The Brief
The Natural Science Collections at Oregon State University requested that the photography department create a photographic book of the collection. The creation of this book was a competition between four teams of three people each. All teams were required to photograph, design, and produce five copies of their design. This book was commissioned because Oregon State has no unified place to display the Natural Science Collections and a limited production was made of the winning design.
The Ideation
My team and I began by taking notes on how we wanted our version of the book to make a person feel while they looked through it. The experience of marvel and beauty that a museum inspires ended up becoming our main inspiration. Clean lines, a minimal font, and a strong three column structure was an early decision that stuck through the design process. Like artifacts in a museum, we wanted the photographs to be eye-catching against an elegant and minimal backdrop. We decided the best form for the final product to take was a large coffee table book that was square when closed.
The Process
The writing for the book was given by the Natural History Collections ahead of time and all four teams came together to provide one large pool of photographs to design with. I started the process by designing the base layout using a clean three by three grid, then designed the layout for each page of the book. After the design of the contents were completed I created an illustration for the front cover and screen printed the design on to the bookcloth. My team and I spent a week of late nights in the studio to print, assemble, and cover the 5 books that were required.
