CELEBRATING LITERARY JOURNALISM
This was my second opportunity to design a series focused on the text, a big departure from Taschen’s usual bold, visuals-first approach. The brief: to celebrate the author and achieve better readability, without compromising the value of the signed limited edition.
With feedback from a series of Norman Mailer books, we revised from the ground up — the trim size was reduced to allow the desired prominence for the text, placing the photography in a more equal, supporting role. This ‘smaller’ format (9.5 x 13.5 inches) called for a richly tactile package with high production values:
– Haptic slipcase/cover, a layered production paying homage to Midcentury classics.
– Alternating paper stocks, using a quality coated sheet to highlight the photography, and warm, soft uncoated stock for the text pages.
– Letterpress printing, in multiple colors, referencing the crafstmanship of the era.
– Tipped-on ephemera from the authors’ archives, in facsimile whenever possible.
For the first book in the series, Ol’ Blue Eyes Sinatra set the tone and palette. Packaged in a minimalist e-flute slipcase, hand-assembled with letterpress-printed label, the book’s case uses 3-color foil blocking and a tipped-on photo.
‘One of the greatest celebrity portraits ever written.’ — GQ
The series was conceived to celebrate ‘literary’ non-fiction, debuting with Gay Talese’s seminal 1966 New Journalism profile for Esquire, illustrated chiefly with Phil Stern’s decades of Sinatra photographs.
Beginning with the outline on his signature shirt board, each chapter was illustrated with artifacts from Talese’s archive, tipped-on overlaying the display paragraph.
Letterpress printed on vintage equipment by Archivio Tipografico in Turin, Italy, the text signatures were merged at the bindery with the offset photo sections.
The series was conceived to celebrate ‘literary’ non-fiction, debuting with Gay Talese’s seminal 1966 New Journalism profile for Esquire, illustrated chiefly with Phil Stern’s decades of Sinatra photographs.
Beginning with the outline on his signature shirt board, each chapter was illustrated with artifacts from Talese’s archive, tipped-on overlaying the display paragraph.
Letterpress printed on vintage equipment by Archivio Tipografico in Turin, Italy, the text signatures were merged at the bindery with the offset photo sections.
DAY-GLO EVOLUTION
The follow-up title — featuring Tom Wolfe’s Gonzo journalism, illustrated by photojournalists Schiller and Streshinsky — as they say, ‘designed itself.’
Being able to explode and deconstruct the key elements of the series was great fun, ‘turning on’ the clean Midcentury sensibility of Sinatra’s Rat Pack to evoke the effects of LSD on the Sixties as viewed through the lens of Kesey’s Merry Pranksters.
The text was letterpressed, this time in a dark aubergine, alternating era-appropriate neon colors for each signature.
Process notes reveal efforts to ensure each section further warped the chapter titles, not-so-subtly mimicking the drug’s progressive effects.
‘The text equivalent to a vinyl junkie’s wet dream.’ — Vice.com
The packaging attempted to mirror Milton Glaser’s original 1967 New York magazine cover — and the counterculture’s rejection of ‘Black Shiny FBI Shoes.’ Lawrence Schiller’s celebrated Kesey portrait is rendered on the cover in 4 foils plus tip-on, and the slipcase label is letterpressed in 5 colors.
Wolfe, 86 at the time, insisted on gracing each book with his ornate fountain-pen signature.
The packaging attempted to mirror Milton Glaser’s original 1967 New York magazine cover — and the counterculture’s rejection of ‘Black Shiny FBI Shoes.’ Lawrence Schiller’s celebrated Kesey portrait is rendered on the cover in 4 foils plus tip-on, and the slipcase label is letterpressed in 5 colors.
Wolfe, 86 at the time, insisted on gracing each book with his ornate fountain-pen signature.
REKINDLING THE FLAME
James Baldwin’s 1962 New Yorker essay set Life photographer Steve Schapiro on the path to bear witness to the civil rights movement through his celebrated photos. It seemed fitting that he sign this posthumous limited reedition, our fourth collaboration.
‘Schapiro and Baldwin showed the possibility of what strong writing and photography could achieve in their time. In ours, we’d do well to look to them.’ — The Guardian
The typography from the 1963 first edition was adopted throughout — a departure from the established series’ look felt more than justified by the stark change in tone.
Below, the vintage Heidelberg letterpress in action. With three colors requiring multiple passes through the press, and maximum sheet size far smaller than current standards, printing the text signatures was an exacting, laborious process, but the results are unparalleled.
Awarded the 2O17 Lucie Award for Publisher of the Year, this collaboration was the most successful book in the series, and would prove to be it’s swan song. Celebrated as a timely reminder that ordinary people can help change things for the better, this quickly became one of the projects I’m most proud.
The elements of the book, came together as smoothly and easily as any production this complex can: Schapiro’s photographs, Baldwin’s essays and original manuscript pages, plus a few other key pieces of ephemera (including the ‘I AM A MAN’ poster from MLK’s Million Man March).
While the typography is strong and the layout quite formal and structured, this book felt like the best kind of success: the design was not restricting the content, and the content didn’t need to stretch or compromise to fit the design.
The elements of the book, came together as smoothly and easily as any production this complex can: Schapiro’s photographs, Baldwin’s essays and original manuscript pages, plus a few other key pieces of ephemera (including the ‘I AM A MAN’ poster from MLK’s Million Man March).
While the typography is strong and the layout quite formal and structured, this book felt like the best kind of success: the design was not restricting the content, and the content didn’t need to stretch or compromise to fit the design.
ONE THAT GOT AWAY
Everyone in this business has unrealized work tucked away, but losing this one really hurt: With photo research and designs well underway, plans to produce another Wolfe title ended with his passing in 2O18. Luckily, we presented our designs earlier in the year, and it was a career highlight to see Tom Wolfe get excited about them.
But these unrealized comps proved (to me at least) that the series’ format was robust and versatile, able to successfully accomodate subject matter and design quite different in tone. I wish there could have been more!