impulses, and lateral line, which detects motion or “sound” in water.

 

M-real Cool is available from M-real Canada Ltd.
Order your samples or swatch book from:
www.m-real.ca