Valentines Day Designer Meetup Recap: Foiling in Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zmBwz4SrWc

In a recent Digital Embellishment Designer Meetup session, print industry veteran Matt Redbear and fellow experts unpacked how digital foil and varnish embellishments are transforming modern design. What emerged was a masterclass on designing with embellishments in mind from the start – treating foil not as an afterthought or mere material, but as a deliberate sensory effect that can elevate print from good to unforgettable. This article distills the key insights from that discussion, giving designers and printers a comprehensive guide to making the most of today’s digital foil technologies.

The Tactile Allure of Foil Embellishments

Why are we so drawn to shiny, metallic accents on print? Science suggests it’s almost primal. Researchers believe humans’ love of glossy surfaces harks back to ancient survival instincts – shiny meant water and thus life . Even today, experiments show that people of all ages naturally prefer glossy images and associate sheen with positive qualities (infants have been observed trying to lick glossy objects as if they were water!) . Beyond water, many valuable things in nature glint – think of ripe fruits or fish scales – so our brains evolved to perk up at shimmer and shine .

Just as importantly, shiny foils tap into our brain’s novelty-seeking circuits. In a sea of flat matte prints and screens, a flash of metallic foil is a surprise that triggers an orienting response . Our eyes are magnets for light; a single glint can snag attention from the corner of our vision almost reflexively . In other words, a foil-stamped element on a page acts like a beacon. Once it has someone’s attention, the tactile smoothness or raised texture invites their touch, layering in another sensory reward. Marketers love this – foil can literally make a printed piece feel special in the hand and stick in the mind . As Matt Redbear put it, “It’s emotional, tactile, and powerful”. Designers love it too because it adds dimension and premium appeal that clients notice immediately.

But with great power comes great responsibility. The group joked that with digital foil, “we got a new hammer and suddenly everything looked like a nail.” Early on, many printed everything in foil – big logos, borders, full backgrounds – simply because they could. The result was often gaudy and counterproductive. Today, there’s a clear shift: the most effective uses of foil are intentional and restrained, designed to enhance a piece’s message and experience, not just to bling it out.

From Hot Stamping to Digital: A New Foil Frontier

To understand this shift, it helps to compare traditional foil stamping with the modern digital foil process. In classic hot foil stamping (or block foiling), a metal die is engraved for the design, heated, and pressed onto foil film and paper to create the shiny imprint. This yields crisp, slightly debossed foiled details and has long been associated with high-end printing. However, dies are expensive and time-consuming to make, so designers historically used foil sparingly and purposefully (often just a logo or title) – every foiled element carried a literal cost. That naturally enforced planning and restraint.

Digital foiling changed the game. Technologies like inkjet polymer foil printers (e.g. MGI JETvarnish, Scodix, Duplo DDC, etc.) can apply foil without custom dies. Instead, they use a UV-curable clear polymer varnish jetted onto the page in the desired pattern, then bond metallic foil to those areas, creating a similar shiny result – often with the bonus of raised 3D texture if desired. With no upfront tooling cost, adding foil became as simple as adding another design layer in software. Suddenly, short runs and even one-off prints could have foil economically, and intricate designs with foil-on-foil layering or variable data foil became possible. Digital embellishment presses also let operators vary varnish thickness (from subtle flat gloss up to Braille-like heights of 200+ microns) to create dimensional effects.

Matt walked attendees through the basics of how his MGI digital embellishment press runs a sheet: the paper is fed, corona-treated (to help varnish adhere), aligned, and then an inkjet head lays down the clear polymer in the exact spots the designer specified for foil. A metallic foil film is pressed and heated onto the tacky varnish, sticking only to those printed areas, and then the excess foil rolls away leaving the design gleaming. Because it’s a mechanical process with many variables (temperature, pressure, registration, varnish viscosity, paper type…), understanding how the machine interprets your design file is critical. “Remember,” Matt emphasized, “what you’re designing are electronic instructions for a mechanical device to reproduce.” In other words, designing for embellishment means designing a process, not just an image on screen.

One key difference: digital foil is effectively a printed layer, subject to the realities of printing and registration, whereas hot foil is a separate finishing step with different constraints. Neither method is strictly “better” – in fact, many print shops use both – but they have distinct strengths. Digital shines for creative freedom, fine control and quick turnarounds; traditional excels at speed on large runs and handling ultra-fine lines with absolute sharpness. The savvy designer will consider both. A great tip from the session was to match your method to your design intent and run length: wow your client with a digitally foiled prototype or short-run that showcases complex effects, but have a plan to simplify or convert to stamping later if the job scales to hundreds of thousands . The worst case is over-promising a look that can’t be replicated economically at scale.

Designing with Foil from the Start – Not as an Afterthought

One of the recurring laments in the discussion was that too often, designers finish a print layout and only then ask “Where can we throw some foil on this?” Kevin Abergel (Taktiful) noted this usually leads to foil being slapped onto a logo or randomly “everywhere” to make it pop – a superficial approach that undermines both the design and the foil’s impact. Instead, the group urged a mindset shift: treat foil and other embellishments as core design elements from the beginning. As Matt put it, “decide why something is foiled, not just where.” In other words, start with a clear intent for the embellishment:

• What purpose does the foil serve? Is it drawing the eye to a key text or image? Creating a luxurious tactile moment (e.g. a raised pattern you run your fingers over)? Providing a surprise element that’s revealed in the light? Different goals lead to different design choices.

• How does it interact with the rest of the design? Foil is not just a color; it’s a mirror-like surface. It will stand out visually and even affect legibility and hierarchy. The design should be composed knowing certain elements will have that reflective shine or raised profile. For instance, if the foil is on a busy patterned background, will it disappear unless viewed at an angle? If a whole title is foiled, do you have a plan for how it reads against the paper color?

  
  

Thinking this through early can save a lot of trial-and-error later. One attendee shared that the biggest bottleneck in these projects “often starts before masking – it starts with intent.” Without a clear embellishment strategy, you can spend time making a technically perfect foil mask that is conceptually wrong for the piece. So, define the role of foil up front. It might help to articulate it in the brief (e.g. “We will use a gold foil accent to highlight the product name and signal quality” or “Silver foil will simulate stars in the sky, creating a subtle twinkle effect”). This way, every foiled element is there for a reason.

Crucially, involve your print partner early too. A point that came up again and again: designer–printer collaboration is key to success . Printers can advise on what’s feasible or efficient with their equipment (maybe they only have gold and silver foil rolls on hand, or they know that a certain fine serif font in foil might fill in on their press). As one attendee put it bluntly, “No designer enjoys finding out their beautiful idea won’t work on press.” By planning with the production team, you can often tweak the design before client approval to avoid production headaches.

Masks Are Design Layers, Not Just Production Tasks

In digital embellishment design, you’ll often hear about creating a mask (a separate spot color layer in the file indicating where foil or varnish goes). Many treat mask-making as a tedious technical chore – clicking objects in Illustrator to make them 100% K or naming layers “Foil.” Matt Redbear reframed this brilliantly: the mask is not an afterthought; it’s an integral design layer where a lot of the artistry happens. Instead of merely duplicating existing graphics, think about how the foil/varnish layer can add new visual structure and interest that the CMYK print can’t achieve alone .

For example, rather than foil-stamping an entire existing logo or image, you might create a pattern or outline that complements it: foil only the edges, or add a sunburst pattern behind it in clear varnish. Use interpretation instead of extraction . In the meetup, Matt described a case where a base image was quite flat, but by overlaying a pattern of clear 3D varnish and a foil “pinstripe” highlight, the piece gained depth and focus it never had in CMYK – “It wasn’t just adding shine, it was adding structure,” he explained. Good embellishment design, then, is about creating a dialogue between the print and the foil layers. The foil mask can introduce its own shapes, textures, and visual rhythms that enrich the overall piece beyond what ink alone could do. This is where designers can truly spread their creative wings and differentiate a design.

Contrast and Hierarchy: When Everything Shines, Nothing Shines

A unanimous lesson from the experts: restraint is what makes foil powerful. It might sound paradoxical – after all, foil’s biggest appeal is how eye-catching it is. But that’s exactly why you should not use it on every square inch. Kevin Abergel noted research and focus groups have found that if a design uses too much foil or an overly thick layer, it can start to look “plasticky” or cheap to consumers. Think of an all-foil greeting card – it might glare and scream for attention, but it loses the refined elegance of a simpler design with one brilliant foiled element on a muted background. As Matt quipped, “foil is jewelry, not a chrome car wrap.” Use it to accentuate, like a gem, not to coat the entire surface.

The concept of contrast is crucial. Foil catches the light and the eye, so it works best in juxtaposition with areas that don’t shine. A common technique is pairing foil with a matte or uncoated stock or a soft-touch laminate: the soft matte surrounding makes the glint of foil pop even more (and as a bonus, the soft-touch coating adds a velvety feel, doubling the tactile impact). In one example, a whiskey box design featured just a thin gold foiled logo and a delicate foiled border on a predominantly dark, matte surface. The foil was used sparingly, but precisely because the rest of the box was so subdued, those tiny metallic touches felt ultra-premium – that’s the luxury aesthetic many brands now seek. In fact, many high-end brands are shifting away from super-glossy bling toward more subtle matte foils (matte gold, silver, copper, etc.) for a sophisticated look . Matt Redbear confirmed this trend: “The majority of foil in our shop right now is matte finish,” he noted, as designers realize that less shine can actually feel more luxurious. Even black foil – essentially a clear gloss or a laminate trick that yields a non-reflective black – is in demand for tone-on-tone effects, though in digital that currently requires a creative workaround (such as printing rich black and coating with matte varnish to simulate a matte black foil ).

Another aspect of contrast is visual hierarchy. Designers know to establish an order of importance in a layout (what you see first, second, third). Foil can either support that hierarchy or completely scramble it – so wield it wisely. Our eyes will typically jump to the shiny element first , regardless of color or position. Matt suggested using that to your advantage: if the natural reading order isn’t ideal, foil something that ordinarily might be read later, effectively pulling it forward. For instance, imagine a magazine cover with a title, subtitle, and date. Normally, the title draws attention first. But if for some reason the design should emphasize a subtitle (say it’s the theme of a special issue), foiling that subtitle will likely make the viewer see it before an unfoiled title. Conversely, if the title is the main draw, you might foil only the title and leave the subtitle in plain ink, ensuring the title dominates. The key is intentionality – choose one or two focal points to enhance, and let other elements play supporting roles without foil.

It’s also worth noting foil isn’t just about shiny vs. not shiny; it can provide texture and depth. Using a clear or holographic foil over a printed image, for example, can mute or reveal details in interesting ways. Some designers foil patterns or gradients, which, when raised, also catch light differently across their surface. This can create an almost 3D appearance or movement. But again – moderation. A dynamic background pattern in clear foil can be beautiful, but pair it with simpler, solid foil on the headline (or no foil on the headline) so that the two don’t compete.

Lastly, a practical tip shared was: “If you remove the foil, the design should still work.” In other words, foil should amplify a good design, not compensate for a bad one. If your layout relies entirely on foil to look interesting, consider strengthening the underlying design first. Foil is like a spice – it’s magical in the right dose, but too much just overwhelms the dish.

Mind the Details: Technical Constraints for Digital Foiling

The meetup delved into many technical gotchas that can make or break a foiled piece. Here are the critical guidelines every designer should know when working with digital foil and varnish:

• Minimum Line Thickness: Avoid ultra-thin lines or intricate filigree in foil. With digital inkjet foiling, very fine lines may not hold consistently – the foil could appear broken or patchy if the line of varnish is too thin. A good rule of thumb is to keep foil lines at least 2 points thick (≈0.7 mm) . Anything below that, and you risk ragged edges or foil not adhering at all . If you have a delicate pattern, you may need to thicken it slightly or simplify it for the foil layer. Traditional hot foil can sometimes handle finer details due to the pressure of a metal die, but even then, extremely hairline strokes are challenging. In the session, Matt showed a holiday card where the designer had placed a snowflake made of very thin foiled lines – he managed to run it, but only after tweaking and sacrificing some detail. The consensus: bolder is better for foiled lines.

• Minimum Text Size: Similarly, tiny text and foil don’t mix well. Letters need enough surface area for foil to bond cleanly. Generally, keep foiled text to about 8 point or larger in a clear font . At 6 pt, for example, an “e” or “a” might fill in completely with foil, and small serifs can blob together. If you must go small, choose a sans-serif or a font with more open counters, and increase tracking a bit to give letters breathing room. One tip from Matt: if using a script or very thin display font, treat it like a logo and make it perhaps 18+ points so it can showcase the foil without blurring . Otherwise, consider foiling just a portion of a small text (like a gold underline or icon next to it) rather than the text itself.

• Beware of “Filling in” (Spread/Gain): Digital varnish is essentially liquid that can spread slightly when printed. This means tightly spaced details can merge. For example, if you had two thin foil lines very close together, they might accidentally join if the varnish flares out. Matt mentioned he often has to go into a file and contract the foil artwork by 1–3 pixels (essentially shrinking each shape a tiny bit) so that when the varnish inevitably spreads a hair, the final size appears as intended. Designers can do a similar thing preemptively: if you have a solid foiled shape next to printed elements, you might keep a tiny trap or gap to accommodate any spread or registration misalignment. The printed.com team advises adding a bit of extra thickness to delicate designs to avoid patchiness – conversely, sometimes reducing the coverage slightly (like making a foil area slightly smaller than its printed counterpart) can prevent unwanted overlap. Dense detail clusters – e.g. a filigree where many lines converge – are particularly risky for spread causing a loss of definition. Simplify those for foil or break them into more open shapes.

• Registration Tolerance: Unlike a metal die that can be lined up with great precision, digital foil is aligned via the printer’s registration and a scanner – generally very accurate, but there can be minor shifts (often ±0.5 to 1 mm). This matters if you have foil alongside printed elements. It’s wise to design with a bit of tolerance: for instance, if you want a foil outline around a printed shape, don’t make the outline extremely tight-fitting; allow a bit of overlap or a deliberate gap, so small shifts aren’t obvious. If you want to foil on top of a rich black printed area (to avoid any white peeking out if misregistered), consider intentionally overprinting a bit. Conversely, if you have a foil element right next to a different color element, maybe leave a tiny unprinted margin between them, so overlap isn’t visible. Basically, think ahead about worst-case alignment and adjust the artwork accordingly (a practice known as trapping in print).

• Keep Foil Away from Cuts and Folds: This is a pro tip that many newbies overlook. If your piece will be die-cut or trimmed, avoid placing clear varnish or foil objects exactly at the edge. Why? When you cut through a raised clear varnish, it can crack or flake at the edge, looking unsightly. Foil can sometimes hold up better (since the metallic layer adds strength and it’s bonded to the varnish), but even foiled edges can delaminate slightly. The advice is to pull back embellishments a hair from the trim line – even 1–2 mm clearance helps. Fold lines (like scores on packaging or greeting cards) are even trickier: foil or varnish over a fold can crack when bent. Often, designers will omit foil/varnish on the exact spine or crease for this reason . If you must have something crossing a fold, one workaround is to use a much thinner layer of varnish on that line (say 10% coverage instead of 100%) – it gives a slight sheen but won’t fracture when folded . But the simplest fix is to keep critical foil elements away from heavy folds or cuts. Matt shared that for almost every file, his team will verify with the client that they can adjust foil elements slightly to avoid trimming issues – it’s that important.

• Paper and Coating Matter: The substrate you’re printing on can greatly affect foil results. Digital foil works by bonding to the printed varnish, but the paper or laminate beneath can influence how that varnish behaves. For instance, on a very coated or laminated stock, the varnish sits up on the surface (good for crisp, raised effects). On an uncoated or porous stock, the varnish can wick into the fibers a bit, resulting in lower gloss and potential spread. If you plan to foil over a heavy toner or ink area, note that some digital presses’ inks/toners might repel or interact with the varnish differently than blank paper would. In some cases, printers will lay down a flood clear coat or primer first for better results. The key is: if you’re doing something unusual (like foiling on textured paper, or over a print that has heavy coverage), talk to your printer. They might run a small test or suggest adjustments. As a designer, you may not always know the press chemistry, but you should be aware that not all papers are equally foil-friendly. A slick, coated sheet or a plastic substrate might carry static or have adhesion challenges (one attendee mentioned using anti-static measures when foiling laminated sheets to ensure consistent results). By understanding the limits, you can either adapt your design or choose a different material to get the desired outcome.

  
  

In summary, designing for digital foil means balancing creativity with practical specs. One of the best pieces of advice from the session was to prototype and test whenever possible. If it’s a mission-critical project, ask your print partner to produce a proof or sample with the foil effects – you’ll catch if that 7 pt script text isn’t working before it’s a thousand sheets in. Experienced embellishment designers also build in what Matt called “air” or breathing room for foil elements – nothing too cramped, too thin, or too close to another effect. This not only avoids technical problems but also usually leads to a cleaner, more elegant visual result.

To reinforce these points, the “holy trinity” of good foil design that Matt Redbear proposed is: contrast, coverage, and restraint. High contrast (foil vs. matte) makes the shine impactful; controlled coverage (smaller foil areas rather than full floods) keeps it looking premium; and restraint (not foiling everything) ensures the effect isn’t diluted. If you remember those principles and the technical limits above, you’re well on your way to creating stunning, production-friendly embellishments.

Collaboration Between Designer and Press Operator

A recurring theme was that digital embellishment sits at the crossroads of design and manufacturing. Designers who embrace a collaborative approach with the people running the machines will inevitably get better results. As one print expert in the meeting put it, “It’s a real-world art you can’t fully automate, and one most designers don’t even know exists” – referring to the fine adjustments operators make on press. For example, an operator might nudge a foil mask a fraction after seeing a test print, or manually edit the mask file to open up a gap that was too tight. They have an arsenal of tricks (from using anti-static tinsel on the output tray to clipping dryer sheets on the press to reduce static cling!) to ensure each sheet foils correctly. When designers and operators communicate, the designer can anticipate many of these nuances.

Practical ways to collaborate:

• Involve the embellishment specialist early. If you’re sending a job to a printer with a foil/UV device, get their design guidelines or have a call before you start creating the artwork. They can tell you their recommended minimum line weights, any foil colors they stock, template for setting up layers, etc. Every device (and operator) has its quirks; some prefer 600 dpi masks, others are okay with 300 dpi, some might say “don’t foil within 5mm of the sheet edge,” etc. Knowing these in advance is gold.

• Leverage Pre-Visualization Tools, but Verify with Humans. The industry is developing some neat software tools to preview foil and raised effects. Matt and Kevin mentioned Taktiful’s “Reaktor”, a cloud-based tool where you can upload your design and see a pseudo-3D rendering of it with foil and varnish under different lighting angles. There are other similar visualization plugins and tools emerging as well. These can help you as a designer get a sense of how light will play on your foil, or how a layered varnish texture might look . By all means, use them – they can inspire ideas and catch obvious issues (like “oh, that dark blue text practically disappears until the foil catches light – maybe we should change it”). However, don’t let them be the only test. They won’t perfectly model issues like spread or the exact reflectivity of a given foil. Always run critical things by the press operator and ideally get an actual printed sample if possible. The tools are an aid, not a substitute for real-world checking.

• Be Open to Adjustments: Sometimes, despite best efforts, the first proof might show a problem – maybe the foil solid area has pinholes, or small type isn’t as crisp as hoped. Instead of pointing fingers, work with the printer on a solution. It could be as simple as increasing varnish volume or slowing the press for more curing time. Or perhaps switching to a different foil film (some foils have better coverage on large areas, others excel at fine details). In one anecdote, a designer had a large solid gold foil area that kept looking uneven digitally; the printer suggested doing that particular element with traditional foil stamping instead, to get a perfectly smooth result, even if it meant an extra cost. The hybrid approach solved the issue. Flexibility and a focus on the end quality should guide these collaborations, rather than sticking rigidly to how it was originally set up.

• Continuous Learning: Embellishment technology is evolving quickly. As seen in this session, even seasoned pros were excited about new features like “anti-foil varnish” that allow multiple effects in one pass, or improved registration systems that make life easier. Join communities (like the new Taktisphere online community that was announced) where designers and printers share experiences. Participate in print industry forums or local user groups. This helps you stay ahead of the curve on what machines can do and what design techniques are trending. Sabine Lenz (PaperSpecs) also mentioned events like their upcoming “Unboxed” event featuring artists who use foil and special effects in creative ways – these can be great inspiration and education for designers. And if you’ve done great work, consider entering contests like the FSEA Gold Leaf Awards, which now even have categories for digital foil and coating. Seeing the winners can spark ideas on pushing the boundaries (and who knows, you might win and get some well-deserved recognition!).

Pushing the Envelope: New Possibilities in Digital Foil

One exciting part of the discussion was about how innovation in digital presses is unlocking effects that were difficult or impossible before. For example, traditionally, if you wanted both foil and a raised clear texture on the same piece, you’d have to run it twice – foil in one pass and clear varnish in another (since any varnish in the first pass would get covered by foil). But now, companies like MGI/Konica Minolta have introduced techniques to do multiple layers in one go. Matt and Kevin talked about a new “anti-foil varnish” concept – essentially printing two kinds of varnish: one that foil sticks to and one that it doesn’t. This way, on a single pass, the press could lay down non-foil varnish in areas meant to stay glossy raised only, and foil-able varnish where the foil should stick, then apply foil over the whole sheet and only the designated spots emerge metallic. In fact, the recently launched JETvarnish 3D Web 400 roll-to-roll press can integrate spot UV and hot foil in a single pass on labels . It’s likely we’ll see that capability trickle into sheet-fed machines soon, meaning designers won’t have to limit themselves to “either foil or clear in one area at a time” as much. Imagine printing a pattern of clear tactile varnish right next to a gold foil element in one seamless operation – that can open up new design aesthetics.

Another trick discussed was foil-on-foil layering. In digital, you can actually run a sheet back through multiple times to stack different foils. For instance, lay down a silver foil, then on a second pass, overprint a patterned holographic foil on top of the silver. The result can mimic those security holograms (like the eagle hologram on a credit card) or just create a unique two-tone shine. Kevin mentioned doing silver with a gold holographic on top, or vice versa, yielding really novel effects that “you can’t do in traditional foil”. You can also foil over a foiled area with a different color to create custom color mixes (though alignment needs to be spot-on). And don’t forget, you can always put clear varnish on top of foil as well – either to add a textured “spot gloss” effect on a foiled surface (imagine a gold foiled area that has a raised pattern embossed into it via an extra varnish layer – digital can simulate embossing this way), or simply to seal it with a satin coating if you wanted to tone down the shine in parts. The combinations are endless if you think creatively and have a printer willing to experiment.

Digital embellishment also allows controlled height and multi-pass builds. One shop shared they printed Braille with varnish by doing multiple passes to stack up to 400 microns for readability – try doing that with traditional methods! This means designers can contemplate functional and decorative uses for thick varnish: from Braille to faux embossing to sculpted textures (like reptile skin patterns on packaging). You could, say, design a business card background with a raised UV texture that you feel but don’t see until it catches light, while a smooth foil logo floats on top. And because the digital process is so controlled, you can achieve those micro details that screen printing or dies might miss .

That said, not everything is a bed of roses. The panel did acknowledge that some people still prefer the look of traditional foil and varnish – it can be a bit flatter and sharper. A few clients might say digital foil’s edges look slightly softer or the clear coating has a different sheen (some call it a “waxy” look at high builds). These perceptions are subjective, and as the technology improves (and as people become more accustomed to digital finishes), they are less of an issue. But it underlines that designers should keep an open mind: sometimes the best solution might be a mix of methods. For example, do the main title with a hot stamp in a super high-gloss metallic foil, but do the intricate background pattern with digital holographic foil. Or use digital for prototyping a crazy idea, then refine for conventional processes if needed. The good news is the toolbox is only expanding.

Conclusion: Embellishments as an Experience

The overarching takeaway from Matt Redbear’s session was this: When designed with care, embellishments stop being mere effects and become an experience. A well-placed foil, a well-crafted texture, engages multiple senses and layers of the brain – it catches the eye, invites the touch, and even triggers that primal “this is special” feeling in the viewer . Achieving that is equal parts creative vision and technical understanding.

Designers venturing into this realm should embrace a new mindset. Embellishment design isn’t just about making something pretty; it’s about orchestrating how a piece will feel and be perceived from the first glance to the moment someone runs their fingers over it. It demands we think about light and shadow, finger smudges, viewing angles, press runs – things our CMYK classes never taught us. But the reward is worth it: done right, these techniques mesmerize the audience (and often, the client paying for them).

A final bit of encouragement: the community around digital embellishment is growing and eager to share. As evidenced by the lively Q&A, folks from around the world (USA, Sweden, Netherlands, Canada and more on that call) are experimenting and learning together. Platforms like the Taktisphere are launching to connect designers and press operators, and events by groups like PaperSpecs and FSEA are spotlighting this craft. So don’t hesitate to reach out, ask questions, and keep learning. Enter that contest, show off your foil creation on LinkedIn or Instagram (#DigitalEmbellishment perhaps), and get feedback.

We’re really at the frontier of marrying AI with design and print – even in this session, they toyed with using ChatGPT to suggest foil placement ideas – hinting that the next generation of tools will further blur the line between the digital and physical design realms. But as Matt reassured everyone, AI isn’t here to replace designers; it’s here to remove friction. The creativity and taste are still ours to own.

In the end, whether you’re using cutting-edge AI suggestions or old-school pencil sketches to plan your foil, the message was clear: design with intent, execute with knowledge. If you do that, you won’t just embellish a print – you’ll deliver an experience that sparkles in someone’s memory long after the light catching the foil has faded.