Book Design
01/24–04/24 (4 months)
AdvisorAmy Auman
I was initially attracted to the topic as a life-long maker. From pursuing a creative education to partaking in crafty pastimes, I have found a deep appreciation for those who fully throw themselves into their passions.
Exploring the miniature community allowed me to not only learn about a different kind of maker, but also play with the physicality of the practice through a multi-part capstone. My Capstone ultimately manifested itself into two main parts: a box with an interactive miniature experience and a book detailing community and individual practices.
However, I struggled figuring out how to best approach this. Initially, I had 7 different booklets, one for every chapter. I realized that this was spreading everything very thin, so I narrowed it down to only 3 printed materials: one main book, an accordion book, and a set of cards. My design system focused on nostalgia and the compartmentalization of the miniatures similar to dollhouses and room boxes.
As I worked, I kept getting tripped up designing for multiple surfaces, causing me to question if this was the most efficient solution. Coming to this realization caused me to pivot hard to a singular large book where I was able to fully explore the real reason why I was initially attracted to the topic: the community and individuals who make the miniature world so enriching.
1. My mood boards expressed my interests at the time: the joy of miniatures as objects and the joy of the creator. I was looking and collecting ways to express physicality and abstract feeling through my two initial boards.
2. Looking at my mood board, I began experimenting and playing. I did type research, prioritizing serif typefaces to get at the human aspect of miniatures while recalling the nostalgia of the practice with most of its creators inheriting the craft or using it to reflect their own memories.
3. I experimented with two different directions. The first reflected the trendy nostalgia of the practice with both seasoned miniaturists still practicing along with younger makers coming into the community. The second spoke more towards the compartmentalization of miniature scenes, relying on simple colors and rectangles.
4. I continued to iterate on my first draft, exploring and toying with different ways to communicate miniatures and making. Despite my efforts, the path towards a final still felt unclear.
5. My second draft focused on shape and collage, but wasn’t clicking with scattered ideas and mixed messaging. I was still missing a concrete direction to go in. From here, I decided to scrap most of my designs, refocus, and pivot to a large, singular book.
6. I realized that the reason I was attracted to miniature wasn’t the object themselves but the people who create them. I reoriented to reflect this position, and coupled with a larger format, I found a direction and freedom to explore community and scale.
7. I perfect bound my final book by hand and added a hard cover with book cloth sourced from TALAS. The cover was laser cut and embossed. The title was added through screen printing with the help of my friend Sarah Wang.
The book is split into three unofficial sections: the introduction, main chapters, and concluding photo essay.
In the introduction, I contrast two opinions explaining why people create miniatures.
The main four chapters feature stories of community and individuals. They are visually delineated through distinct openers featuring large drop caps and fun-shaped frames highlighting an image related to the content.
The book concludes with a photo essay that I photographed at the Miniature Museum of Greater St. Louis to explore local makers’ creations and their legacy. It details a journey throughout the main areas of the museum: the first floor gallery, second floor gallery, and gift shop & library.
At first, I focused on showcasing the printed material through a series of booklets. I soon realized that the format didn’t really showcase the miniatures themselves at all, rather it created a barrier between what the content was about and the reader. In the next iterations, I decided to integrate actual miniatures into my project.
1. My first box prototype showcased 7 different booklets, one for each chapter. However, I realized it failed to connect back to miniatures.
2. The next iterations really focused on integrating actual miniatures through the inclusion of a miniature reading nook and a miniature version of my printed capstone. I investigated different layouts and shapes of the boxes. I also made a mini prototype of the miniature scene to demonstrate my idea.
3. This is my first box draft after my big book pivot. I realized I couldn’t make the box like my previous iterations because the box would be huge. So, I decided to separate the miniature scene and book with each living in its own part of the box. I followed a clamshell box tutorial, modifying it to fit my own intentions.
4. This is a simplified full-scale prototype of what would be my final box. I laser cut the pieces, experimented with a new hinge, and learned that I would need some way to keep it closed.
5. The final box featured the same book cloth as the book and similiar screen priting. I sewed a strap closure with a button to ensure that it would stay shut. I decorated the inside of the miniature scene with local sourced miniatures and tiny furniture that I made using a kit. The scene is magnetic to allow for the reader to customize the nook to their liking and get a feel for the physicality of miniatures. It also included a miniature 1:24th scale version of the book and magnifying glass.