We gotta give this guy some love. When I saw the view count on this film I thought my system was broken. You know me, jaded when it comes to the power of books and magazines in a world obsessed with all things digital, but Drew and Katja Cain takes it a step further in their own unique way.
Look at the scarf box, the branding, the magazine and the quality of both the content and design. Do you know what seeing scarves does to the average photographer? It sends them into a fit of unbridled yet healthy consumerism. This is a historical fact, and something painfully evident. I’m not joking, I’m wearing a scarf right now, one I picked up in Cambodia in 1996. I hadn’t worn it in years but seeing it is ten degrees at the moment I would wear just about anything.
What Drew is saying, and showing, is what I’ve been saying and showing for over a decade but coming from me I still run into the jaded set who say “Well, you are just saying this because you work for Blurb.” And then I say “I pay for 99% of all my books going all the way back to 2007.” And then they say “Oh,” and then we have a moment of awkwardness.
I actually believe what I’m saying about print because I KNOW it works. I’ve seen it work countless times. And the next time someone walks up and asks me to look at their portfolio while they pull out an iPad I’m literally going to run away.
Why should you watch this? He’s a normal guy and not selling you things he hasn’t actually done. Look at his photography and look at his design and tell me you can’t learn something from this film. It beats the Hell out of the vast majority of vapid yet cinematic content that rules the photography space online. And did I mention he is normal and nice? Ya. Just watch it.
Comments 9
Printing the images on scarfs is an exceptionally cool idea. Hmm
Author
Jim,
It is, for sure. Wonderful packaging, design, and imagery. Works really well. I hope they do well.
Just dove into his videos. Fun to watch, great delivery.
Author
Scott,
Agreed.
PS – Dan, this is going to be off-topic, but just thought of something for the gazillionth time and figured you might be an expert. I imagine working for blurb, arranging interviews, being on the road a lot, and collaborating on AG23 – your email inbox count must go up faster than the national debt figures. Any tips for email strategies. I’ve dropped the ball on a few things recently. Not a good look.
I like signing up for people’s newsletters, but dang – after you’ve signed up for a few and tied your email to a credit card for hotel stays – that inbox starts getting unwieldy. I know this isn’t rocket science for most people, but I’m not afraid to ask people how they tackle it.
DAN! Thank you so much for all the extremely kind words, I really appreciate the love you’ve given to both the video and our scarf project.
The scarf project has been a labor of love nearly 2 years in the making — the magazine and packaging were honestly the easiest and most fun part of the process — I’ve owned a boutique graphic design agency for the last 18 years and having already shot great imagery for the project, putting together the magazine was a blast. Having a resource like Blurb that has done such an incredible job turning my pixels into print has been awesome and I’m really glad I waited until the magazines arrived to film the video about the Hardcover Books because it gave me one more reason to preach the gospel of Blurb.
Thanks again for the love, and best of luck with your gorgeous Zine!
-Drew
Author
Hey Drew,
Well deserved. Always happy to pay contribute where it is due. Enjoyed the film and the fact you really took the time to test Blurb and make a variety of formats.
I recently made 5 Blurb trade books of a couple of small projects that I’d been doing and from a cycling trip to Australia. Like he says in the video it’s insane that we all have hard drives full of files that we never look at.
I’ve recently been looking at thousands of India photos that I took over a 5-year period and realised that I’d only printed a handful of them so now I’ve started working on making a book for myself based on those photos. I’m not sure if I’ll use Blurb because, as I’ve mentioned before, the shipping costs to Japan are quite high and for me the best way to use it is when I have 5 or more books to go so I can consolidate the shipping cost, but there’s no doubt that print is far superior to screen.
Author
Sean,
Traitor! I’m calling Nishiki. Shipping is a real test at times, for sure, and not entirely sure what the answer is. Local printers are often a solid option and many will really work with you especially if you are bringing them something regular. Either way, go for it.