Autograph Book Process by Hannah Gaskamp

process book

Autograph Book

process book

Contents 2

research & early development

the cover

comps & critiques

final product

Research & Early Development •••

book design 2018

research & early development

First is the brief and explanation of the assignment. An abecedarium, in an accordion book, only using a palette of 2-4 colors that will be randomly chosen.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp My randomly chosen colors are written here. Deep indigo, carmine, and pinkish cinnamon. Below they are shown. On this page I also began to jot down ideas and notes.

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book design 2018

research & early development

My list of ten directions.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp I briefly was convinced I would do my idea involving cereal, but was worried about there not being enough cereals for the alphabet. This was an attempt to figure out if that was true, and thus if the idea was worthy. (It was not.)

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research & early development

Some reading research — “Every Book Starts With an Idea” by Armand Nevis and an article entitled “Let’s Talk About Margins” by Craig Mod. Below are my notes on the readings.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp My thumbnails, testing out the viability of my ideas.

process book

book design 2018

research & early development

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp Below is my Statement of Intent, explaining the details of my chosen idea and the specs of the books. The idea I’ve chosen is an abecedarium of letters from famous people’s handwriting, quickly narrowed to signature.

Statement of Intent The interior of this four-inch by six-inch accordion book will be laser printed on 80 lb Natural White paper made by the paper company Neenah. It will be printed with only three colors: deep indigo, carmine, and pinkish cinnamon. The idea of the book is to examine the handwriting of influential individuals from history and today. Each signature will have one letter chosen out of it to altogether create an entire alphabet, a sort of typeface, out of the handwritten letters. Each page will have the chosen letter scaled as big as it will go to fit on the page, so big it’s practically abstracted. This is to emphasize the artistry of the letter, and in turn the handwriting of the author. The letters will form a continuous alphabet when you open the accordion fold from the front, but if you open the book from the back and see the back of the pages, you can find information about each respective letter including the whole signature and a brief description of the impact the author has made. While the letters and signatures will be images, they’ll be images of text, and therefore the book as a whole will be typographically based. The letters and signatures will be accompanied only by the descriptions present on the backs of the pages, which will be set in a light, sans-serif typeface that has yet to be decided upon to contrast with the heavy, organic feel of the handwriting. This book will be for people who are interested in knowing the chosen authors a little more personally, in knowing them at all, or just in handwriting in general. Someone’s personal script can be very revealing of their character, and it’s interesting to examine these people through that lens.

process book

research & early development

book design 2018

My casting sheet, planning out all the pages. It’s been decided, as stated in the statement of intent, that I intend to make my book back and front, so there’s a sheet for both “books” here. cover

story intro

title page

blank

foreword

blank

“Strug gles”

story intro

blank

stats and info

blank

conclusion

insert

blank

stats and info

colophon

blank

stats and info

blank

back cover

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp After the idea was fully formed and finalized, research began. There’s no in-between step to show, but here is the complete research. It includes the chosen person for every letter, and a small biography written in first person.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Jane Austen Bach Churchill Dickens Jefferson Virginia Woolf Van Gogh Hemingway Thomas Edison Michael Jackson Shakespeare Mandela Michelangelo Lincoln Beethoven Elvis Quentin Tarantino Warhol Einstein Washington Alan Turing Da vinci Newton Groucho Marx judy garland elizabeth taylor

Biography.com

Austen

I was born privileged to free thinking parents. Even with this fortune, my life had its struggles. I had depression and eventually committed suicide. I was sexually abused and lost my mother and oldest sister in quick succession. There were good times too, though. I studied Greek, Latin, and German. My husband and I started our own publishing house through which I published my very successful books. My works helped to raise issues about feminism, homosexuality, and mental illness. They are well known, well read, and well praised even to this day for being innovative and influential. Although there was a gap in popularity after World War II and my death, interest was heavily renewed with the feminist movement of the 1970s. 1882-1941 Van Gogh I was a post-impressionist painter and my work was notable for its beauty, emotion and color. I struggled with mental illness, and remained poor and virtually unknown throughout my life, but now I am considered a great influence on 20th century art. Some of my most famous works include "Starry Night," "Irises," and "Sunflowers." I died in France at age 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After my death on March 17, 1901, 71 of my paintings were displayed at a show in Paris, and my fame subsequently grew enormously. My mother lived long enough to see her son hailed as an artist and a genius. Today, I am considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt. 1853 - 1890 Hemingway Seen as one of the great American 20th century novelists, I served in World War I and worked in journalism before publishing my story collection In Our Time. I was renowned for novels like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, which won the 1953 Pulitzer. In 1954, I won the Nobel Prize. When I wasn't writing, I spent much of my time chasing adventure: big-game hunting in Africa, bullfighting in Spain, deep-sea fishing in Florida. I suffered from depression and sustained many injuries in the military and in my adventures abroad. I was treated for numerous conditions such as high blood pressure and liver disease before I committed suicide on July 2, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho. I left behind an impressive body of work and an iconic style that still influences writers today. Many say that my personality and constant pursuit of adventure loomed almost as large as my creative talent. 1899 - 1961

One of seven children and only the second daughter, I was an author in the 19th century, back when not many women were. I used a pseudonym for my novels, but I made sure it was known they were written by a woman. My novels focus mostly on women. While not well known or very popular in my own time, I have since gained much renown for the social commentary, comedy, and romance present in my novels. Many of my works were epistolary, meaning the story is told through letters, which was a very common style in my time. My novels Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility are widely considered to be literary classics that help bridge the gap between romance and realism. 1775-1817 Bach I was an 18th century musician well known for my musical complexities and stylistic innovations. I am today considered one of the greatest Western composers of all time. Born in Germany to a family of musicians that I quickly lost, I played the organ for a church until I got a scholarship to a music school for my singing voice. I switched to playing the violin, was able to play for several members of royalty, and soon began composing. I married my cousin, and after her death, married a singer. I passed my love for music along to my children (the ones that survived, of which there were few). My most famous works are “Toccata and Fugue in D minor,” the "Mass in B Minor," the "Brandenburg Concertos" and "The WellTempered Clavier." 1685-1750 Churchill I was the prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1951 to 1955. During my first term, I helped lead a successful end to World War II in the favor of the Allies, and helped to create post-war peace. I was a member of parliament, I was knighted, I was awarded a Nobel Prize for literature. I have done so many things, both as prime minister and otherwise, that most biographies about me are done in multiple parts, with decades of research in between them. I am remembered today for playing a large role in the defeat of Hitler, and also for being highly xenophobic and conservative. 1874-1965 Dickens Even after having to quit school multiple times to work to help support my family, I am remembered as one of the most important and influential writers of the 19th century. I am known for shining light on life in the lower class and thus helping to bring about societal change. My wit in captions and reporting led me to finally escape my lifelong poverty once an adult. My most famous classic novels include Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. 1812-1870 Jefferson I was the United States first secretary of state, the second vice president, and the third president. As president I made the Louisiana Purchase, reduced the nation’s debt and the size of the military. Of all of my accomplishments, though, I’m most remembered for writing the Declaration of Independence. Before writing it, I was one of the first supporters of American Independence. I was also a stark advocate for the separation between church and state and tried adamantly to enact this in Virginia, where I was a member of the house of delegates. It took nine years after I drafted it to be accepted, but it did happen on my watch. 1743-1826 Woolf

Edison Though I rose from humble beginnings, I am considered one of America's leading businessmen. As a young man, I worked for the railroad, a near-tragic event turned fortuitous when I saved a three-year-old from being run over by an errant train. The child’s grateful father rewarded me by teaching me to operate a telegraph. By age 15, I had learned enough to be employed as a telegraph operator. At 22 years old, I moved to New York City and developed my first invention, an improved stock ticker called the Universal Stock Printer, which synchronized several stock tickers' transactions. The Gold and Stock Telegraph Company was so impressed, they paid me $40,000 for the rights. With this success, I quit my work as a telegrapher to devote myself full-time to inventing. I created such great innovations as the practical incandescent light bulb and the phonograph. I held more than 1,000 patents for my inventions. I am credited today for helping to build America's economy during the nation's vulnerable early years. 1847 1931

Michael Jackson

Known as the "King of Pop," I was a best-selling American singer, songwriter and dancer. As a child, I became the lead singer of my family's popular Motown group, the Jackson 5. I went on to a solo career of astonishing worldwide success, delivering No. 1 hits from the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. On a 1983 television special honoring Motown, I performed my No. 1 hit "Billie Jean" and debuted the soonto-be-famous dance move, the Moonwalk. I created this step myself and choreographed the dance sequences for the video of the album's other No. 1 hit, "Beat It." I died of a drug overdose just before launching a comeback tour in 2009. On July 7, 2009, a televised memorial was held for fans of the "King of Pop" at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. While 17,500 free tickets were issued to fans via lottery, an estimated 1 billion viewers watched the memorial on TV or online. My death resulted in an outpouring of public grief and sympathy. Memorials were erected around the world, including one at the arena where I was set to perform and another at my childhood home in Gary, Indiana. 1958 - 2009

Shakespeare Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, I was an English playwright, actor and poet also known as the “Bard of Avon” and often called England’s national poet. I was an important member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward. I wrote plays that capture the complete range of human emotion and conflict. Known throughout the world, my plays have been performed in countless hamlets, villages, cities and metropolises for more than 400 years. I am the most well known playwright of all time. And yet, my personal history is somewhat a mystery. Tradition has it that I died on my 52nd birthday, April 23, 1616, though many scholars believe this is a myth. 1564-1616

Nelson Mandela

I was a nonviolence anti-apartheid activist, politician and philanthropist. In 1994 I became South Africa’s first black president and I served until 1999. In my 20s, I became actively involved in the anti-apartheid

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book design 2018

movement and as a young man I directed a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies. Beginning in 1962, I spent 27 years in prison for political offenses. In 1993, South African President F.W. de Klerk and I were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to dismantle apartheid.

Michelangelo

I am a painter, sculptor, architect and poet. With my “David” and “Pieta” statues and the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, I am considered one of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance. I was born to a family of moderate means in the banking business, and I became an apprentice to a painter before studying in the sculpture gardens of the powerful Medici family. What followed was a remarkable career as an artist. I lived most of my life in Rome, where I died at age 88, although I always considered myself a Florentine.

research & early development

Elvis Presley

I came from very humble beginnings and grew up to become one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll. In 1955 I began to develop a following with fans being drawn to my unusual musical style, provocative gyrating hips and good looks. By the mid-1950s, I appeared on the radio, television and the silver screen. On August 16, 1977, at age 42, I died of heart failure, which was related to my drug addiction. Since my death, I have remained one of the world's most popular music icons.

Known for his unpredictable, violent films, Quentin Tarantino first earned widespread fame for 'Pulp Fiction,' before going on to direct 'Inglourious Basterds' and 'Django Unchained.'

Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino

I was the 16th president of the United States and regarded in history as savior of the Union and the president to sign the Emancipation Proclamation which helped to free the slaves. I rose from humble beginnings, born in a log cabin in Kentucky, to achieving the highest office in the land. Tragically, I was assassinated at a time when my country needed me to complete the great task remaining before the nation. My eloquence of democracy and insistence that the Union was worth saving embody the ideals of selfgovernment that all nations should strive to achieve. My distinctively human and humane personality and incredible impact on the nation has endowed me with an enduring legacy.

I am a director, known for my unpredictable, violent films. My love of movies led to a job in a video store, during which time I wrote the scripts for True Romance and Natural Born Killers. My directorial debut came with 1992's Reservoir Dogs, but I received widespread critical and commercial acclaim with Pulp Fiction (1994), for which I won an Academy Award for best screenplay. Subsequent features included Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004) and Grindhouse (2007). I earned several award nominations for Inglorious Bastards (2009) and Django Unchained (2012), the latter garnering me a second Oscar win for best screenplay.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Andy Warhol

I was a German pianist and composer widely considered the greatest of all time. My innovative compositions combined vocals and instruments, widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto and quartet. I am considered the crucial transitional figure connecting the Classical and Romantic ages of Western music. Unfortunately, my personal life was marked by a struggle against deafness, and some of my most important works were composed during the last 10 years of my life, when I was quite unable to hear. I died at the age of 56.

I was a successful magazine and ad illustrator who became a leading artist of the 1960s Pop art movements. I ventured into a wide variety of art forms, including performance art, filmmaking, video installations and writing, and controversially blurred the lines between fine art and mainstream aesthetics. I am one of the most well known artists of the Modern movement, known for finding inspiration in mundane items. I died on February 22, 1987, in New York City. Einstein I was a German mathematician and physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity. In 1921, I won the Nobel Prize for physics for my explanation of the photoelectric effect. In the following decade, I immigrated to the U.S. after being targeted by the Nazis. My work also had a major impact on the development of atomic energy. In my later years, I focused on unified field theory. With my passion for inquiry, I am generally considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century.

Washington I was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. I served as a general and commander-in-chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolution, and later became the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. I carefully attended to the responsibilities and duties of his office, remaining vigilante to not emulate any European royal court. After serving as president, I finally retired to my home in Virginia where I died on December 14, 1799. Turing I was born on June 23, 1912, in London. In my seminal 1936 paper, I proved that there cannot exist any universal algorithmic method of determining truth in mathematics, and that mathematics will always contain undecidable propositions. I presented the notion of a universal machine (later called the “Universal Turing Machine," and then the "Turing machine") capable of computing anything that is computable: The central concept of the modern computer was based on my paper. My papers on the subject are widely acknowledged as the foundation of research in artificial intelligence. Homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s, so when I admitted to police in 1952 that I had a sexual relationship with another man, I was charged with gross indecency. I chose to undergo chemical castration through injections of a synthetic estrogen hormone for a year, rather than be put in prison. I died on June 7, 1954. Following a postmortem exam, my death was ruled as a suicide by cyanide poisoning.

television. One of my more popular solo endeavors was a game-show called You Bet Your Life, wherein I interviewed and poked fun at contestants who attempted to win money by saying a “secret word”. As i grew older, my health began to decline. I eventually died of pneumonia on August 19, 1977.

JUDY GARDLAND

I was born June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Garland signed a movie contract with MGM at the age of 13. In 1939, she scored one of her greatest on-screen successes with The Wizard of Oz. I received a special Academy Award for my portrayal of Dorothy In 1950, MGM dropped me from my contract due to emotional and physical difficulties related to habitual drug use. I began to spend more time as a singer than an actress. I died in 1969 of an accidental overdose.

Elizabeth Taylor I was born in London on February 27, 1932, and I made my film debut in One Born Every Minute (1942) and achieved stardom with National Velvet (1944). Although I won Academy Awards for my work in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1965), I was just as famous for my tumultuous love life, extensive jewelry collection and stunning violet eyes. Though I overcame a litany of health problems throughout the 90s and early 2000s, on March 23, 2011, I died suffering from continued heart problems.

da Vinci I was a painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, military engineer and draftsman — the epitome of a “Renaissance man.” I had a curious mind and keen intellect, I studied the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed my work. My ideas and body of work have influenced countless artists and made me a leading light of the Italian Renaissance. I am most well known for my painting of the mysterious “Mona Lisa” and my biblical work,“The Last Supper.” I died on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67.

I was a physicist and mathematician who developed the principles of modern physics, including the laws of motion. I am credited as one of the great minds of the 17th century Scientific Revolution. In 1687, I published my most acclaimed work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which has been called the single most influential book on physics. In 1705, I was knighted by Queen Anne of England, making me Sir Isaac Newton.

Comedian and film actor Groucho Marx was one of the Marx Brothers. He spent nearly seven decades making people laugh with his snappy one-liners and sharp wit. Synopsis I was born on October 2, 1890, in New York City. The Marx Brothers had a career breakthrough in 1914, my quick-witted quips won over crowds. By the 1920s, the Marx Brothers had become a hugely popular theatrical act. We made films before splitting up in 1949, at which point I performed solo on radio and

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp Here I began the vectorizing, separating, and color coding of the signatures.

Autogra An Abe of Signa

Autograph Bo An Abecedari of Signatures

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research & early development

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp This page is two separate spreads, the top and the bottom, and the following page is their backs. This was my first attempt at realizing my idea. I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet vectorized all of the signatures, and you can see some pixelation in the letters. You can get a first glimpse at my paper here, and also how I originally wanted to portray the information.

process book

book design 2018

research & early development

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp My notes after receiving critique on my first roughs. Some things that are notes that made it into the final copy are changing the type to the pinkish cinnamon, making it smaller, making the text â&#x20AC;&#x153;autobiographicalâ&#x20AC;? and also moving the signature to the bottom, as if they were signing it.

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The Cover •••

book design 2018

the cover

My Pinterest board ended up mostly inspiration for the cover. I looked mainly at nonfiction books, especially ones about history. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a few vintage autograph books pictured as well.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp My notes on a research reading about cover design. The reading was â&#x20AC;&#x153;What is a Book Cover,â&#x20AC;? an excerpt from the book Cover by Peter Mendelsund.

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the cover

Shown here are my first drafts of thumbnails for my cover, mostly experimenting with titles.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp Title ideas on the back of the draft.

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book design 2018

the cover

My actual thumbnails for my cover, exploring four different directions with the same title.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp This and the following two pages are the feedback I received in critique of my book cover thumbnails. Much of the feedback was considered, but I ended up cleaning up option one and four.

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book design 2018

the cover

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp

process book

book design 2018

the cover

Comps for the cover. Since you can read the book from either direction, I wanted a similar, but slightly different cover on either side. These were the two sets I was choosing between. Someone suggested in critique that I use both ideas, one on each side. I used that idea in one of the comps, but I ended up deciding not to because they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem quite related enough.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp My notes from critique of the covers, but also of one of the comps. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s written on the back of one of the covers, which were printed on the back of full spread I had printed wrong. The things that changed based on these notes were the placement of the typed name on the information pages, lining up the information more, and the idea to add stickers on the tabs so the cracks in the crease are hidden.

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book design 2018

the cover

These are the final covers, uncut. The crop-marks are an inch out to make it easier to cut the flaps that allowed for it to be attached to the book itself.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp

process book

Comps & Critiques •••

book design 2018

comps & critiques

This was the first book dummy I created, just to start learning how to make an accordion book. I had originally tried to make it so that the letters were on the front, and the information was on the back of that actual page. After making this dummy and labeling it as such, though, it became clear that was too much of a hassle. This dummy was made with just regular copy paper. After this dummy I also learned that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much harder and more time consuming to use 8.5 x 11 paper.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp This was the second dummy, made with my actual paper, but still with no content. At this iteration I decided that instead of trying to put the info on the actual back of that page, I would put them in the same order and include a matching tab system on both sides to help with way-finding. You can see my origination of the tab system with markers, as well as the idea of being able to read it fully functionally from both sides.

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book design 2018

comps & critiques

One day in class we had an entire day of critique. We tried out this process, calling a Tuning Protocol Process. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how it worked.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp At this critique we were instructed to bring another dummy made with out paper, this one with some content pages in it. Here you can see the start of the tab system, and the first few pages on either side being polished. This is the comp that inspired the idea to use stickers on the tabs.

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comps & critiques

We also were instructed to bring thumbnails of the rest of the pages we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t print. This is how my spreads were laid out, in sets of four pages, and how the tabs look when flat. Also pictured is my end sheet, which is a pattern of all the signatures

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp An example of a full spread, printed at around half size, on the actual paper to be used.

process book

book design 2018

comps & critiques

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp Some notes from one of my classmates from this critique. She answered some questions I had about the cover and the tab system.

process book

book design 2018

comps & critiques

My notes from the critique, including some edits to the cover, cleaning up the letters a bit more, adding end sheets to the information side, and the idea of the stickers. Also the idea to put the visible flaps that hold the book together on the side with the signatures, because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more white space.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp I did one extra comp, half size, on regular paper, just to make sure everything was in the right place. At this point I was still trying out the idea of two covers, but after this iteration it changed. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m glad I did this comp especially, because it took me a few tries to troubleshoot the printing process. The craftsman ship on this book is very poor, as you can see, but it was invaluable in ironing out some production details.

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book design 2018

comps & critiques

My first attempt at a final copy, only missing a cover. It has everything in it, but if you look carefully at some of the photos, the creases on the edges look terrible. There were some small errors in printing that made things not line up quite right when I tried to cut it, and after this I decided that I was going to have to do everything by hand if I wanted it to be perfect.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp This is just a small glimpse of my workspace while making these final copies. The tab stickers ended up being a lot more trouble than I anticipated, but I found a doable solution after a few tries.

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comps & critiques

This is a page from my second attempt at a final copy, but if you look closely you can see, the bottom is cut very poorly. I was having trouble cutting it perfectly by hand, but immediately after cutting this one wrong, I discovered a new way to hold myself when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m cutting so that it comes out smoother. It was an event to get the crooked pages reprinted, as I was out of paper, and it was harder to print at a different shop than the first rounds, as their printers werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as keen on my thick paper.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp

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Final Product •••

book design 2018

final product

Finally, it all came together. There are small imperfections, still, in the folds and in the stickers. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definitely the best yet and probably the closest to perfection possible.

autograph book: an abecedarium of histories/signatures

hannah gaskamp

process book