Christian Solorzano [00:03]

Hello, you are listening to Underscore, a show by the Chicago Graphic Design Club. I am your host, Christian Solorzano. Today's episode is a special one because I speak with Tyler English, founder of Ulterior Press, and our first guest that is a letterpress designer. In this digital age of screens, software, Figma, user experiences, and the obsession with pixel perfection.

It is inspiring to hear from Tyler about his letterpress practice and the ways in which he meticulously works with typography, ink, and paper to create work that is rooted in the ways in which graphic design was once done. I resonate with Tyler's description of the creative process, despite sometimes being tedious and frustrating. Also being capable of leading us towards creative insight and surprise.

We discuss the hard-to-describe feeling of making things with your hands as opposed to on the computer, and the familiarity and freedom that comes from working within the limitations of a particular medium, whether it's letterpress, music, or writing. I hope this conversation inspires you to step away from the computer and to go make something. And as always, thank you so much for your support and enjoy this conversation. Hey there, Tyler. How's it going? Good.

Tyler English [01:31]

How about you?

Christian Solorzano [01:31]

Good. How is the summer treating you?

Tyler English [01:33]

It's very fickle, very hot, very cold? Yeah, it's been a weird one.

Christian Solorzano [01:40]

It's always like a lot of extremes in Chicago. Like there's never like an in-between. And I think this year, this summer in particular, we had the smoky, like the smoky skies, and then also all the heat advisories, and it almost gives you the feeling like something bad is happening. But, you know but thank you so much for being on our show. I— so you and I, we crossed paths in 2022 or 2021 now.

I can't remember the year, but you came to our Printer's Row event that we did with Jackson here in Chicago, and that was very delightful. And I remember after that I followed you on Instagram and I discovered your letterpress studio, Ulterior Press. And I've sort of been on the lookout of like, looking at all the things that you've been working on. So yeah, really cool.

Tyler English [02:38]

Thank you.

Christian Solorzano [02:39]

So I want to start our conversation here by asking you, I want to spend some time talking about letterpress because I think today we, in the world of graphic design, a lot of the conversation is focused on AI and technology, new technologies. And I just love that you're sort of like still working in this, in this, in just this like old technology. Method that is beautiful and it's something that's timeless and it's something that, I think a lot of graphic designers really appreciate.

So just walk us through what is it about letterpress that you love? Why letterpress? Why not just open up an InDesign file and type?

Tyler English [03:33]

Well, it's interesting because I found letterpress when I was in school, college, and it was my— the beginning of my sophomore year. And I had been doing— I'd been taking the design classes. That's partially what I came there to do originally. I was planning on doing comic book illustration and sort of subsidizing myself with graphic design work. So there was never really— I hadn't quite found the reason why I liked graphic design, really.

It was just that like, I know the programs, I know how to export and CMYK versus RGB. It was just sort of something to do. But then my sophomore year, I went and took the letterpress class, and immediately, I went up there to look in the studio before I signed up just to see what it was all about.

And immediately, just the first thing that really drew me to letterpress was the physicality of it, not just, you're working with your hands significantly more than any other kind of design technique, really. But just the physicality of the machines and the type and everything. Everything was made in a time when things were built to last, and it wasn't about whittling it down to its most necessary parts and putting it in sort of an encased plastic enclosure for, design sake.

Like my press, it's a Chandler and Price press from— I don't have an exact date. It's around 1910 is when it's from. It's nicknamed the clamshell press because when it moves, it opens and closes like a clam mouth, kind of. But when it's going, it looks like a metallic, like pulsing heart or organism. And it just— when you put that next to like a laser printer, it's just interesting to see how that has all completely changed.

I also, I was a big Lego kid as a fan when I was a kid. So it really scratches that itch in that regard. I feel like I'm playing with blocks again a lot of the time. And I'm a visual thinker. So really, it just works better for me in that way.

Christian Solorzano [05:55]

So what were some of the first things that you were letterpressing? What was it?

Tyler English [05:58]

The very first thing we had to do, like in class, we had to just pick a typeface and just set our name just so that we could, and just doing one word here, you realize, okay, this is going to be an interesting class with a lot of time-consuming factors. But it ended up being like I ended up taking the class 3 times because I didn't think I would ever have the opportunity again, and I just liked it so much.

But yeah, that was the studio I was happy to spend many hours in.

Christian Solorzano [06:31]

Yeah, and I love that. So I love that you're speaking about the physicality of letterpress because I've experienced letterpress making in the past, and there's something about— there's just like a very deliberate act of like being very in the moment with what it is that you're making. And there's really no— I mean, there's room for error and mistake. But I think prior to that, you really have to be intentional about what it is that you're, that you're creating.

So I feel like letterpress is so counterintuitive to how we operate today of like just speed and productivity and all of these other things. So yeah, it's nice to know that there's not just you, but that there's a lot of actual like other people that are also into letterpress.

Tyler English [07:23]

Yeah, that's another great thing about it. It's a really great sense of community, not just in Chicago, but like all over. That's another one of the things I like about it, the sense of history that comes with, every object in my studio has a story of where it came from, but then also the story of how I got it. And so that it just imbues everything with a little bit more, sense of presence.

Christian Solorzano [07:50]

So walk us through your I guess your collection, or like what letterpress, what do you, what do you have? And walk us through maybe some of your more most like prized possessions.

Tyler English [08:02]

I have started to be comfortable calling it a studio, even though it still technically is my dad's garage, but it's becoming less and less his garage and more and more my studio as I get Larger and larger things. It started with my old professor just emailed me out of the blue after I graduated that someone was giving away a press. So I just hopped on that opportunity. Shout out to Stacy Stern and Sterical Press. She's in Chicago.

I actually worked for her a little bit before I got the press out of there. But yeah, moving that, I got that in there. Then I bought my first case of type. Then I needed something to put all the type in. So then I got my first set of drawers. Then came the second set of drawers. Then came an old guillotine paper cutter, 36-inch bed that I got for $1 off of a guy from an online forum. And it's just, it's continued to spread.

Christian Solorzano [09:04]

I love that. And is there, do you have like a holy grail of like something that you really want to Have one day?

Tyler English [09:10]

It would be like, because right now how I've been going about getting type is like random auctions here or any referrals I get there. And just, it has sort of cultivated to like my design sensibilities, but it wouldn't be nice to just have one typeface and all the different weights and things like that and a couple different point sizes just so that you could always have that in your repertoire rather than, oh well, I just ran out of my last E for this.

I'm gonna have to shift to a different typeface now.

Christian Solorzano [09:44]

Speak to us a little bit about your— so before letterpress and maybe before graphic design, what were your interests as a kid? You mentioned Legos, but have you always sort of had that craving for, getting your hands on making things.

Tyler English [10:03]

Yeah, I was, I was definitely, for lack of a better word, an artsy kid. I used to like make Frankensteins out of like Scotch tape and toilet paper rolls and like coloring pencils, and I went as far as jamming a fork in an electric socket thinking that it would electrocute him to life at one point. But yeah, it's— I love Legos. I love being able to create things from that.

I was big into superheroes, so I got into comic books at a pretty young age, and that was pretty much my introduction to any sense of like graphic language or storytelling or anything like that, because I think there are a lot of very similar principles between the two of them. Slowly I started to realize that, what would draw me to the COVID of a book or anything like that was, very purposeful in the form of design. Connect with that.

Christian Solorzano [11:04]

And then in 2018, you graduate from SAIC here in Chicago. What— and you got a BFA in Design and Visual Communications. But what maybe— what were you exploring while you were at SAIC? What were those themes or mediums? What was that like?

Tyler English [11:25]

Yeah, they try and set you up to have it be pretty interdisciplinary and they want you to explore. So I tried a lot of stuff there, but mainly the things I focused on, I took some film classes, mainly visual communication design classes. A lot of type and motion is something I always like to have in my back pocket. Pretty basic stuff, but I always, I think if you can lend motion to design it just gives it a whole nother thing.

Also, I also did some comic book classes there, some illustration, figure drawing. Yeah, I definitely, I gravitate towards the pencil to paper.

Christian Solorzano [12:10]

So, and today you're a graphic designer. And you've been doing— well, you've been a graphic designer like multiple places, but most recently you're at Pathfinders Advertising. Is that correct?

Tyler English [12:22]

Yeah. They're a little midsize agency in Indiana. It's cool.

Christian Solorzano [12:28]

Yeah. And do you get the opportunity to bring some of your passion for letterpress into maybe some of your, professional work that you get paid for?

Tyler English [12:40]

How does that not as of yet. There is talk of me maybe getting to do the company Christmas card or something like that, which would be interesting. I, I'll never turn down a corporate gig. I mean, come on, that's what graphic design's built on.

Christian Solorzano [12:56]

So at what point do you, do you, did, because you have Ulterior Press, but like at what point did you, did you sort of like come up with a name and say like, this is, it's no longer, I mean, it's still, it's still your thing, but I think there's a difference between just calling it Tyler as opposed to having it be a name.

Tyler English [13:15]

Yeah, that was a kind of pretty conscious effort on my part when I, when I first got the press. That's when I was like, I don't want to be the letterpress guy, because like the last couple of years at school, that was my reputation, which, I'm honored to be that guy, but it's not really a selling point too often. It's a nice thing to have. And, but, there's not a lot of commercial letterpress work. And I, so I don't, I like being sort of multidisciplinary.

I like maintaining all those things and they all feed back into each other for me. But yeah, like 2019, I decided like, Let's give it a name. I'll, do some fun branding and stuff and just make it an exercise in that regard. I can take it seriously, but not necessarily have to take myself too seriously.

Christian Solorzano [14:15]

Yeah. And what I really like about Ulterior Press, I'm looking at the websites and I, and I love that the majority of the projects that you do, they are, they're self-initiated and they're projects that you sort of yeah, that you have an idea, then you, then you create, which is like a common theme. I tend to always point that out with some of our guests that have those passions.

But I really like the fact that you're creating, you're creating these artist books, and they all focus around like a, they're all centered around an idea. But what really, I mean, one of my one of your projects that stood out to me was your artist book, My Mother's Life, and the way that you were able to incorporate something personal, like your mother's poems, into this book, but then also combining your love for letterpress.

So how do you go about initiating a project and sort of like For example, like when we're designing something digital, like we have all of these tools on the computer and we're able to sort of, if we want to come up with mood boards and like a style and like reference all of these things. Whereas with letterpress, I think because you're working with materials, you might be a little bit more limited about like maybe what it is that you could produce.

Tyler English [15:45]

It tends to be just sort of a, most of my ideas come from a kernel that I can't, in the back of my head that I can't quite shake and eventually it develops and I usually start with just a lot of writing. I'll write down random thoughts and ideas, and if it's about a subject, I like to do some research, find little obscure things that I can latch onto and sort of snowball from there.

But yeah, with letterpress, it has definitely taught me to be significantly more considerate in my choices, because you have not felt aggravation until you've had to re-rag a 6-point paragraph by hand. So even long before I'm setting stuff, I kind of have to have a pretty good visual sense, either in my mind or sketches of what do I want to achieve with it. And a lot of the times that just gets completely thrown out the window when, rubber meets the road.

And sometimes that can— it can be interesting what the limitations can do, and sometimes it can aggravate you and spur you into finding something new. And that's one of the things I most enjoy about it. My press is not made for anything larger than like 8.5 by 11 sheets, and it's primarily just for Job printing, little booklets, pamphlets, and things like that. So a lot of the time it's a fight between me and the machine of like, who's gonna be beaten into submission first?

Am I gonna get this to look the way I want it to? Or is it just gonna say, no, there's no way this is gonna happen? And sometimes it's messy getting there, and sometimes you throw your hands up and you go, okay, well, this other way was pretty cool. And Will save you an hour.

Christian Solorzano [17:43]

So yeah, it almost sounds like there's a lot of like life lessons there, a lot of philosophy in the art of the letterpress.

Tyler English [17:51]

It's definitely had to increase my patience, that's for sure.

Christian Solorzano [17:56]

I mean, I feel like that's a project in itself, like a book on like life lessons from the machine. It's just yeah, a lot of poems about the ups and downs.

Tyler English [18:09]

Died to the fucking ground, into the dirt.

Christian Solorzano [18:13]

Yes, exactly. So tell us a little bit more about, some of your— some of the projects that you, that you've worked on. I see that you have books and you also have posters and you created an album. And walk us through that because I don't want to read the description. I want you to explain what that was like.

Tyler English [18:42]

I'm still trying to explain what that was exactly. Basic thrust, I consider it an artist book, I guess, but it is still technically a record for lack of a better word. The basic thrust of that was like one of my main inspirations in my work is music, like a lot of my posters and stuff. I take a lyric from a band or something like that I like, and I try and express it visually.

But this project was like, I could do every aspect of the production of an album except make the actual music. So I got a bunch of blank on nothing put in them vinyl records. I got some die cutting for label making. I printed I wrote a bunch of lyrics for songs that don't have any melodies or anything like that. I printed up lyric sheets, I made the whole album, and I put it together. And you can play the record, it's just white noise forever.

But that was an interesting— that was a fun— that was a fun one to do, just to be like, yeah, get to cheekily say, yeah, I made an album, you can't really hear any of it though, but yeah, it was. And then I got to put that in a show, which was cool too.

Christian Solorzano [20:01]

Yeah, I love that. And in regards to like, I'm— I won't— I don't know too much about this, but can you speak a little bit about, within the realm of letterpress, is there, is there new technology? Are there new things happening in just the machinery and all that, or?

Tyler English [20:25]

Yeah, it's— that's one of the things I admire most about the community is just the ingenuity, like pretty much all across the planet, because they are finite resources. But finding— but seeing people find new ways of like 3D printing type or casting stuff out of resin, or a lot of people do cool stuff with CNC machines. I just found a pretty cheap and easy way to cut figures and drawings out of duct tape on a type-high block so that I can print with that.

And I don't have to pay like $100 a plate or whatever to have someone create that for me and then print with it. It's that old necessity breeds invention.

Christian Solorzano [21:13]

And at all, do you, with your letterpress work, Do you at all feel, because I know that this comes up often for many designers, is that they feel, they might feel a little bit threatened by new technologies and just the fact that there's tools nowadays that just make things so quick and almost like anyone could now call themselves a graphic designer because of these tools.

But I think with letterpress, there's a little bit more protection because you have to be a kind of engineer to know how to do it.

Tyler English [21:50]

Yeah, I mean, I had that, similar knee-jerk reaction that everybody has when they first think about those things. But I was reading an old print trade journal, as you do, from like the late 1800s. And they were, they were writing about automation and like the linotype on the horizon. And that was that was a trade job.

Somebody's typesetting paragraphs is now going to be done by a big machine, and they even accompanied the article with this illustration of like a steampunk robot standing at the type drawer setting type like that.

They— that's how early and long ago that we've all been worried about automation and AI and these types of things coming for design jobs, which I think part of it is natural, but I think also part of it, it's just gonna end up being another tool drowned in the back of Photoshop that Adobe keeps updating over.

Christian Solorzano [22:53]

So the exciting part, at least for me, is that it'll afford us, designers, the ability to sort of have to become better storytellers and just better communicators. And I think the thing about letterpress that I notice is that when you're typesetting a word or a paragraph, you have to be really intimate with what it is that you're typesetting. So you almost have to get yourself really familiar with the language, with the words, with the symbols, with the imagery.

Tyler English [23:24]

Yeah, it's definitely— it's made me realize and appreciate the characteristics of type design and how much can you— how far can you push Cooper Black and all those kinds of things to see what you can get out of it when you only have 10 or so options at your disposal. But yeah, it's— nothing will make you second-guess your choice in words on something you've written like setting it by hand.

I'll be rewriting myself up until the point of setting the words in the paragraph and Sometimes even after I printed it, it's— that's one of the things that once I was taking the class, and once I got more into doing it just— it really makes you focus in on stuff and be a little bit more considerate. And it's helped me stand by my design decisions a lot more too.

Whereas before I might have just been kind of like, I don't know, I was ripping off a textbook or whatever. Now it's like, no, I'm physically doing this. I put that there. I have to stand by that.

Christian Solorzano [24:35]

Yeah. And do you have a favorite word?

Tyler English [24:37]

Favorite word? That's tough. Like to set?

Christian Solorzano [24:46]

Yeah, to set. Like just what's a word that you really like what it looks like? What's a good looking word?

Tyler English [24:54]

I like a nice big all-caps THE. That always comes out nice. It's also because anything with figures and stuff hanging off that, that's a physical little piece of something that threatens to break off. Nice big THE, nothing dangerous there. That's capital letters are your friend.

Christian Solorzano [25:15]

Yeah. So in addition to letterpress, what are your other what are your other interests? You do— you— I see that you've done advertising in the past. You've worked at a gallery. You've been like a production designer. You sort of had like your hands in a lot of different things for the past, few years now. So what's something else that sort of informs your letterpress making? You talked a little bit about music, about just making things with your hand.

But where do you, where do you go for inspiration?

Tyler English [25:54]

I think there's a lot of inspiration from fellow letterpress people, but a lot of the time my inspiration comes from sort of trendy digital work, because, I guess I do have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder when it comes to like letterpress versus what you can do on a computer. And sometimes I like to see something that somebody's worked on is like, okay, well, what would be my possible version of that with the equipment I have?

Or how can I assimilate these modern trends? I've started sending out— ever since I got the press, I would send out a New Year's card every year, and each year I try and do sort of a different— I try and do sort of a different design look to focus on every year. And sometimes maybe in the back of my mind I'm mocking it. Sometimes I'm trying to actually do that. But that, that's a good place for inspiration.

And also just the challenging nature of it in general, of just seeing what I can do with it. And, I sometimes I just, you get the creative itch of like, I got— I have to be— I have to have something cooking in the background at least. Otherwise I feel like I'm not doing anything.

A big thing in letterpress work is like the intentionality and everything we've talked about, but and like fine press work, as they call it, which I admire and I can do when I need to, but I also try and be less precious about it. I sort of, I want the process to reveal things. And it's incredible what people can do working on one book for like 2 or 3 years. But I can't imagine ever doing that.

The longest I've ever taken on a book is like 8 months. And that was, and that was one just because I really wanted to just like labor over and get everything right. And I decided to do page numbers like a fool, which when you're printing physically is a headache. But in the end, I think it was worth it being able to flip through and see all the numbers go in the correct order.

Christian Solorzano [28:18]

So at the moment, well, how many do you typically just have one project going on at a time? Or how does, how does your process work?

Tyler English [28:27]

I usually, I like to sort of gestate on a book in the background, but in the meantime, I like to Come up with a poster or something, or like card or whatever, just to keep myself busy and stay, relevant to whatever algorithms control me and stuff like that.

But the— yeah, the book is where I can just sort of— I can relax or force myself to relax on it a little bit and think about it more consciously and because the letterpress class I took was all about— it was bookwork, it was bookbinding and all that stuff. And you have to think about every step in the process. And that I like to take more time on.

Christian Solorzano [29:16]

And you mentioned music. And for me, music tends to really influence, whether it's intentionally or unintentionally, a lot of a lot of what I do because I grew up listening to it and it's just always in the back of my mind. So what other, what other art forms are you into? I know you mentioned like music, like music making is not something that you particularly do, but what other avenues of expression or things are you drawn to?

Tyler English [29:46]

I like I'm, I still keep up with like illustration and drawing. I still do still life from time to time, or I'll go out and just sit somewhere and draw some stuff or sketch whatever weird thing comes to my mind. I guess I, in another life, I would have liked to think that I would have been like a mediocre filmmaker. Because that, I made a lot of— I made a few student films too, and I really enjoyed doing that.

The, composing a scene and everything like that. It's the same principles of design, like through painting and everything like that too. And comic books, I did it. I wrote and drew a lot of my own when I was a kid. And yeah, it's— and that's one of, to me, one of the most purest forms of storytelling is comic books, because you really, when it's done right, it's, the exact cross between image and so what were your comic books about?

They were, they were either a Batman ripoff or Superman ripoff at the time, but I sold them in a local store, and if I sold one, they would give me a discount.

Christian Solorzano [31:02]

So for someone that maybe doesn't— like, how would you suggest, or how would you— what advice would you give to someone that maybe is interested in giving letterpress a try? How do you get started? I think because it requires like a machine. For some, it might seem like there's a, there's sort of like a barrier of entry there because it's not, you can't just do it at your house.

Tyler English [31:28]

So I think if you're in school, a lot of universities have that type of stuff. But there is a lot of, there's pockets of it in big cities and communities. I know there's a couple places in Chicago. I believe Sputnik, they've got a lot of letterpress stuff. I think Lily Street Art Center, they do some letterpress things.

But there are some— there's some really interesting stuff going on online of— there's one I— that the other one I'm blanking on the name of, but the other one is called Provisional Press, and this guy, he designed a small proof press that he just cut out and 3D printed all the parts, and he can send you the kit or send it to you assembled. And it's just a very— it's like made out of PVC and plywood and stuff.

That's a really cool little proof press to just get you into like basic relief printing. I think he or someone else is actually just they've just put the files up online. So even you could go to your public library and technically buy these materials for $40 and cut it all out on a library CNC machine, and you're ready to start printing. But yeah, it is— I think relief printmaking in general, I feel like, may start there.

And then if you're really interested in the type, see if it's in your area and try and find your community. It's usually very welcoming people too, which is a nice side of it.

Christian Solorzano [33:07]

I want to give a shout out to Startshade Press. We did a, we did a tour with them a while back, and I think, yeah, it was like a neat way for people to sort of get introduced to letterpress for the first time.

Tyler English [33:21]

Yeah, and she just, she has an insane space, yeah, dealing type drawers and stuff, and why do you think there's—

Christian Solorzano [33:31]

Because I'm assuming you feel this, but like there's something very special about making with your hands that I think you can't really, you can't really like reproduce on a computer, whether it's like drawing or what you do. What's sort of your take on that?

Tyler English [33:49]

Part of it is I just, I learn and think better in that way. But then the other part of it is you actually, you feel you are physically doing something. So you feel like you're getting something done. Even if I have tried, I've been trying to print this one thing all day, and I don't actually get it printed. I spent the day doing something like my body doesn't feel great. It's on my feet all day.

And they're like, if I If I drop my letter T and it lands the wrong way, it changes the way that letter T is gonna look for the rest of its existence, and I might use it. So there's, and there's just a little bit more, a little bit more presence to it. That's how I've always described seeing the word letterpress printed on paper. Is it just, there's no pixelation or anything.

You're it's the word in its purest form, and between— it's exactly what the type designer intended, because some human being actually had to carve and do those drawings and etch that into a plate.

Christian Solorzano [35:02]

And yeah, because I teach graphic design, and something that I always try to encourage my students is to sort of look at things like very carefully and just be an observer and sort of analyze the details of how things are made, whether it's looking at the facade of a building or how something that you have is made, whether it's like a pen or a table or a spoon.

And I think that in itself is such a great exercise of just engagement with the world and like feeling like you're participating in that. There's like this conversation between you and everything else.

Because I do think some, with some things, like with some media, sometimes often it just feels so disposable and just like there's really no, I don't know, like I don't want to use the word appreciation, but there's something about making things with your hand that I think is just hard to put words to, I think.

Tyler English [36:00]

Yeah. When you're sitting on the computer and literally any possible option or solution is open to you, it's kind of, yeah. Where's the fun in that? And I think curiosity and creativity go pretty hand in hand in that regard. So a lot of the times what does spur me on is, well, how did they do that? Or how could I do that?

Christian Solorzano [36:23]

Or what's behind that? So tell us, where are you from? Where'd you grow up? What's your relationship to Chicago?

Tyler English [36:32]

I grew up in the Chicagoland area, like Out past like the northwest suburbs in a town called Wakanda. Not where Black Panther is from. It's a different spelling. But yeah, Chicago was always like, ooh, the big city, be careful when you go there. Before I went off to— before I moved here for school, I had never actually gone here by myself. So it was, it was a bit of a change up.

But now it's, I get, I get teased a lot because I think it's, the greatest city on the earth. And a lot of people will, shrug or raise their eyebrows at that. But I just, I like the people. I like the feeling of it. I like the sense of history. Just in the city alone, but also just its roots with printing and everything. And especially on that print walk we met at, it was, it was very cool to just imagine all of that in that time.

There's part of me that feels like I would have been happy just being like a trade union guy back then, just working my typesetting job until I croaked.

Christian Solorzano [37:50]

So, and today you're in Hyde Park. And you've been in Hyde Park for 7 years, I think you mentioned?

Tyler English [37:57]

About that, yeah. I moved here about halfway through school and I just, I have not been able to leave. It's just, it's a beautiful neighborhood.

Christian Solorzano [38:07]

With your letterpress studio, do you plan on expanding or do you, what are sort of your plans?

Tyler English [38:15]

Right now, I think it's probably just gonna continue to be sort of my little creative outlet. Once in a while I get jobs or commissions and stuff, but it's pretty rare because also everything I do is like traditional handset. I don't have any plate-making technology or anything like that, so I can't do, big curly wedding invites and stuff like that.

But I have done a few weddings, which was interesting to see how I could do how I could take my old type and try and do something that not necessarily— like, I haven't done a ton of. I did, I did. I worked in a letterpress business, Sterical Press, for a little while. I was a studio assistant. I would do some designing there, and all that work is great, and it's great that it's found a second life doing that.

But I right now, I can't imagine, because when you're doing that, you have to be a business owner on top of everything else, and you're handling clients and everything. And right now I like that it's just sort of my creative arm that I have complete control over and can do whatever I want. Maybe one day I have notions of maybe like folding it into like a bigger studio and stuff with some other people, and it's just like a thing I offer.

But Right now it's sort of just my little passion practice.

Christian Solorzano [39:47]

Yeah, I think sometimes when you put those expectations onto something that you love to do, it sort of sucks the joy out of it, especially when you get money involved. I feel like it just— everything changes. Now you got to measure things and worry about not design.

Tyler English [40:10]

Keeping it as simple as possible. I do pretty small runs, and I try and be pretty conscientious about how much materials and things like that I'm taking up. I try and leave a pretty small footprint.

Christian Solorzano [40:21]

And so why the name? What would— tell us the meaning of Ulterior Press.

Tyler English [40:27]

It's in my mind, it's sort of like Part of letterpress is a lot of people don't get how much work goes into it until you tell them. But also part of me feels like, well, the work should just stand on its own. I shouldn't really have to do that. So there's a lot of things in the background that I'm not quite telling you, or you're not quite knowing.

And it's also just a chance for me to sort of be a little bit of a smartass in that regard. But yeah, I think it— and I also just wanted something to really distinguish it from myself and also have sort of a very much more modern sensibility than maybe some letterpress studios or what the equipment would expect you to do, sort of old-timey look and feel.

Christian Solorzano [41:34]

Because reading through the bio on the website, it says, Ulterior Press isn't your ordinary hobby shop or print studio. You want to be a little different than expected, and you know explanations are tedious. Traditional letterpress printing is a unique handcrafted process. And it's perfect for keeping some of the how and why to yourself. And I, and I certainly agree that sometimes those explanations are a little too much.

Tyler English [42:06]

And, I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where if somebody doesn't get it, I don't, have to work with them. Yeah. It's very it's gotta be 2 people who want to do it this way. It's really the only way I can do it.

Christian Solorzano [42:22]

Yeah, we had, we had a previous guest a studio called Francis, and they were speaking about how one of the things that they often do is that when they, when they take on a client, sometimes they won't even like accept any money upfront because they want to be able to sort of like sever that relationship at any point without having to— any feelings being hurt, if that makes sense.

Tyler English [42:48]

That does make sense. I wish I could have better boundaries like that.

Christian Solorzano [42:53]

But so it seems like you're, you have these 2 practices, like you have both like your day job and then you also have like this side passion. And we've been talking a lot about just like Chicago and sort of your relation— relationship to Chicago.

And I think one of the, well, one of the questions that I like to ask our guests often is Specifically as it relates to the meaning of community, because the Chicago Graphic Design Club, that's sort of our objective, is to be that space for people to convene and to share interests. But for you, how do you define community? What does community mean to you?

Tyler English [43:33]

I guess in the end, community is just a lot of people with similar passions or similar thoughts to you about a thing, whether it's creativity or a way of life or whatever. But letterpress, there's just so many, there's so many interesting characters and people and a lot of really interesting work being done. And I think it draws people in who are either, are a little bit more— are nicer and a little bit more patient and understanding of things. And I try to live up to that.

But, whether it's trading secrets or trading posters or just admiring somebody's technique, I think those things can really bind you together. And, I've traded prints with a guy in the Netherlands. I never thought I would ever have any reason to be mailing someone in the Netherlands.

Christian Solorzano [44:40]

And what— and right now, at the moment, what is your favorite typeface to work with?

Tyler English [44:46]

Oh there's this one that I've been trying to track down more of. There's a couple digital versions of it, but none of them quite look like the ones I have. It's called Venus.

It's kind of it came out of like Futura and Helvetica and those sort of sans-serifs that were popular at the time, but it just had some very weird quirks to it that I just really like. And the first one I got was this extended bold typeface. And so I've just been trying to find other sets of it ever since.

Christian Solorzano [45:22]

So you said you do commissions, right? What's a typical project brief that like you'll receive, or what do people usually ask from letterpress designer?

Tyler English [45:33]

It's usually, it's usually pretty collaborative, which I like about it as well. They, some of the few wedding ones I've done, they have, a few of them were for friends who just trusted me and said, here's our wedding colors and come up with something like that. So I get to do like something like that. Or I've had people come to me with like I have this idea or whatever, or like, this one sentence, could we like build that into a poster or whatever?

And I'll do like a digital— I'll do digital mockups and stuff, and we'll— I'll throw those back and forth and to try and best represent what it could look like. But a lot of the times you have to find it in the moment, and ideally it's nice to get people in the studio with me so that they can see and they can actually move the stuff around and they can see the ink being mixed.

And it has that much more sense of collaboration and kinship because, I've even done it with people who aren't remotely in the design field, but they just— it's just fun to get to do something like that.

Christian Solorzano [46:50]

Yeah, I love that you mentioned kinship. Such a good word to describe that dance between perhaps like a designer and a non-designer. And I think I can't even imagine what it must be for someone that maybe isn't— it's their first time seeing something get made on a letterpress. And what's your ideal working space? So you said that all your equipment is at your father's garage, right? What's the vibe? How do you work?

Tyler English [47:16]

We try to have a pretty chill vibe here at Ulterior Press. Just me. Yeah, I've, out of necessity, I've had to make my studio space sort of modular. So I have a lot of moving carts and tabletops like that so that I can expand and contract as my dad does his yard work around me and stuff like that.

But I've, in the last year or so, I've been putting more of an emphasis on like or conscientiously trying to place things and figure out how I want the space to move. And now I think I finally got it to a decent area of like, ink station, setting station, and things like that. Here's where I get to just sit and doodle, and here's where the prints are gonna dry.

And so we're just being in that space generally, even if I don't even have anything to print that day. It just it gets my brain pumping a little bit more. Yeah, just being in that space and, I mean, it helps with composing and designing in general before I've locked anything up, just moving the things physically around. I'll actually, I'll take a piece of the paper the size of what it'll be and I'll put it on there and just see how it, see how it feels really.

Christian Solorzano [48:41]

Are you, are you working in the daytime, nighttime?

Tyler English [48:44]

Daytime's good. I've done nighttime, but during the summer the bugs are really attracted to the lights, so that can get like— it's very tough to get a fly out of your rollers. Yeah, but like a good fall day, that's like the ideal printing time because I've also been in like— I've tried to print in like single-degree temperature outside. Just like a little box heater in the garage. And it makes you second guess a lot of choices.

Christian Solorzano [49:16]

Do you ever have people over? Is your father— is that back in Wakanda or is that Hyde Park?

Tyler English [49:26]

No, that— yeah, that's back in Wakanda. I did. And some of my friends from school who I took the class with, or they were just other designer friends, Every year or so we try and get out there, and I'll host like a little event that we started to call the Type and Toke, because we would typeset and print things and also take part in other— some another substance. So that became sort of a nice reunion ritual for us.

My mom's a teacher, so once in a while she'll bring out She's brought out a class, and so I get to show a bunch of little kids how it works and scare them with the big insane machine and show them how stuff's made.

Christian Solorzano [50:12]

So if anyone wants to reach out or commission you for something, what's the best way for someone to find you?

Tyler English [50:21]

Yeah, you can on Instagram. I'm @ulteriorpress. You can message me there, or Through the website hey@ulteriorpress.com. Next month I'll be at the Chicago Printers Guild Publishers Fair. I'll be hawking my wares there if you want to come say hi. Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [50:44]

We're almost at time, but I just want to ask one more thing, and it's just what are you listening to? What are you watching?

Tyler English [50:51]

A recent one that I just did a little Print of them is this Australian band called the Go-Betweens. They were in like the late '70s, early '80s. They were basically Australia's Smiths, kind of. They got overshadowed in that period, but they just— I think they have a lot of really interesting music.

Yeah, that's— I also make a lot of like ulterior mixes of things I listen to in the studio and so I don't know if anyone has actually ever clicked on those, but they're out there if you want to listen to some tunes.

Christian Solorzano [51:27]

For the people that are listening, please check out all of Tyler's content. I really love your website. Did you code that yourself?

Tyler English [51:37]

This will probably make anyone who knows web design scream, but I still use Adobe Muse, which was this program that they just discontinued a couple of years ago. I'm sure the code would drive anybody nuts, but I'm a hater of the program.

Christian Solorzano [51:51]

Well, thank you so much for being on our show and for sharing your story. I hope we could continue to connect because I think that we love what you're doing and it'd be cool if there could be some future collaboration.

Tyler English [52:06]

Yeah, thanks. It was very cool to be interviewed. It was my first interview. I hope my sweaty neediness came across through that listenership.

Christian Solorzano [52:16]

No, it was great. So yeah, thanks so Thank you. What a great conversation that was, as usual. Thank you so much for sticking around until the end. We really appreciate your support, and if you want to learn more about what we do, follow us on Instagram @chicagographicdesignclub or subscribe to our newsletter, which you could find on our website, www.chicagographicdesign.club. Thank you so much. Talk to you soon.