By Gui Bonsiepe
This speech was chosen as it directly relates to my career and points out several criticisms
about design that I believe are still relevant today. Although it was once printed in Design Issues in 2005 I believe the subject of democracy and it's many faucets are often forgotten or neglected and should be a subject that is continually revisited / present within design practices.
PROCESS
Concept:
The front cover is a distorted jagged reflection of the structured rectangular back cover, a metaphorical juxtaposition of the current day design structures and it's antithesis. The objective was to disrupt the "normal" way a book is read pushing the reader to question the design and hence question why anything is designed the way it is.
Material:
Originally I wanted the book to be be printed on newsprint as newspapers are symbolic of affordability, accessibility and a form of media that holds the current system and society accountable. Ironically, it was impossible to find a print shop (except one very expensive one) that was willing to print on newsprint. Instead I opted for a similar colored grey paper for a portion of the cover. Coloured card stock was used to accentuate the layered effect and a white felt paper was used for the inside pages.
Binding:
A simple saddle stitch bind was chosen because it would keep all the layers together without
being too distracting, it allowed the book to fully open and was the most forgiving in case I wanted to replace pages or if something went wrong.
Typeface:
//Minion Pro and Adobe Caslon Pro
I originally wanted to change the typeface to something more unique but after testing out several and thinking the concept over, it felt fitting to use typefaces that were viewed as standard especially when distorting them.
format:
the size of the book is 6"x10" because I wanted a larger format, that would demand space without being too obnoxious. The paragraph structures and page layout focused on legibility and clarity as I wanted the material to be read without distraction.
