Process
the compost guide
Early development
HANNAH GASKAMP
At first hearing that we had to create a set of three, I knew I wanted to do something informative and useful. My first idea that I liked a lot was to do three books on colors, one about fruit, one about flowers, and one about painting a room. Other ideas shown in my thumbs here are weather, music, and holistic health. After learning that distribution was a focus in this project I tried out an idea I had about making books about gardening and how to care for plants.
E A R LY D E V E LO P M E N T
BOOK DESIGN 2018
I was originally going to make them pamphlet size and then have them fold out from that into an 11x17 poster.
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
As explained in this statement of intent that was written early on, I tried to find a local nursery to let me distribute at and maybe to work with me on finding information for my pamphlets. That didn’t seem to be panning out so I emailed the professor in charge of the horticultural club at Texas State. She said she wasn’t very interested in pamphlets about gardening, but wanted something to spread information about the composting program on campus she also helped start and run. At first I thought I could do one on that, one on the horticultural club, and one on the beekeeping club.
My original idea for my series was to have three pamphlets that help with gardening. One would be about soil, one would be about what to plan when, and one would be about care. All three would fold out into posters. I would mostly likely get my imagery from books, like encyclopedias and guides. If that doesn’t provide much, I would probably keep it mostly text based, with maybe a few photos or loose illustrations. To distribute it, I emailed a nursery in Austin and the horticulture club on campus to see if they were interested. The nursery said they were in the middle of a move, and couldn’t help, and the horticulture club advisor said she didn’t need pamphlets on gardening, but needed pamphlets about the environmental initiatives on campus including a composting program, the garden that they refer to as their “living library” and also for the horticulture club itself. I don’t know how much this still fits within the parameters of the assignment, so I’d like some feedback on what I should do. I could always just distribute my first idea pamphlets at the farmers market in town. Most of the vendors obviously garden, and probably many of the shoppers too. What do you guys think?
E A R LY D E V E LO P M E N T
BOOK DESIGN 2018
As a few days passed I wasn’t very excited about making pamphlets about these programs. They didn’t seem related, I didn’t know how I would distribute them, which was some of the project focus anyway, and I just didn’t know how I would make it work. I went to a meeting with the aforementioned professor with the intentions of telling her I would do her pamphlets on the side and make mine about gardening anyway. She gave me some stickers for the composing program and the horticultural club and a table tent to help with the composting program in the dining halls. She talked a lot about how impacted composting could be and I decided to do all my books on that alone. I started doing research.
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP HOW to compost Pick a place Getting started Keeping up http://www.sodgod.com/composting/ How you compost often depends on preference. If you are composting kitchen waste, you can purchase a commercial-quality metal or plastic bin, roughly the size of a washing machine. Other composters recommend convenient, see-through mesh wire bins to hold waste and keep animals out; if you are handy, you can fashion your own mesh bin with chicken wire. Compost fares better at temperatures between 110° and 160°, making summer the prime time to tend your compost pile. MAKE SURE YOUR COMPOST PILE HAS PLENTY OF SPACE.
COMPOSTING IS ALL ABOUT LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. BEFORE YOU PLOT YOUR COMPOST SPOT, CHECK YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY REGULATIONS. Some areas may have setback ordinances that dictate how far compost bins must be located from lot lines. Once the red tape is out of the way, look for a compost location that is level with adequate drainage. Composting works best in semi-shaded areas, outside of direct sunlight and wind. Keep your compost pile away from trees, which can root into the pile to seek out water and nutrients. YOUR COMPOST PILE NEEDS THE RIGHT CARBON-NITROGEN RATIO Experts recommend a 30:1 C/N (Carbon/Nitrogen) compost pile ratio; one part “green” to two parts “brown” should provide a balanced mix YOUR COMPOST PILE NEEDS NITROGEN
In order for organic matter to decompose, it needs air and “porosity,” or airflow, within the pile. PREPARE WASTE BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE COMPOST PILE. Particle size matters to support decomposition and porosity; chipping, grinding, or shredding waste materials will provide more surface area for microorganisms to feed on. “Brown” materials can be shredded, including leaves, paper, and cardboard, to better distribute moisture and air to breakdown matter. USE FRESH COMPOST A FEW WEEKS BEFORE PLANTING YOUR GARDEN.
Microbes that break down organic matter also need nitrogen to support their proteins; green ingredients like kitchen scraps, plant clippings, leaves, and manure are recommended. YOUR COMPOST PILE NEEDS CARBON Feed your pile with carbon ingredients to provide the microbes that break down organic matter with an energy source; brown matter like cornstalks, straw, and leaves are recommended.
Once compost is ready, it will need several weeks to work into garden soil; mix and allow the organic nutrients to settle before planting. MAKE SURE YOUR COMPOST PILE HAS THE RIGHT BALANCE OF WATER
AS YOU TURN THE COMPOST PILE, THIS CAN CAUSE ROOT DAMAGE As a bottom line, it is best to choose a compost location that is convenient to you, yet out of direct sight so that it does not bother your family or neighbors. Compost piles should be covered or kept out of reach of dogs and wildlife. A compost pile should not be placed next to any wooden materials, such as fences, as decomposition will cause decay.
Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station agricultural scientist Abigail Maynard, Ph.D., likens the ideal compost pile to a “wrung-out sponge.” Too little water can slow decomposition; too much water can reduce airflow. KEEP MOIST: As wet as a wrung out sponge AERATE: Air helps to speed up decomposition. Aeration should be done throught the entire composting process. KEEP COVERED: Use a compost lid, cardboard or canvas over top of your pile.
Keep your home compost pile no smaller than 3’ x 3’ x 3’, up to 5’ x 5’ x 5’ at a maximum.
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fruits coffee grounds tea bags vegetables bread and grains nutshells pasta and rice eggshells coffee filters FOOD SOILED PAPER Paper bags, towels, and napkins Greasy pizza boxes Uncoated food soiled paper Shredded paper PLANT AND YARD WASTE Leaves, branches, grass clippings Flowers and houseplants Never add oily fish, meats, milk products, non-herbivore animal manure, and diseased plants. Meat products are likely to attract unwanted wildlife & pests. PLEASE DO NOT PUT IN Meat
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Greasy food scraps
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Chicken
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Fat or oil
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Fish
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Dairy products
A pile within this range will cultivate the ideal anaerobic environment for compost breakdown. Use a pitchfork to turn the compost pile every few weeks, from the center out.Make sure that the pile stays moist but not damp. It is normal to see steam rise from the pile as you turn, a heat byproduct of decomposition. https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/ How to Compost 1. Start your compost pile on bare earth. This allows worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost and be transported to your garden beds. 2. Lay twigs or straw first, a few inches deep. This aids drainage and helps aerate the pile. 3. Add compost materials in layers, alternating moist and dry. Moist ingredients are food scraps, tea bags, seaweed, etc. Dry materials are straw, leaves, sawdust pellets and wood ashes. If you have wood ashes, sprinkle in thin layers, or they will clump together and be slow to break down. 4. Add manure, green manure (clover, buckwheat, wheatgrass, grass clippings) or any nitrogen source. This activates the compost pile and speeds the process along. 5. Keep compost moist. Water occasionally, or let rain do the job. 6. Cover with anything you have – wood, plastic sheeting, carpet scraps. Covering helps retain moisture and heat, two essentials for compost. Covering also prevents the compost from being over-watered by rain. The compost should be moist, but not soaked and sodden. 7. Turn. Every few weeks give the pile a quick turn with a pitchfork or shovel. This aerates the pile. Oxygen is required for the process to work, and turning “adds” oxygen. You can skip this step if you have a ready supply of coarse material like straw. Once you’ve established your compost pile, add new materials by mixing them in, rather than by adding them in layers. Mixing, or turning, the compost pile is key to aerating the composting materials and speeding the process to completion. If you want to buy a composter, rather than build your own compost pile, you may consider a buying a rotating compost tumbler which makes it easy to mix the compost regularly. WHAT to compost What to compost Nitrogen and carbon What not to compost http://www.sodgod.com/composting/: FOOD SCRAPS
https://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/compost/how-to-compost/ • • • • • • • • •
Fruit scraps Vegetable scraps Coffee grounds Eggshells Grass and plant clippings Dry leaves Finely chopped wood and bark chips Shredded newspaper Straw
E A R LY D E V E LO P M E N T
BOOK DESIGN 2018
After seeing all the information I could find about composting, I decided to make my book the eight page book you can fold out of a single sheet of paper. I had originally picked my pamphlet design because it was only one sheet, and would thus be the cheapest way to print a lot of them to distribute them. I had decided already to distribute them at the farmers market where there would be lots of people excited about growing things and maybe adding compost to that. After changing the format and doing research I was able to narrow down some topics for each book, even though they changed in the end.
HOW to compost
WHY compost
cover
chemical benefits
biological benefits
physical benefits
colophon and info
WHAT to compost
cover
keeping up
pick a place
getting started
colophon and info
THE COMPOST GUIDE
cover
what not to compost
what to compost
colophon and info
nitrogen and carbon
HANNAH GASKAMP
I cleaned up my research and picked new topics a bit later and was ready to go.
WHAT to compost What to compost FOOD SCRAPS fruits coffee grounds tea bags vegetables bread and grains nutshells pasta and rice eggshells coffee filters FOOD SOILED PAPER Paper bags, towels, and napkins Greasy pizza boxes Uncoated food soiled paper Shredded paper PLANT AND YARD WASTE Leaves, branches, grass clippings Flowers and houseplants • • • •
Finely chopped wood and bark chips Shredded newspaper Straw Sawdust from untreated wood
Nitrogen and carbon
YOUR COMPOST PILE NEEDS NITROGEN Microbes that break down organic matter also need nitrogen to support their proteins; green ingredients like kitchen scraps, plant clippings, leaves, and manure are recommended.
YOUR COMPOST PILE NEEDS CARBON
Add a layer of “green,” like fruit and vegetable scraps or plant clippings. Spread a layer of garden soil
Add water to moisten all three layers.
In an apartment:
Purchase a sturdy plastic or ceramic container with two lids. Poke holes in one top lid and the bottom of the container; place the extra lid under the container for water drainage.
Shred newspaper or used paper into 1 inch strips.
Soak paper in water and wring out until moist.
Line the bottom of your container with half of the moist, shredded paper—fill container roughly one third of the way.
Add red wiggler worms and a small amount of garden soil; place container in sunlight. Keeping up
Continue with the same layer pattern of brown, green, and a small amount of soil to create a pile 3 feet high.Layer in a carbon/nitrogen ratio of one part “green” to two parts “brown,” as recommended above. This means that you will add more brown than green in the layers you create. Use a pitchfork to turn the compost pile every few weeks, from the center out.Make sure that the pile stays moist but not damp. It is normal to see steam rise from the pile as you turn, a heat byproduct of decomposition.
In an apartment:
E A R LY D E V E LO P M E N T
roughs
HANNAH GASKAMP
After doing some research on ink saving fonts I came across a few highly accessibly ones, including one designed specifically for the purpose. After looking at them at critique though, it was pointed out that these are just fonts that are thin or don’t use a lot of ink and I could find plenty of other ones that were better suited to the aesthetic I was going for. Also included here is the layout of the 8 page book on a single page.
How to Compost (Ryman Eco)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. (Garamond)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. (Courier)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. (Century Gothic)
How to Compost (Courier)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. (Garamond)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition.
How to Compost
(Century Gothic)
How to Compost (Garamond)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. (Garamond)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. (Courier)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition. (Courier)
While creating a compost pile can be straightforward and easy, you should take care in the location you choose. Brown matter found in your yard, like leaves, will compost on their own; however, the goal of a well-maintained compost pile is to speed up this decomposition.
ROUGHS
BOOK DESIGN 2018
I tried a lot of different combinations of the typefaces I originally found and took notes during critique on what a better direction might be.
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
ROUGHS
BOOK DESIGN 2018
The first new direction I went in was playing with a type that was a little contradictory to what I had talked about before, but I liked the organic components of it. I experimented with spelling the title out of dirt as the cover, but when it was printed it just didn’t really come across.
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
ROUGHS
BOOK DESIGN 2018
The next direction I tried was with some thinner typefaces. I tried Work Sans with Raleway as well as Aribau Grotesk with a font with lots of a ligatures and breaks in the stroke called Interlink. All three are shown in the photo below as well as the first draft I settled on, which was Aribau Grotesk with only using Interlink in the logo. It was decided that Interlink should be used more often, since it fit the content so well. I tried a new style with icons in this iteration also, but it was decided they were too heavy.
colophon information sourced from
a note on the type
Cowan, Shannon. “Composting.” Eartheasy Guides & Articles, learn. eartheasy.com/guides/ composting/.
the typefaces used in this booklet is Aribau Grotesk designed by Eduardo Manso and Interlink designed by Julie Soudanne. These typefaces were chosen because of their minimal ink usage. Aribau Grotesk is only used in its thinnest weight, and Interlink features interruptions in the stroke as well as an overwhelming number of ligatures, which both add to limiting it’s ink usage. Saving ink means that less energy is used in printing.
“How To Compost - Learn The Basics of Composting.” Sod God, www.sodgod.com/ composting/. http://www.academia. edu/23479734/USCC_ Factsheet_Compost_and_ Its_Benefits_1
This booklet is printed on 100% recycled paper.
vol. 1 issue 3
what
fall 2018
THE COMPOST GUIDE
vol. 1 issue 2 fall 2018
why
how
HANNAH GASKAMP
Raleway was an option because it has a nice display type made of dots. It just didn’t make the cut. The Aribau Greek worked well but was a little too thin, but luckily it had several thin weights to choose from. The icons on the cover in this iteration would match an icon that was on each spread, relating to the content.
what to compost
food scraps fruits
plant & yard waste
coffee grounds
leaves
tea bags
branches
vegetables
grass clippings
bread and grains
flowers
nutshells
houseplants
pasta and rice eggshells coffee filters
food soiled paper paper bags
other finely chopped wood and bark chips straw sawdust from untreated wood
towels napkins greasy pizza boxes uncoated soiled paper shredded paper
upkeep
Continue with the same layer pattern of brown, green, and a small amount of soil to create a pile three feet high.Layer in a carbon/nitrogen ratio of one part “green” to two parts “brown,” as recommended above. This means that you will add more brown than green in the layers you create. Use a pitchfork to turn the compost pile every few weeks, from the center out. Make sure that the pile stays moist but not damp. It is normal to see steam rise from the pile as you turn, a heat byproduct of decomposition.
In an apartment: Add and mix food scraps regularly— allow compost pile to sit until scraps have decomposed and then add again. Add food scraps and bury them into the moist paper strips; always mix in new food scraps when adding to the pile. Add more paper if/when the bin gets too wet.
helps the planet
Statistics estimate that regular composting at home can remove roughly 500 pounds of organic matter, a.k.a. household waste, each year. This simple act directly benefits the environment by redirecting and repurposing waste once sent to landfills or incinerators.
If the 21.5 million annual tons of food waste were composted, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking over 2 million cars off the road.
According to the EPA, up to 75% of solid waste is recyclable; 60% of landfill waste is organic and compostable.
ROUGHS
BOOK DESIGN 2018
It took a lot of effort to make all the icons outlined instead but it got there eventually. The next iteration used the icons but more of them and with their ton pushed back. At the critique for this iteration I was advised to make the icons with an even thinner stroke to match the type, and also to move the dashes I had already incorporated into them to places more similar to how the typeface was designed. Another critique here was that having the colophon take up the whole page was impeding too much with the final spread and should be parred down. This iteration was printed on recycled paper. When I was about ready to print, I realized one icon was a different color because I made it “registration” instead of “black” an I learned an important printing lesson. The belly band features a patten of all the icons used in all the books.
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
ROUGHS
BOOK DESIGN 2018
After making all these changes, I was about ready to make some final prints and get to distributing. I wanted to print them smaller, as 8.5x11, if I could, to cut the cost and also make them easier to carry in a pocket. My first iteration of it small was just resizing the file from before, and it made the book very small. I tried again and messed up the margins (bottom two photos,) and then finally reformatted it well enough to work well on the smaller size. Now I had a functioning big and small version ready to go. I successfully made posters on the back too, like I had originally intended, and was able to make them all connect, and idea given to me at the last critique.
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
ROUGHS
finals & distribution
HANNAH GASKAMP
The final little books.
FINALS & DISTRIBUTION
BOOK DESIGN 2018
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
The final big books. And the page after next begins all the pages in the little books. The big and little books are identical in content, it’s just some minor spacing things that change between them.
FINALS & DISTRIBUTION
BOOK DESIGN 2018
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
FINALS & DISTRIBUTION
BOOK DESIGN 2018
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
FINALS & DISTRIBUTION
BOOK DESIGN 2018
Finally the day came to distribute them. I made about 15 copies and had high hopes. It was cold but I knew the farmers market would still be bustling early this Saturday morning. It was bustling, however, it was with exclusively artists. It was art Saturday at the farmers market, the second of the month. So alas, no one there particularly cared. There was someone selling terrariums, which involves plants and things, so I gave one to her and asked for a picture. Although it wasn’t what I originally proposed, the professor of the horticultural club was interested in receiving some to distribute, and will hopefully provide me with some pictures of that someday. Until then, this is where this book ends. It was interesting to have to focus on distribution and to learn how to make a book within a system as well as learning to par down the information to it’s core to make such a small book still be useful. It’s a skillset I’m sure will serve me well.
THE COMPOST GUIDE
HANNAH GASKAMP
FINALS & DISTRIBUTION
the compost guide vol. 1 issue 4 fall 2018