BEYOND THE BIG FIVE: The Unaccounted Women of the San Francisco Psychedelic Design Era
This week’s challenge was to
Design a visual synopsis of your publication, to include the following:
Front cover (with title)
Chapter opener
Two double page spreads
Back cover (using your previously written short synopsis)
Your final design should include your full 3,000-word text and original, self generated images.
Write a short paragraph about the methods by which you might fund, promote and launch your project, if you were an independent author.
DESIGN APPROACH
I want to truly reflect the 1960s Psychedelic Design Era - its nod to the Nouveau Art movement - as well as the uniqueness of the concert promotion posters through an expression of typography, print and bindery effects, and bold color. My goal was to create a bespoke collector's item for those interested in women's contributions to design during this unique period of history. The women of this movement made an impact on this time in design history. I aimed to honor them with a bold design including a cover that evokes feminism, strength, and beauty.
The design includes an original art nouveau piece from the early 1900s that I adapted to suit the 1960’s design era. The illustration evokes a feminine quality, but not at the risk of losing the strength and impact of the contribution made by these women. The butterfly fairy extends nearly the entire expanse of the cover and stretches out from the main title. Her feet point the reader to the subtitle and main context of the piece.
The typography chosen for the piece leverages the typographic designs of psychedelic design era of 1960s San Francisco. The color palette was purposefully vibrant and bright. The interior layout is clean, and straightforward to allow for the explosive creative of the subjects truly sing.
The entire book is incased in a holographic foil hot stamp slipcase with thumb cuts and a hot purple painted edge, sure to grab the attention of the intended audience.
PRODUCTION AND PROMOTION
This book's target demographic are designers, rock and roll enthusiasts and supporters of women's rights to equality. The production of the book would be in an initial short run of 500 books working with Bay Area print and bindery specialists such as the San Francisco Center for the Book, The Key Printing and Binding, and The Aesthetic Union Letterpress.
The book set would include a hot foil stamped exterior slipcase with thumb-cut openings with holographic foil and a hot purple painted edge. The book itself would be a charcoal grey cloth again with a holographic foil hot stamped front and back covers. The interior of the book would be produced with a split fountain interior bookplate with another holographic foil hot stamp. The interior pages would be printed on a 100lb text weight bright white smooth opaque paper.
A Kickstarter campaign will be used to help drive promotion and fundraising for the initial print run. Additional promotions via the local record stores such as Amoeba Records in the Haight to sell alongside their vintage poster collections. Social media and a microsite for the book would also be utilized for the promotion of the book. A limited edition poster could be a value-add for early Kickstarter backers.
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