The Rule

Bramble

Black is the ground, not the line. White vine on a solid black border, a woodcut in its own frame, a white initial cut from a black block, and a dense black column with the headings in red.

THE BRAMBLE PRESS
T
his is the golden age of printing, where the page is a dense woven fabric of ink and paper. The block is cut deeply so that the ground remains black, allowing the intricate vines to emerge as pure white light from the shadows. The red ink serves only to draw the eye to the beginnings, never to dilute the density of the core text block.
Begin typing to set the type block
EX LIBRIS
Alexander Mitchell

Brand Guidelines

The border must always be constructed by removing material (leaving white vines on a black ground). Never draw vines with a black pen. Text must sit flush as a dense rectangular block. Headings must be justified to the exact measure of the column using red ink.

A
Alexander Mitchell
lexander is the master printer of the Bramble Press. Operating out of the old mill, he carves the blocks by hand and sets the lead type with unparalleled precision.

What breaks it

If you use black lines to draw the vines on a white background, it looks like a cheap modern illustration, not a woodcut block.

If the text has generous line spacing (leading), paragraph indents, or jagged right margins, the illusion of a solid "woven" tapestry of text is broken.

T
his layout breaks the rule because the border is drawn with black lines, and the text has far too much breathing room. It lacks the dense, heavy block feel.