Mirrors With a Memory

1) My book Mirrors with a Memory takes a look at the beginning of photography. It is a short progression of how photography evolved, but only looking at the 1800s. I wanted my book to be more artistic, then just an account of the history of photography. In order to achieve this, I used many pictures, and a variety of paper, to add texture, and a visual appeal. I wanted the book, to look soft, and did this by only using images that were black and white, or had a slight tint to them.

It is a hardcover book that is covered with a decorative paper. I used silver as a key colour, because successful photographic processes used silver iodine, and I wanted that to be represented. I decided not to have the title of the book on the front cover, because I wanted it to be more alluring so that people would not know what the exactly the book was about. This is also why I used an abstract title, to introduce its contents. This is not a history book, so I wanted to make sure that it didn’t come across as one.

2) From the beginning of this process I was unaware of how exactly I would try to achieve what I was trying to convey. I had so many different, conflicting styles of how I might go about achieving my desired effect. Originally I thought I would take the visuals of the book in the direction of collage. I considered incorporating the social aspects of how the introduction of photography affected society, and the advertisements that were produced to sell cameras to consumers. This idea was visually a lot louder then my final product. It incorporated many colours and more visuals incorporated within the type.

Another direction I had planned to take my book incorporated more of a timeline concerning the introduction of photography. I had planned to look at the 1800s to the 1950s; although I found that with this approach my book would have become to cumbersome, and gone away from what I wanted, which was for the reader to have an experience, not a history lesson.

In the end I choice a method that was much more simplistic, that incorporated both an artistic appeal as well as information to support it.

3) Two important choices that I made for my book, was the paper selection and the format I used.

Using a variety of five different paper stocks, added a visual appeal that I would not have been able to incorporate, unless I had used different textures. The colour and the style of the papers contributed to the artistic feel that I wanted to incorporate.

The format also played a roll in the book coming across as being more artistic then a history book, because of its size, and how the pages were laid out. By not having the pictures within the text, and instead, having them on separate sheets of paper, allowed the reader to be able to enjoy the photo and to be able to develop their own interpretation and appreciation for it.

4) I felt that more time would have made a big difference in the production of my book. It would have allowed the finished product to be cleaner and more put together. I plan on getting the book professionally bound, after the class is over. This will allow an additional revision, after I have received comments and criticisms from others.

If I could do something differently, it would have been, to try and decide on a clear plan earlier. I had so many different ideas, that it was difficult for me to just commit on a design and then progress further.

I also feel that one semester is just not enough time, to cover such a vast topic as photography, there is just so many different aspects to the topic, as well as varying information, that only a few months is just not enough time, to thoroughly understand this topic.

5) I enjoyed this class very much, although I would have to say that before you actually take the class it is difficult to fully understand what is involved in the making and the production of book design. One of the difficulties with book is that there are so many variables that need to be considered and planned, before the final stages of the actual completion of the project. Without actually going through these steps it is very difficult to fully understand and visualize the final product.

I also found it difficult to finalize and stick with a particular style. There are so many choices, and different things that can be done, that it is difficult to stick with one concept and carry that all the way though.

My advice to others is to just see what is out there and then decide what course of action to take. I think that it is really important to do a lot of research before you even start designing. Brainstorming is key!!

Mother Noose: A Grim Look at Nursery Rhymes

1) Mother Noose is a book about how the rhymes we have learned as children are quite brutal. The book is 5.5 by 8.5 inches and information is organized by rhyme. Seven rhymes are analyzed. The quality of the drawing is meant to resemble children’s books but at the same time be creepy. I chose to use hand written, sloppy type for the rhymes. The reason for this being that the appearance of the writing is unsettling and so adds to the creepy theme. The media used to create the illustrations were watercolours, charcoal, ink, pastels and acrylic paint. The book is formatted in long landscape spreads. The spreads alter every so often in such a way that the reader has to turn the book. This allowed for experimentation with vertical space.


2) Initially I had planned on doing a book on graffiti with a focus of the Toronto scene. A few weeks into the class I changed gears and decided to focus on nursery rhymes. As soon as I had the idea to do my book on nursery rhymes I had a vision for my book that is pretty similar to the final outcome. The only thing that I saw change was the typography. I believe my choice to use messy handwriting added to the feeling of the book.


3)A huge choice I had to make concerning my book was to cut out two nursery rhymes. Initially I had wanted to illustrate 9 but due to time constraints I could only complete 7. Had I not made this choice I would have not only gotten even less sleep than I did on this project, but also, my overall design would have suffered. Had I not stopped my design would have looked scary.

4)I would have liked to be able to finish more rhymes than I did. Though my book is lengthy if the world of children’s books, I still would have liked a few more. Also if money wasn’t an issue I would have liked to fly to Mexico to finish my book on the beach. I think that I would have made the format even longer horizontally if I had to do it all over again. As well I would have taken it to a company to scan. It would have not only saved me a lot of time but also would have made the colours more accurate and improved the overall image quality.

5) Advice I’d give people taking book would be if you want to illustrate your book make sure you have a light semester. It’s a lot of work…a lot, a lot of work. But it is also rewarding. I did find the tight timeline frustrating at times because I couldn’t take my time drawing and designing. I felt rushed most of the time and began to hate sitting and painting (which I generally love).

PUNK.Structured Anarchy.

Full Title. Punk. Structured Anarchy
Spread One: Brick wall with original posters from the punk scene
Spread Two: One column grid with a running pull quote. Full bleed.
Spread Three: An original article from 1979 about Sid Vicious' death.
Spread Four: An transcript of an interview with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein
Spread Five: All my spreads are full with images, copy, and pull quotes. Little white space needed.
Spread Six: Minimal content in this spread. The main focus was the pull quote which says enough.
Spread Seven: The corkboard spreads come up every so often. Includes albums, tickets, backstage pass, poster, lyrics...etc.
Spread Eight: This spread only has a running pull quote and full bleed images. Minimal.
Spread Nine: There is a transcript on the side of this page but a conversation Sid and Nancy had.


1. A Character Sketch of the Book: describe your book in general terms (what it look like, how the information/story is organized) as of talking to someone who has never seen it.

I did not know much about punk music prior to designing this book. The inspiration for the design came from the sporadic nature of the music. The book is designed such that it reflects my thought process as I researched the selected subject matter. This means that the method through which I covered the various texts on the topic was used to structure the book. If I referred to a book on punk, I read segments of it that interested me the most. Those segments were then placed in conjunction with one another, resulting in a structured anarchy. The unique aspect of this book is that the different parts come in many forms including direct quotes from the band members, interviews, biographies and journal entries. Moreover, with further research, my interests in different aspects of the topic grew, and so did my desire to include the new information in my book.

Essentially, the book is set up so that it is as though I am visually describing a story about the history of punk music through the process of which I learned the material.


2. The Evolution of the Project: reflect on how the book has changed over time from its original conception.

From the very beginning of the semester, I had been doing a lot of research on a punk nightclub, CBGB. All my content, images, design concepts revolved around that topic. For some reason, I felt limited with what I could have done with it and decided to simply focus on the entirety of the punk era. With my new idea set forth, I had new ideas, which were very different from what the outcome of my book became.

I wanted the structure of my book to be in sections of the major locations, which influenced punk music. In each location, I would touch upon four to five artist and describe them in detail. Quite funny since my book took an entire turn from that initial idea. From an organized structured to a chaotic mess.


3. Making Choices: pick two important choices you have made concerning your book (type, format, layout, images, etc.) and talk about why you made those particular decisions.

One of the choices I made right at the beginning of my design was to set up the book so that it would be printed and bounded in signatures. I knew I wanted the photographs and pull quotes to be large in size and bleed onto the next page. Therefore it was essential to create it in such a way. It turned out to be a challenge in itself due to the fact that I had way too much images and copy that spread between two pages. And if you know about signature, all the pages need to match up with another page, meaning I had to slice every picture in half which took a while considering I had 132 pages.
The second most important choice I made was how to set up the content. Punk music is a huge topic on its own and I was not trying to impose that I was now an expert in the topic. I structured the content in such a way that myself and the readers can fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle. Some of the stories you could get in full while some you could not, it was all about my learning development of this new topic and how I personally interpreted it.

4. Compromises: describe some of the things (if time or money wasn’t an issue) you might have done differently and what they would have added to your book.

With an unlimited budget, I would first like to have visit New York City and London to gather more primary information about punk. I was lucky to find a lot of information but I was really hoping it would have been more personal. The pages I would have liked my book to take on were the personal stories, journal entries, and candid interview. I am just assuming that the libraries in those two locations would have a bit of what I was looking for.

Also, if I had an extra week or so, I would have liked to make a box to showcase my book in as well as a foil-stamped cover. Oh yeah, and maybe some real leather skin for the cover.


5. Pleasure and Frustrations: talking about book design in general–if you were with other students thinking about enrolling in a book design course (not necessarily this course) what would you tell them to expect and what to consider before they make their decision.

I am very glad that I chose to enroll in a book design course before I left this program. I felt like a learned a lot of skills through the process that I never knew throughout my four years of university. Although yes the workload was heavy, it was all worth it once I picked up my book from the bookbinder and saw it all together. By looking at the book you created, you can see all the struggles, challenges, decisions,.etc that needed to be made. One piece of advice I would give to anyone who wanted to enroll in a book design course is to have passion in whatever you do. If you have a strong desire for your book, then it makes it all worth it in the end.

"The Middle Kingdom"

Soft cover diecut leads the reader into the book.


Chapter heading for part 1.


Chapter heading for part 2.


Typical spread with image corner treatment.


Story specific spread.


This type of spreads are through out the book.


These two images along with 4 other ones, form the transition from part 1-2.



General Description:

“The Middle Kingdom” is a book written to describe the current cultural, social, and economical changes that are taking place in China. The readers are lead through a series of fictional interviews (6 in total) that give a broad yet specific sense of what the Chinese people are experiencing. The characters are: An Olympic athlete, a wealthy entrepreneur, a young fashion designer, a retired rice farmer, a victim of forced eviction, and a Beijing opera performer.

The book is composed of 2 major sections, with 3 chapters in each. Each chapter represents a different interview. The first section represents the positive aspects of the changing China, and the second represents the negative.

Visually, the book is brought together by a consistent Chinese lattice design that is applied through out the book. Applications include the cover, chapter headings, beginning / end spreads, and folio numbers. The sections are visually divided using the colours red and black; to represent the mood and emotions of the sections. Their combined colour: Burgundy, forms the book cover. Traditional oriental corner treatments are also applied to the photography to provide additional visual interest. This treatment is continued onto the cover.

Project Evolution:

This project probably evolved more than any other projects that I’ve done. The original concept of my book was about Da Vinci and his dream of flight. But then I didn’t feel very comfortable with the topic; I didn’t feel connected with it. The concept then evolved into a virtual museum of the Louvre. That didn’t work either. Then my idea began to shift into China. I decided to do the Cultural Revolution, but unfortunately there were very limited visual sources available. Eventually, after a few revisions, I set on this current concept.

One of the revisions that I had to do was changing away from a visual diary approach to the book. I was set on the idea of photographs being placed on a table and photographing it from atop. Then write it in a diary format. But that have been done before, and the consensus from the critiques were to make the book powerful and bold. The diary idea was too conservative and quiet; doesn’t communicate the strong themes of the books.

Making the 2 Choices:

From 2 books to 1:
One important choice that I’ve made was deciding to go with one book instead of two separate books. This was due to the idea that these interviews and stories are all about one country. Granted, they are almost like Ying and Yang, but the sections are intricately interconnected. So putting them together was a better decision.

Design first, write second:
Personally, I feel that this was a great decision for the book, though possibly uncommon. During the research process, I discovered that there was a huge gap and discrepancy between the articles I found and the images. With the articles, there were barely any supporting high res. images. (especially forced eviction) And the images often did not relate to the issues. As a result, I decided to plan my characters and a general sense of their experiences well before the writing stage. I then started gathering images that I feel are connected to the stories. Take the Olympic athlete for example. My plan was to have him talk about his love of swimming. Then go on to China being chosen to host the 2008 games. And concludes with him training for the games. After the story was laid out, I gathered images of the Olympic countdown, Olympic celebrations, water, and swimming. I designed the chapter according to the story outline; with images where they are suppose to be. Then I wrote it. This way, the design and the writing go hand in hand, creating an overall harmony.

Compromises:

I feel that I did not spend enough time on writing the book. I feel that the characters are not deep enough. And the stories lacked a strong foundation. My writing today still lacks proper tenses. Though it have improved over the years. I did get it edited, but I feel that I could have written it better with stronger structure.

It would also have been nice to have more time on image research. I spent a great deal of time gathering high res. photography; online, books, and classmates, but I feel that the images could be stronger in a few cases.

I feel that it probably would be better later on to have the book in a hard cover. Currently the cover promotes mystery with the diecut and the door, but the hard cover I feel gives the book an added sense of mystery.

Pleasures and Frustrations:

I still can’t believe sometimes that I’ve created a book. Not just design but the contents as well. I feel that the final product is a great portfolio piece in any case. I learned so much this term also; grain of papers, binding techniques, book styles, rhythm of a book especially.

It was also great to see everyone else’s books. Each one was so different and unique. I would love to read all of the books that everyone did this term.

This course also gave me an opportunity to explore my heritage. Thank you Reg for your continuous support on my topic changes, as well as your helpful critiques. I feel that the final concept was the strongest out of all of the previous ones, but retains the essence of the previous ones.

Because this is such a unique project, as well as new to me, I was often quite frustrated with not knowing what to do. Fortunately the critiques helped tremendously. I wish that there were a bit more time allocated for book design. 12 weeks goes by way too quickly.

Going to Wyman was a great experience. I got the chance to see her binding machines. Quite fascinating. She also does hard covers. So I plan to go to see her again before the grad show.

I know what you must be going through...

Mugging for the camera...

visit this wonderful blog: BibliOdyssey

Chinese proverbs with a translucent touch

This book was inspired by a children's proverb book I used to own as a kid. Since I moved to Canada, Chinese calligraphy slowly changed from a form of language to a form of art. For me at least. So I decided to make the focus of the book the words themselves. The translucency of the mylar really gave the text a surreal feel. I hope you guys enjoyed seeing this book. And yes, it was sewn with dental floss.

Karl

Post No Bills-Experimental Book Binding

The inspiration for this project were the pieces of plywood used to board off construction sites that have POST NO BILLS spray painted on them, though they always have flyers stapled and graffiti written on them. I bound the layouts to the board using a staple gun to mimics the plastering of flyers all over plywood. The wood itself was spray painted black and red, white and black enamel was splattered on. I also made a few graffiti like doodles on the board using a silver metallic sharpie.

Dumb-ass Bunny

This book is an adult, graphic version of little bunny foo-foo. All the illustrations were hand painted using ink, gouache and watercolour.

Superb Portfolio of Bookworks

interior landscape - 2001
Dorothy Simpson Krause

Dorothy Simpson Krause has a stunning selection of digital art and bookworks at her site:
http://www.dotkrause.com/

see in particular her bookworks which includes examples that have animated page-turning

How to be a good mixer...

Type and graphic designer Martin Majoor has an interesting article on "the headache of mixing type" at Typotheque:

http://www.typotheque.com/articles/my_type_design_philosophy.html