Week 4: Business / Project Plans and Communication | Client Relationships, Insight, Content, Structure
Riso Studio Business Plans
Disclaimers
- Riso inks are not archival and therefore prints should be kept out of direct sunlight to ensure prints stay as bright as possible.
- Riso inks are similar to newspaper ink - so beware they may leave you with colourful fingertips.
(Instagram: @ASumner_design)
Lighter densities of ink can fade, so use more densely with prints/wallart, so they might last.
Products
Due to these characteristics many riso businesses produce items that are not for longevity, e.g. stationary, zines and greetings cards. See example of Risotto's 'Hit List' pads below with a written note for me that came with my paper order.
Subscriptions
Risotto - Riso Club: Members receive 4 postcards exposing different artists from across the world each month in return for a monthly fee (see advert and website above).
Membership
Riso Pop - The Riso Club: 3 membership levels, so individuals can have a place to print if they want to continue to pursue printing after an initial workshop.
Charity | Not for Profit
People's Riso Club - People’s Riso Club offers low cost or free printing services for local organisations and activists, as a stand against capitalism and to support the community. They believe that print is an important method for disseminating anti-fascist, anti-capitalist, anti-racist teachings and messages. People’s Riso Club is funded through community donations.
Risotto Studio - Risotto use their platform to highlight causes and fundraise for them. Issue 82 from their Riso Club, was a special edition fundraiser showcasing artists from Ukraine where all money raised went straight to a local charity, Razom (see above).
Client Relationships
Having a clear business plan with what to expect from both the designer and client are so important to establish a professional grounding, so both parties know where they stand throughout a project.
A timeline for the project will keep the project on track and again the client knows what to expect and when. Sometimes unprdictable things happen in life, so there should be some allowance for this e.g. a get out clause or an adjustment made to the timeline agreeable by both parties. It is important to communicate in a timely fashion and be transparent to avoid conflict.
Terms of Service
What to expect
Privacy Policy
Making it clear on how data is being used when using a website
Determine what might be working well with your business plan, assess what could be missing and consider how might you improve it in the future.
Take-aways:
- Riso is niche, therefore relies on more than one business model to make it sustainable.
- Create print products not with longevity in mind (temporary) e.g. calendars, stationary, notebooks...
- Riso machines can be fanickity, so a second machine is an advantage.
- Add other workshops, bookbinding would compliment and allow more waste to be used to create booklets or notebooks.
- Offer organisations for good free or heavily discounted printing.
- Print Club: creatives that wish to print more for a membership.
References
Sumner, A (2024), Instagram: @ASumner_design
Matiasfta (2022), Is a Risograph businesses a smart idea. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/printmaking/comments/vpxnwy/is_a_risograph_businesses_a_smart_idea/ [Accessed 2 July 2024].
Riso Pop (n.d.), The Riso Club. Available at: https://www.risopop.com/riso-club [Accessed 2 July 2024).
Risotto (2024), Join the Club. Available at: Ahttps://risottostudio.com/pages/riso-club-membership [Accessed 2 July 2024].
Secret Riso Club (2024), People's Riso Club. Available at, https://secretrisoclub.com/people-s-riso-club [Accessed 2 July 2024].
Riso Box
Individual
Report PDF
Riso Box
Studio PDF
