For ISTD 2017 Brief: A Dead Wood Archive.
A Dead Wood Archive, there is something just so quirky, so loaded, about that phrase. I was instantly captivated by the sense of personality that has been captured by the unique phrasing and knew I wanted the personality of my book to shine through in my celebration of it.
Writing Between the Lines
If a book could talk: Tales of the Trials and Tribulations of a book's time off the library shelves.
The publication takes on the form of a journal from the point of view of a specific copy of Pursuit of Truth by W. V. Quine, and features ten entries that recount the original book’s possible adventures on the dates the book was borrowed or returned. I worked hard to give the book a unique and interesting personality, and to then create type that reflected its quirky personality. Each entry has a unique treatment of type, ranging from reserved to highly experimental, depending on the nature of the entry. The body copy and the folios are the only consistent elements among each entry to achieve a sense of cohesion between the different type explorations.
The body copy is Times New Roman, which is the typeface used in the original book, used as if it almost the handwriting of the book. The folios, rather than pages numbers, are the dates that the entries were ‘written’, to give it a more personal touch. The contents page is also unique; it takes the form of an insert with the library date-stamped sticker that’s at the front of the original book.
The different entries pertain to different events, such as the book's experience of flight whilst being thrown at someone during an argument, or its annoyance at being drenched in tea due to someones clumsiness.
Another entry details the books affair with a student, who had the book out for so long he had to pay a large fine, and the two had to part at last.
An entry titled "Redundant", captures the book's spiral into an existential crisis as it questions its value after being tossed aside for a digital copy of the book.
