Prototyping + Producing

We made several prototypes of the physical book to make a unique artefact. The digital artefact interestingly changed from prototype to product as soon as it was approved.

We designed the physical book such that we could collaborate with DigitalPress to exploit current best-practice for digitally printed publications using: innovative environmental paper stocks; a five ink print process, matte fuser and machine gearing to give us vibrant and crisp reproduction; specialty binding; and, a double-crash-fold poster as the dust jacket. We hand-folded these.

The digital version of the book exploits interactive PDF features to facilitate navigation of the document and be optimised for screen.

Ideation + Exploration

We made a hand-cut ‘M’, which is the key graphic device utilised across the publication—to badge, sculpt pages and pattern.

Given that making is at the core of a designer’s work, (including our own work as visual communicators, as we ideate, explore, prototype and produce), ‘M–W: make–work’, has been used for the identity for this edition
—make it work!

The ‘M’ in pattern form embodies the momentum that making affords, as signified in the forward arrows discovered in the counter-spaces.

Engaging with the content for each article, we ‘made’ abstracted representations that picked up on the themes within each text, generating a tonal visual vocabulary and para-text, rather than being pure illustration.