Dear Crew,
This letter looks at how we curate our images-only publication - BLOC. Plus keep an eye out for us at the 2024 London Book Fair in March.
Housekeeping
It was half term here in the UK and that meant a quick trip to check some art galleries. Fave recent show has to go to the ‘When Forms Come Alive’ at the Hayward Gallery. Read all about the artwork here.
Urban Decorator Kid Crayon has a new release. Honour Amongst Thieves. It’s our latest ‘Hello My Name Is’ publication. This edition explores Bristol and all the fun jaw-dropping artwork Kid Crayon produces.
You can see his work here and of course, grab yourself a copy here.
We’re getting into shape for the London Book Fair. That means checking in with partners, getting a good dose of inspiration, and even catching up with each other - which is key as we are all remote. If anyone wants a coffee (or something stronger) in London 12th/13th/14th of March, let us know and come say hi!
It’s All About The Curation
A lot of the work we’ve done over the years has been around curation. From our days as documentary filmmakers to being gallerists producing exhibitions. Whatever the creative output, curation is key.
Select, Organize And Present
Normally one approaches curation with a theme or a concept. BLOC is an anomaly as it wasn’t born with a strict theme in mind, rather it was a creative response to being frustrated.
Publishing can be slow and we wanted to make something faster. Faster to test formats, faster to test different markets, and faster to show off some great artists we know and love. When we worked it out, we came up with a lower page number format that showed off big images from a range of artists.
Sounds easy but it wasn’t. We tested so many different formats, small to oversized and it was all about balancing a fine line between budget, print run, and shipping.
Selection Process
You have to be selective in choosing what images to feature. We of course look for diversity in style, subject matter, and technique but to create a cohesive whole publication without a theme we needed balance and a vibe.
In the end, BLOC became something much more graphical. Fewer actual photos of artwork and fewer fine and detailed illustrations. More graphics, more surrealism, more type, and essentially more design. We realized fast we needed to focus on those artists who work in and around collage, poster, and type design.
Design And Layout > Sequence, Flow, And Space
Understanding space or the lack of it and knowing when to give or take away space is key when we’ve put together BLOC. Letting images speak for themselves and having them in the right order at the right time is never the easiest decision to make.
It’s normal to experiment with different layouts and designs to showcase images effectively. As the images in BLOC are so strong, it’s our job to be invisible. So we strive for a clean and as minimalist design as possible. All of this allows the images to take center stage.
Final Edit
A lot of publishers and designers edit artists’ imagery - we don’t do this.
We might choose to house or frame the image within a colour block, or the opposite, full bleed the image but we never edit the image without at least a conversation with the artist.
Once we are happy with the layout, flow, and image choice, we like to get a sample made. Now this isn’t always the case and getting a sample ordered often depends on the extent and format of the book and if our budget allows.
The bonus of having a sample is twofold. We get to do some promo and product pics and check for any mistakes in print and design.
When we are happy with the sample, we make any last changes if there are any, and go to print. Print run often depends on pre-orders and how well we think the publication will sell. Then it’s about stock-taking and fulfilling any orders we have to customers and partners and of course the freebies to the artists involved.
What Next..?
As we grow BLOC, we will look for ways of making it more focused. That could be a theme or subject - we aren’t sure yet and we are happy for it to be like that. The essence of BLOC is to feature artists in a quicker way using print and that won’t change.
Additional Reading:
As we are visiting London Book Fair, you can have a read of what we got up to at last year’s London Book Fair here.
And you can see some more info about our forthcoming titles here.