THE IDEA:
To design the cover and interior of a chapbook of my writing, then physically create the book.
THE EXECUTION:
A collaborative design focusing on light and distance through color and typography. The illustrator Didi Elkhayat created the hand graphic used on the cover page.
The book was designed so that, when viewed from the front and back, it appeared see-through with the "light" in the center.
THE PROCESS:
After creating these early versions of the cover, I felt dissatisfied with the results. It needed something less artificial and more human. So, I reached out to Didi to see if she could provide illustrations.
I cannot begin to explain to you how many drafts I made. This is only a handful.
And... the cover was done. The interior went much faster since my poems were typeset at the time of writing so I just had to compile them. Then, onto printing.
The first printed pages and my notes.
Covers and pages stacked.
Gluing the covers,
The first book!
In addition to printing and gluing all of this, I also hand-bound the pages. I made about twenty copies for friends and family.