Digital media is now well established in the practice of Communication Design, both as a hybrid and digital means of creating work. From the launch of the Apple Mackintosh in 1984 digital tools have become ubiquitous in practice whilst traditional media has declined and is increasingly designated to the peripheries of craft, zine cultures and fine art practice.

Throughout the 1990’s numerous articles reported the ‘death of print’ but still it has survived and is thriving in new contexts. In Communication Design there is a notable resurgence of interest, and use of, traditional media and other analogue processes as the environments in which we socialize and communicate have become increasingly virtual and as traditional print media becomes 'new' media to those with no prior experience having grown up in a digital environment.

The rise in interest in the traditional media and authorial practice has a democratising effect and allows for more diverse voices and provides opportunities for reflection through making.

This research cluster will reassess the relationship of traditional media with current Communication Design practice through practice-led research, reflecting on previous practice, reassessing the relevance and context of traditional media in current practice and exploring alternative approaches to the disciplines that define Communication Design practice.

The research cluster brings together academics and technical staff to explore these questions surrounding traditional media in contemporary practice.

Keywords:
Analogue, Handmade, Drawing, Print, Pedagogy