Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Japanese Book Design (Sōtei): Slipcase, board, endpaper and title page designed as one sequence
- Type
- Set in Japanese Book Design (Sōtei)'s manner (The title label in one vertical line, chosen apart from the text face), and let Private Press's lettering (One type throughout, with the fewest possible changes of size) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Japanese Book Design (Sōtei)'s material (Paper chosen by touch, headband and ribbon tuned to the artwork); bring in exactly one thing from Private Press (Letterpress impression on handmade paper, red headings printed as a second pass).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Publishing and Editing, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Japanese Book Design (Sōtei) Lavishing care on the jacket art while leaving case and endpapers stock breaks the craft the moment the book is picked up.
- Private Press Borrowing only the decorated initials and the handmade paper leaves the text setting loose and yields an expensive antique looking pamphlet. Read it as a publishing movement about production, labor and quality.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Japanese Book Design (Sōtei) (Style, 1900s–) and its accent from Private Press (Style, 1891–1930s). Structural cues: Slipcase and title-label design; Endpaper and headband color; Jacket art by printmakers; Paper chosen for the hand. Accent cues, used sparingly: House-designed type; Handmade paper, hand presses; Margins designed by the spread; Illustration united with text. Composition: Slipcase, board, endpaper and title page designed as one sequence. Type and lettering: The title label in one vertical line, chosen apart from the text face. Let one material quality come from the second style: Letterpress impression on handmade paper, red headings printed as a second pass. Mood: Luxury, Intimacy, Calm, Nostalgia. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Japanese Book Design (Sōtei) 1900s– / Style / Publishing and Editing
A Japanese tradition of designing the book as a craft object, from Yumeji's song-sheet covers to Onchi Kōshirō's abstraction. Slipcase, endpapers, title label and headband are designed as one, making a book something the hands enjoy before the eyes read it.
- Private Press 1891–1930s / Style / Publishing and Editing
A movement answering industrialized printing: type, paper, composition and binding unified under one ideal, remaking the book as a total work of art.
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