Print is a very important medium for me. Whether I’m writing and laying out an entire book or just designing a cover, the tactility of print and publication is unmatched. It’s also something that challenged me for a long time.
Publication
No Bull Book
The No Bull Book encompasses the whole No Bull Cause project and was submitted as my final Bachelor of Communication Design project in 2024. I also printed a limited run of 30 to be sold and given out to influential people in the industry.
The book features 250 pages of photography and an explanation of the clothing brand’s concept. I packaged the publication in screen printed brown paper that had the name of the recipient printed on. The patina of the book was carefully considered. I wanted it to evolve over time, the places of ware telling a story, just as the clothes do.
Blokeland
Blokeland was my first book cover that made it to print. I was lucky enough to work with my uncle and author of the book, John Toohey, on the design.
He showed me some photographs of his grandparents with his father as inspiration. I instantly noticed the clothes that each person was wearing and how they denoted what they life had been and will be. His father was dressed for war, he served in the RRAF during World War II. His father, John Toohey’s grandfather, was dressed in a vest and hat. He was older and had faced the horrors of war too in WWI. Then John’s grandmother, wearing a dress. Their outfits told so many stories, I wanted to capture that for the front cover. I simplifies these outfits down into polygon-esque shapes and made them look like paper.
The first drafts of the front cover were muted, it matched the content more. I gave John alot of colour options and in the end it was the publishers choice.
Cool Burn
As part of my Bachelor of Communication Design, I created a short zine or ‘SKO’ exploring themes of place in the context of First Nations people of Australia. Concept was to create something that was intended to be destroyed after reading it, referencing the impermanence of things and how this was actually embraced by First Nations people. The book was made from 100% recycled paper and covered in flammable eucalyptus oil. Rather dramatically, I wanted the book to be burnt after being read, not because it held any particularly sensitive information, but instead as a reference to the act of cool burning.
A large section pf the book featured a story about a duck becoming prime minister of Australia simple because it only said “quack” when asked any questions. The public loved the impartiality of the duck. When the duck finally gives its speech to an adoring and agreeable crowd, it says something entirely unexpected. This story is a reference to politics today, A stance is solidified all through a candidates campaign but when they get in, they have the power to do the opposite of what they were voted in to do in the first place.
Bow & Arrow
The Bow & Arrow is a local newspaper created and distributed by volunteers in the Village of Bow, Devon, UK. I lived in Bow from the age of 9 to 17 and it formed much of my upbringing.
Every month, in my home town, a little A5 booklet would slip through my letterbox. If it was lucky enough to avoid the jaws of my Terrier, it would end up in my hands.
The publication always fascinated me. I would study its front cover and page layouts, they had a naive charm I guess. As I got older and gained more of an appreciation for design, I discovered that in actual fact, the newspaper had room for improvement. When a new issue would be delivered, I would study its front cover design, I found it inspiring. I always wondered if I might have done a better job.
I believe that this innocent, volunteer run publication taught me more about graphic design than any lecturer, book or course ever could.
In 2021 I returned to Bow for a few months. I took the opportunity to contact the people responsible for the Bow & Arrow Newspaper. I offered to rebrand the Bow & Arrow for a new generation. To keep the publication alive and hopefully inspire young people to correct and improve my designs too.
