Serigraphy Design System — Edition 01 / Limited Pull
Every screen print begins with a limited set of spot colors. Each ink is mixed by hand and pulled through its own screen. The palette is intentionally restrained — three to five colors per print run, plus the paper stock itself as a "color."
mix-blend-mode: multiply to simulate ink layering. Where red and blue overlap, you get a rich dark violet. Where yellow and red meet, a deep orange. This is fundamental to the screen-printing process — each pass lays down another transparent ink film.
Screen-printed typography favors bold, condensed faces that read clearly through the mesh. Display type is massive, unapologetic, all-caps. Body copy stays clean and functional.
Spacing is based on a 4px unit, like registration marks on a print. Consistent spacing keeps layers aligned across screens.
Buttons are bold, flat, and tactile. The offset shadow simulates the slight lift of a freshly pulled print. On press, the shadow collapses as the button "stamps" down.
Form elements are direct and functional, like filling out a print shop order form on kraft paper.
Cards represent individual prints in a series. Each card is a flat panel with bold borders and registration color bars, like a poster fresh off the drying rack.
Three-color separation on French kraft. Hand-pulled edition of 50. Each print shows unique squeegee variation and slight ink bleed at the edges.
Bold red and black duotone on newsprint. Fast, urgent printing for mass distribution. Misregistration is a feature, not a flaw. Every copy is a unique artifact.
Photographic imagery reduced to dot patterns. The halftone screen breaks continuous tone into discrete ink-or-no-ink decisions. Up close, just dots. Step back, and the image emerges.
When the screen shifts between color passes, registration drifts. The red doesn't quite align with the blue. This "error" gives screen prints their characteristic handmade energy.
Status messages styled as print shop bulletin board notices.
Align all screens to the registration marks before pulling. Check test prints on proof stock first.
Edition of 50 pulled successfully. Prints are drying on the rack. Allow 24 hours before handling.
Cadmium Yellow supply at 15%. Mix a new batch before continuing the print run to avoid color inconsistency.
The mesh on Screen #3 (blue separation) has torn. Recoat and re-expose before printing. Current run is halted.
Navigation elements with the bold, high-contrast treatment of screen-printed signage.
Each color is a distinct, flat layer of ink. No gradients within a single screen — use halftone dots or split fountains instead. If you can't print it through a mesh, it doesn't belong.
Slight misregistration between color layers is not a bug. It's the signature of a hand-pulled process. Let the red drift, let the blue shift. The energy comes from the imprecision.
Constraint breeds creativity. Three to five spot colors per composition. Every new color means another screen, another pass, another chance for the print to evolve.
The substrate is an active participant. Kraft, newsprint, cotton rag — the paper's color and texture show through everywhere ink doesn't cover. Design with the stock, not against it.
Screen printing rewards decisiveness. Thick lines over thin. Big type over small. High contrast over nuance. The squeegee doesn't do delicate — it does powerful.
No two prints are identical. Ink coverage varies, registration shifts, pressure changes. This is the democratic medium — multiples that are each one-of-a-kind.
CSS-only halftone dot patterns using radial gradients. These simulate the photographic screens used to break images into printable dots.