In convocation with Simon Harrison I asked if there were any books that are look at a specific topic about a specific location thats target audience is aimed at both the design community as well as a more open audience interested in other issues. This book In Loving Memory of Work by Antony Burgess. The books design is engaging and stylish in a graphic sense but also relates to the content and target audience. This is double target audience integral in my research as I would like to try this. The book is highly regarded in the design community and with contributors like Jonathan Barnbrook and Ken Garland.
The first thing I noticed about this book as I was researching online was the quality of the website, its usability and design. The level of professionalism has been kept throughout all the formats the project has been show. This could be useful in studio brief 2 on online design.
The books design is intriguing and communicates very directly, the use of reds and blacks works with the content being on a strong political and social issue. This page design would appeal to both creatives and anyone with interests in the mining strike. The books content includes a really detailed description of the strikes and all the problems related to it. This is another way of appealing to a larger audience, often with art books the images are the focus and the copy is not as thought out and considered. This is something to consider for my work.
The book has been laid out with a consistent white page with mainly copy on the right hand side this means there is no disruption when reading. As this book is more of a special edition or a coffee table book the size suggests it is for reading sitting down and really studying each page. For my publication I want the book to be able to be read like this but also could be carried around this is another way of making the book appeal to a wider audience.
In terms of the typographic community and the wider audience having an interest in this book these pages showing the posters of the strikes would really be an excellent example of the cross over. The typographic community can study each of the letterforms and the way the information has been displayed as well as the images being very interesting from a historical sense. This cross over is key in the work being so successful.
The examples of large and direct typography work with the rest of the publication due to the layout and colour choices, displaying these images large full page invites the viewer to look closely at the design.
As part of the project Antony Burgess has created a bespoke typeface as shown above, this is a fantastic way to get more publicity for the book and give the project another dimension. This is something I felt would really really push my project but the time limitations may not allow this. If I could I would love to try and make a bespoke typeface for my own project that relates to my images I have taken and the context of being on the Orkney's.
Above showing the typeface used in context, the use of a bespoke type again appeals to the type community subsequently connecting the two target audiences.
Another fabulous feature of this book is the screen printed coal dust that has been used to print these letters. This is an amazing way of linking contemporary design with something that connects to the miners. This is also something never done before and is really pushing the field of printing. This further research and development of a project is what I am looking for.
Overall I have found this project to be very intriguing and a amazing example of how effective book design can be that specific to an area but look great in a design sense.
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