New Year, New Attitude

While those residing in cooler climates may not adore the shivers that January brings, nearly everyone welcomes the idea of a clean calendar and a fresh start. This is appreciated in 2011 perhaps more than ever. As we go to press, we see a public at odds with itself like no other time in this editor’s memory.

In the wake of antagonistic mid-term elections, there is little to no agreement among Americans on solutions to dizzying problems ranging from how to implement economic recovery, help the environment or modify our health care system, to name just a few. One of many divisive issues is that of tax cuts to those earning over $250,000 a year. Will their continuation spur a “trickle-down” recovery, or will it further polarize the country into haves and have-nots?

There are no easy answers, but what is becoming clear as the holiday shopping season begins is that consumers with more resources are beginning to spend again on luxury items, while those with less – crippled by a staggering unemployment rate and deflation – continue to cut back and live leaner. Interestingly, this bodes well for fine stationery, typically considered a luxury and even a status symbol. We explore this idea deeper as we examine design elements and product categories to watch in the New Year in our cover story, “Slow Growth.”

Speaking of growth, it’s always a good time to tweak your brand image here and there, regardless of what role you play in the industry. Trends move lightning-quick in this digital age, perhaps even faster than the average attention span, and what once felt fresh can quickly seem dated.

It can conceivably be argued that how you present your business may even be as important as what you do and how well you do it – after all, with so much visual information out there, people have little choice but to judge books by their covers, so to speak.

Bearing all that in mind, we at Stationery Trends modified how we present ourselves by introducing several new headline fonts in this issue. After all, stationery is all about font choice, perhaps more so today than ever – and we’d be remiss not to revisit ours from time to time.

So enjoy this, our first issue of 2011, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any thoughts or comments you may have.