Inspiration

Shit Plug 

Shit Plug is Paul McCarthy and Jason Rhoades artist book.

It is a collection of pages, not necessarily bound together but exist as a book. There are so many textures and shapes within the book it fully represents organised chaos.

The audience really has to interact with the book in order to progress through it, I really like this idea as it makes the audience feel as though they're involved with it. It almost breaks the traditional experience of what it is like to read a book.
- Something to think about when developing own work?

Some of the elements are very simple in design, yet still posses a slight quirk that makes them unconventional, eg the triangular books which have simply been cut in half.
Whereas some parts of the book that contain text have pain splatters or manipulated text to really add to the sporadic nature of the book.










Irma Boom
-  SHV Think Book

This book is 2,136 pages long and was worked on for a span of five years.  It contains no index or page numbers and is anti-chronological. This was to encourage readers to approach the book without constraints, but rather surprise and discovery. 
- Elements like these  could be used in own project, they force the reader to have to delve into the book, and discover what's inside in an unconventional way.

The book's entirely white cover reveals a title as it dirties with use over time. Transparent adhesive had been typographically applied to collect dust and fingerprints. 

- Weaving as a Metaphor 

The book is based on American textile designer Sheila Hicks, it has ripped edges to present a texture that is almost fabric like along the pages of the book. This effect was achieved by using a circular hacksaw to trim the pages of the book.

This book again troubled publishers for its blank cover, warning that an image is needed or it would not sell. Boom rejected a request to have the artists work on the cover stating that Hicks is an interesting artist who deserves a bigger audience, therefore is in need of a more abstract cover.

The inside of the book has a simple layout, text on the left and the image centred on the right, this keeps the design focus on particular elements of the book, such as page edges and cover.

Catalog Press
- 15 Mass Market Paperbacks

Experimental Jetset:

They have rules and systems in place, but still make a slightly chaotic overall aesthetic. Represents the idea of organised chaos, really reflects the feeling of being at the Edinburgh Fringe. 

 - how could this be translated onto own book? 

 - develop a grid from information gathered and use it to create a more wacky layout within the grid. This could provide some consistency within the book.

The life and Opinions...:

The first sort of graphic novel. Has very playful text layout, each page looks different and is to be read differently but follows the same parameters to keep this consistency.

 - need to develop own rules for the book, think about how image could be placed within this and how it could be developed further.