We’re thrilled to welcome Newspaper Club to BDF 2026 as Analogue District Partners
In this exclusive interview ahead of the festival, we dive into why slowing down with newsprint matters now more than ever. Newspaper Club share their passion for the tactile power of print, the benefits of designing away from the screen, and how newspapers are being used to build meaningful offline communities.
What is Newspaper Club?
Newspaper Club is a newspaper printing specialist making it easier for everyone to print their own newspaper. Since 2009 we’ve printed over 40 million newspapers for all sorts of creative people and businesses – from top brands (like Adobe, New Balance, Cubitts) to props for films, artist and student portfolios, agency pitch decks, fashion lookbooks, exhibition materials, zines, photography books.
What brings you to Birmingham Design Festival?
We love Birmingham Design Festival! It’s become a highlight on our calendar since we first printed a guide for the event in 2019. Made by genuinely passionate creative people for genuinely passionate creative people. It’s got such a lovely feel about it, the talks are always top class.
We’re absolutely thrilled to be sponsoring the Analogue District this year, and also to have the opportunity to talk about print alongside so many other fantastic speakers. AND Birmingham is the birthplace of our wonderful Digital Lead – Billy! What’s not to love?
Why do newspapers matter right now?
I think we’re all a bit overwhelmed by constant notifications and the demands for our attention from devices. A newspaper slows things down, it’s not trying to recommend five more things to click on or compete for your attention every second.
People tell us they love the connection with the audience because they’re not writing for algorithms or SEO, they’re writing for real people who are spending real time with their work. Designers tell us how it’s exciting to think about design away from a screen. Newsprint gives them room to play, whether that is exploring typography in different ways, or using imagery to take things in unexpected directions.
Readers engage with it differently too. They take their time with it. It becomes a full sensory experience, right down to the rustle of the paper or the smell of the ink. I think people are really craving those slower, more tangible experiences right now.
What trends are you seeing in how people are using newspapers?
Since the beginning of last year, we’ve been seeing more and more people using newspapers to create meaningful connections offline.
We’ve had customers use them to celebrate milestones for their Substack newsletters, and even throw parties around publishing them. We’ve also seen brands use newspapers for pop-up launches at places like Shreeji News in London and News & Coffee, these newer, non-traditional newsstands that are starting to pop up both here and in the US.
What’s been really interesting is seeing newspapers become less of a purely informational format and more of a physical, shared experience. People seem to really value having something tangible that can bring a community together in person.
What’s a print project that sticks out in your memory?
One of my absolute favourites, which I bring up a lot and you’ll also hear about in my BDF talk, is Vocal Civilian, a newspaper created as part of an exhibition at the Museum of Design in Atlanta. The exhibition, Characters: Type in Action, explored the civil rights movement in the US and its intrinsic relationship with design and typography.
The newspaper, designed by Mark Baker Sanchez and the team at Vocal Type, wasn’t just created as a takeaway for the exhibition. It was designed so the exhibition itself could travel. The newspaper became the exhibit. I love that the design of the newspaper informed the work just as much as the work informed the newspaper.
I absolutely adore it. You can actually borrow a copy from the Brooklyn Public Library with a library card, which is such a lovely extension of the whole idea.
