A DYING MAN’S WISH SPEC BOOK
STRATEGY 6-7 MARGINS 8 COLUMNS 9 GRID/VARIATIONS
10-12
TYPOGRAPHY 13-15 EXPRESSIVE TYPOGRAPHY
16-20
COLOUR 21 IMAGERY 22-25 DUST COVER 26 FRONT COVER 27-28 PAPER STOCK 29 PRINTING AND FINISHING
30
AMENDMENTS 31
STRATEGY This publication was inspired by the Nobel Awards. While researching the different facets of the awards it was the story of it’s inception that seemed an outstanding series of events. When Alfred Nobel read an obituary falsely attributed to him he decided to leave the majority of his estate to the setting up of an award system that celebrates the best of mans achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and Peace. The story centres on the will of Nobel which he drafted himself and who had not told anybody else about bar two witnesses who were present when he signed it in Paris in 1895. Within a year Nobel was dead but the story was only beginning . When his will was opened and read in January 1897 it started what was to become a tale of intrigue, deception ,greed and envy. It also was to be a tale of hope ,friendship ,tenacity and trust. With this story as my theme I decided that my concept was to be based around friendship and trust. Although he had left a will stating his desire obstacles such as the legal system in France and Sweden ,not to mention Nobels family , would try and deny his wishes being made reality. With this as my concept I named my book A Dying Man’s Wish. As it’s a strong story I want the book to be accessible but also attractive and enticing. So an old story ,a parable on humanity so to speak, but presented in a contemporary and attractive way. The design I chose was of a minimalist style. There is to be plenty of space on the pages for text and not too claustrophobic. I wanted to infuse an ethereal quality to the to represent the dying of a man and his wish. It takes a loyal few to realize this dream.
The book is in five chapters because during the research on the Nobel story the number five kept arising so I decided to use this as the structure for the book also. I infused a colour pallette that was chosen by selecting analogous colours of blue which represents the colours of Sweden and France but also the Nobel awards themselves. These soft colours along with a very soft gradient give the book an ethereal and atmospheric quality which flows through the book via the chapters. It was felt some colour was needed as a book of just type on a white page can quickly become repetitive and uninteresting The typefaces chosen are all sans serif and represent a marrying of the old world and new. They represent a contemporary society yet have a solid historical feel, much like the awards themselves. Again to give a modern feel the type is in grey and white. Images are included but are there to facilitate the narrative. They are mostly images of the people who play a major role i the story. The images have been retouched and coloured to suit the mood of the particular chapter. They are also combined with typographic creations. The final piece is a celebration of the Nobel awards and is a unique publication that has a modern yet unique and artistic aesthetic. It tells an old story but in a modern publication.
MARGINS
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Page Size:
148mm x 210mm (A5)
Horizontal Margin:
375mm
Vertical Margin:
582 mm
1 ddni.2 metsys dirg
Gutter: 5mm
Top: 22mm Bottom: 12.7 Inside: 12.7mm Outside: 15mm
COLUMNS
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Columns:
8
Column Width:
113mm
Gutter: 42.3mm
Top: 22mm Bottom: 12.7mm Inside: 12.7mm Outside: 15mm
FINAL GRID SYSTEM
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Grid Increment
9pt
Columns:
8
Column Width:
113mm
1 ddni.2 nmuloc
Gutter: 42.3mm
Top: 22mm Bottom: 12.7mm Inside: 12.7mm Outside: 15mm
GRID VARIATIONS For the majority of the book the body copy is aligned to the outside margin which is 15mm in depth. The majority of the text also starts at the top margin which is 22mm in depth. All of the body copy is justified to give the book a sense of structure and continuity. There are drop-caps on every paragraph at a depth of 3 lines of text.
In this spread ,on pages 32-33, the text is aligned more towards the centre with a margin .of 296mm from the outside This was done as it was an excerpt from a book written by Ragnar Sohlman, Nobel’s executor. I wanted to givethe text aits own page as it recounts an important part of the story.
GRID VARIATIONS
In this spread on pages 42-43 I created a text wrap around an image of the Nobel medal which concludes the book. The margins and columns were not relevant in this section as as the circular shape dictated where the main body of text would go. I thought that the section for the establishment of the Nobel awards warranted a change from the previous body copy as it concluded the book and creates a nice visual where the face of Nobel look on in approval. The dimension of the elipse used on page 42 is : 1873 mm diameter 936 mm radius 11mm margin between text and image
TYPOGRAPHY
ABCDEFGHIJKLM OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnop qrstuvwxyz 1234567890 Name:
Aktiv Grotesk
Size 9pt Designer
Dalton Maag
Date
2009
Propriety: Aktiv Grotesk was chosen as the font for the body copy as a modern yet beautiful sans serif was required for the contemporary feel of the book. Aksidenz-Grotesk was originally chosen as it was created in 1896, the year Nobel died. Aktiv is a modern version of this font so seemed appropriate to change. Context:
Used throughout book for the body copy. It is also on the contents (p7) and chapter pages in bold.
TYPOGRAPHY
ABCDEFGHIJKLM OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnop qrstuvwxyz 1234567890 Name:
Gill Sans Regular
Size 9pt Designer
Eric Gill
Date
1930
Propriety: Gill sans was chosen as the light font open and elegant in appearance.The regular is compact and muscular with a flat-topped p and q and also a triangular topped t. This font was chosen as it has a strong historical link yet still feels modern and current this reflects the awards themselves. Context:
Used throughout book for the headings on chapters and quotes.
TYPOGRAPHY
ABCDEFGHIJKLM OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnop qrstuvwxyz 1234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLM OPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnop qrstuvwxyz 1234567890 Variants used in book: -Semi Bold -Bold
EXPRESSIVE TYPOGRAPHY
Context:
There is an ethereal aethetic to the book. Out of a dying mans will comes comes the wish to create something to celebrate man's best achievments. The use of a gradient throughout the book helps to illustrate this and convey movement also. The text bleeds out over the bars of colour to make the eyes and counters of the text more pronounced yet creating a more abstract view.
Typeface:
Aktiv-Grotesk, Bold 47pt
EXPRESSIVE TYPOGRAPHY
Context:
The start of the book deals with Nobel reading his own obituary. To convey this through type an image of Nobel has a layer which has its opacity dropped to 55%. The quote from the paper is knocked-out and was varnished by hand once binding was completed.
Typeface:
Gill Sans, Bold 41pt
Effect:
Spot Varnish done using Daler Rowney Paper Varnish
EXPRESSIVE TYPOGRAPHY
On page13 Gill Sans Bold text has been arranged in such away as to impart movement or disparity . The quote is from Nobel and relates to his having no real home as he travels a lot due to work. The h and & were turned into outlines and have been filled with an image of two of his houses. These were also spot varnished.
The image on page 20 has been layered in front of lines of Gil Sans Bold text wihich has it’s opacity dropped to 70%. This text has also been spot varnished which gradually stops at the image.
EXPRESSIVE TYPOGRAPHY
On page 23 various sizes of Gill Sans Regular are arranged in such a way to create an image of all the obsticles that were in Sohlmans way and how he was the link that saw the creation of the awards. The word Sohlman is in white to highlight his isolation.
The image on pages 14-15 refers to the end of Nobels life when he passed away in his villa in San Remo which refered to as “my nest�. Gill Sans Semi-Bold is arranged to form a clutter-like nest shape housing his villa.
EXPRESSIVE TYPOGRAPHY
Context:
There is an ethereal aesthetic to the book. The chapter pages have a soft gradient in the specific tone for the chapter. Aligned vertically is the name of the chapter with a gradient of white to clear. This gives text an ethereal and subtle quality. On the opposite chapter pages there is an old image with a series of five lines of text naming the relevant city. These start with the top text the colour of the chapter. These gradually lessen in opacity by 20% per line
Typeface:
GILL SANS, Bold 63pt, 73pt, 140pt
COLOUR HEX: CMYK: RGB:
5C9AFF 59/ 36/ 0/ 0 92/ 154/ 255
HEX: CMYK: RGB:
53B3E8 60/ 13/ 0/ 0 83/ 179/ 232
HEX: CMYK: RGB:
68F1FF 44/ 0/ 7/ 0 104/ 241/ 255
HEX: CMYK: RGB:
53E8CD 53/ 0/ 31/ 0 83/ 232/ 205
HEX: CMYK: RGB:
5CFFB3 49/ 0/ 49/ 0 92/ 255/ 179
HEX: CMYK: RGB:
90ACB6 45/ 23/ 23/ 0 144/ 172/ 182
HEX: CMYK: RGB:
626366 0/ 0/ 0/ 75 99/ 100/ 102
IMAGERY
The images above are of Nobel and two of his houses. These were taken from the official Nobelprize.org website. The images were converted to cmyk in photoshop and were given coloured hues using the curves option.
IMAGERY The image on the right is of Nobel’s house in San Remo. This was also treated in photoshop. The background was erased and the edges feathered. The colour was desaturated and given a red hue in the curves option.
Below an image of Sohlman which was given a blue hue in the curves option. The background was erased to allow for text that was placed behind it.
IMAGERY
The image above is of King Oscar II of Sweden. Again it was taken into photoshop and given a green hue using the curves option. It also has the background erased.
The image on the right was drawn in Adobe Illustrator and coloured with the chapter colour:53E8CD
IMAGERY
The images above and right are stock images taken from the Taschen book Type: A Visual History of Typefaces. These were were treated, cropped and tinted in photoshop.
The image below is of the Nobel Medal taken from the official website Nobelprize.org
DUST COVER
For the cover I wanted to include the will as it is at the centre of the story. For the slip-case a sheet of acetate was printed with the original text of Nobels will. This was then made by hand to create a protective case.
FRONT COVER
Title:
A Dying Man’s Wish
Treatment: Embossed dust-cover Placement:
18mm side,40mm top/bottom
Typeface:
Gill Sans Semi-Bold
Material:
Hardback
Treatment:
Arches 185/300gsm paper
Cover: Natural White
I wanted to include an embossed text on the cover. After dicussing my options with the bookbinder I decided to do the embossing myself as the bookbinder didn’t have the size of the text or the font choice I wanted. In order to do this the book is bound on Arches 300gsm rough press paper and then I embossed Arches 185gsm cold press using Gill Sans Semi-Bold 110pt cut out of mounting board. This page was then used as a dust cover.
PAPER STOCK Spreads: 1-44 Stock:
170gsm coated (indigo)
Context:
This paper stock was chosen as the uncoated just absorbed the varnish. The smoothness and strength of the paper adds weight to the book and is in keeping with it’s modern aesthetic.
Spreads: Endpapers Stock:
170gsm uncoated (indigo)
Context:
This paper stock was chosen for the endpapers which depict an inverted image of Nobel’s will .
PRINTING
Printing: Hacketts 17 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.
Machine:
Indigo Printer
Binding:
Duffy’s Bookbinders Seville Terrace,Dublin 1
AMENDMENTS There were some errors that I observed in the final print.
Firstly on page 11 there was a space missing between Alfred Nobel on the first line.
Secondly there is a paragraph of text on page 22 that seems larger than the main body-text therefore it is 10pt when it should be 9pt.