Platform: 2021

Platform: 2021 

Designed by James Brook for Edinburgh Art Festival, 2021 

Booklet  | 210 x 165 mm | 16 pages 

Printed by Allander, Edinburgh, on Edixion Offset 170 gsm 

A booklet that I designed for Platform, Edinburgh Art Festival’s showcase for Scotland based artists at the beginning of their careers. The 2021 edition, selected by Sorcha Carey, Mason Leaver-Yap and Ciara Phillips, and curated by Colm Guo-Lin Peare, brought together new work by Jessica Higgins, Danny Pagarini, Kirsty Russell and Isabella Widger. The exhibition ran from 29 July – 29 August and was held at the Institut français d’Ecosse West Parliament Square Edinburgh EH1 1RF  

The cover design includes circles taken from the colon that appears in the Platform: 2021 logo with imagery selected from one of the four artists, in this instance, the work of Isabella Widger. I used two typefaces, Freight Sans Pro and Adelle Sans, selected for their character and readability, and used different weights of Adelle Sans to create a new logo that echoes the previous logo, which was set in Akzidenz Grotesk. Inside, the layout follows the design of the previous four iterations but the wider page size gives a feeling of space and gives images priority and allows them to breathe.  

www.edinburghartfestival.com

 

Cover of Platform: 2021 Booklet

This is the cover of a booklet that I designed for Platform, Edinburgh Art Festival’s annual showcase for artists in the early stages of their careers, each year introducing audiences to a new generation of contemporary artists based in Scotland. Platform: 2021 has been selected from an open call by writer and producer Mason Leaver-Yap and artist Ciara Phillips working with festival director Sorcha Carey.

The four selected artists, Jessica Higgins, Danny Pagarani, Kirsty Russell and Isabella Widger will present new work as part of a group exhibition held at the Institut français d’Ecosse, Edinburgh EH1 1RF, from 29 July to 29 August.

The cover design is based on my 2019 refresh of the Platform identity (which I originally developed in 2015) with imagery selected from one of the four artists – in this instance,  a detail from a work by Isabella Widger. The leaflet is designed with two typefaces, Freight Sans Pro and Adelle Sans, selected for their character and readability. I used different weights of Adelle Sans to create the Platform logo which is centred on two circles (taken from the colon that punctuates Platform: 2021). The booklet is 210 x 165mm and was printed by Allander, Edinburgh, on UPM Fine Offset 170gsm. 

www.edinburghartfestival.com

Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop!

Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop!

Published by Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, 2021

Edited by Kate Grenyer and Lisa Mason

Essay by Mary Schoeser

Photography by Kenneth Gray, Zoe Hamill, Keith Hunter, and Antonia Reeve 

Designed by James Brook

ISBN 978 1 91688891 01

Soft cover | 240 x 210 mm | 48 pages | Printed by Allander, Edinburgh on Galerie Art Matt 

This is an exhibition catalogue that I designed for Dovecot Studio’s Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop!, an exhibition which tells the story of Archie Brennan, a much-loved Edinburgh native – a pop artist, weaver, and former Mr Scotland, who changed the course of modern weaving with his innovative approach to tapestry.

The cover of the book is based on the poster that forms the core of the identity I designed for the exhibition. The lead image of the identity – which appears in a circle so it can easily be adapted for use in lots of different formats – is a detail from Brennan’s 1973 tapestry, Muhammad Ali, one of many tapestries that he made featuring the famous boxer. A photograph of Archie Brennan (in Hawaii!) appears on the back cover, in a circle that echoes the one on the front cover.  

The colours that form the identity are sampled directly from the photograph of the Muhammad Ali tapestry: dark blue as the main colour, with a lighter blue used elsewhere for emphasis, alongside oranges and yellows, to give a zingy pop art feel. 

The title is set in Stencil, a typeface often associated with pop art, and the rest of the cover is set in Clarendon, a typeface that sits well with Stencil and also captures the nostalgic mood that appears in some of Brennan’s tapestries such as My Victorian Aunt from 1967. 

After some printed tests, I found Clarendon, particularly in its light version, to be surprisingly readable for extended bodies of text so the main body of the book is set in this typeface – for contrast, I used Adelle Sans light for captions and secondary information.

Below is the poster that I designed for the exhibition. Click here to see the identity that I designed for the exhibition which included marketing material and exhibition graphics.

Kate Grenyer, Exhibitions Curator, Dovecot Studios: James has always been great to work with, he gets to the heart of a project very quickly and responds to briefs with intelligence, experience and imagination. When working with James on the publication for Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop! (2021), I found his experience of print stock and binding, and his knowledge of different print firms was invaluable expertise that you don’t find in many designers. He takes your work as seriously as you do and uses his experience and eye for detail to make sure the result is the best it can be within the budgets and time available.

Edinburgh Art Festival Commissions Programme 2021 Covers

These are the covers that I have designed for the Edinburgh Art Festival Commissions Programme 2021 interpretation material. Each year Edinburgh Art Festival invites Scottish and international artists to make and present new projects specifically for the festival. This year, EAF has collaborated with a range of partners to support and present a programme of new commissions and UK premieres by artists working in Scotland, UK and internationally. The programme features the UK premiere of Isaac Julien’s Lessons of Hour, in partnership with National Galleries Scotland; a new project, Tak Tent O’ Time Ere Time Be Tint, by Sean Lynch, co-commissioned with Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop; a sound installation, Song of the Union by Emeka Ogboh, co-commissioned with Talbot Rice Gallery; and What happens to desire…, curated by EAF associate artist, Tako Taal. 

The series consists of one booklet and three leaflets, and has been designed to present a cohesive identity for the commissions programme that is distinct from the main EAF identity and also highlights the contributions of the partner organisations. Unlike previous EAF commissions, there is no over-riding theme to this year’s programme so my design does not reflect a theme, instead it presents a common typographic stye and layout that is adaptable to the different content of each piece of print. It has been tricky to find a design where the different logos from each partnership organisation (Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Talbot Rice Gallery and National Galleries Scotland) sit well with the new EAF logo and other typographic information – a balancing act, often with three different typefaces in play. 

I selected Proxima Nova as the typeface for this series as it has some similarities to the typeface that appears in the new EAF logo, but is sufficiently different that the designs are not solely linked to EAF but give equal weight to the partner commissioning organisations. I have used a pared back palette of colour and type and suggested a new commissioning credit line that helps brings the partner organisation to the fore. Different weights of Proxima Nova have been used to create a hierarchy of information and full bleed images from each commission have been used to create impact. The leaflets (for Isaac Julien, Sean Lynch, and Emeka Ogboh) are 8 page double-gatefolds, folded to 165mm x 210mm while the What happens to desire… booklet is 24 pages plus cover, trimmed to the same size – this is the size of the books, booklets, and leaflets that I have designed for EAF in previous years, building a connected set of print that documents the Edinburgh Art Festival’s growing series of artists’ commissions.

 

Find out more: www.edinburghartfestival.com

Kate Downie: Between Seasons Catalogue

Kate Downie: Between Seasons

Published by The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 2021

Texts by Kate Downie, Susan Mansfield and Tommy Zyw

Photography by Michael Wolchover

Designed by James Brook

ISBN 978 1 912900 34 3

Soft cover | 235 x 220 mm | 56 pages | Printed by Gomer, Wales on 170gsm Galerie Art Matt with a cover of 350gsm Galerie Art Matt

Between Seasons is a catalogue that accompanied Kate Downie’s exhibition at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh from 3-26 June 2021. At the heart of the exhibition was a series of ten paintings of trees painted throughout the seasons, during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The paintings are all divided by a central horizon line with two representations of a tree in different seasons; the bare branches of winter contrasting with the full canopy of summer. Each painting can be turned through 180 degrees so that one of the the two representations is uppermost, changing the atmosphere of the painting completely – during the course of the exhibition, the paintings were rotated periodically. In the catalogue, this problem of there being no right way up for the paintings has been solved by having a larger image of the painting on one page and a smaller image of the painting turned full circle on the facing page; some of these images are accompanied by a further photograph showing Kate working on the painting in her studio (often on a ladder) to give a sense of scale – they are vast! 

I worked closely with the artist on the book along with Tommy Zyw, the director of The Scottish Gallery. I typeset the book in a combination of Freight Sans Pro and Freight Text Pro, a clear and understated typeface that, with its unified serif and san-serif versions and a wide range of weights and styles, offers a wide palette of contrasts to design with. The choice of typefaces, combined with the use of white space, has given a clean and contemporary feel to the book that gives the paintings room to breathe and allows them to shine. I have cut out some of the works on paper and given them a subtle drop shadow to amplify the sense of them being objects. The book has a strong physical presence, and, as the artist remarked: “It feels just great ‘in the hand’ as an object. The size is just right.” I’m very pleased with the design of the front cover: the combination of a detail from Kate’s painting and the arrangement of type that I devised for the title treatment works very well, I think, offering a hint of the typography and layout of the book as well as a teaser for Kate’s wonderful series of paintings.

You can find more about the Between Seasons exhibition here.

Tommy Zyw, Director, The Scottish Gallery: I have had the pleasure to work on several exhibition catalogues with James Brook. James understands the individual requirements of the artist, gallery and audience. He has an in-depth knowledge of design and printing. This he combines with creative flair and a practical and hardworking approach.  

Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop! Book

This is a the cover of the book that I designed for Dovecot Studio’s Archie Brennan: Tapestry Goes Pop!, an exhibition which tells the story of this much-loved Edinburgh native – a pop artist, weaver, and former Mr Scotland, who changed the course of modern weaving with his innovative approach to tapestry.

The cover of the book is based on the poster that forms the core of the identity I designed for the exhibition. The lead image of the identity – which appears in a circle so it can easily be adapted for use in lots of different formats – is a detail from Brennan’s 1973 tapestry, Muhammad Ali, one of many tapestries that he made featuring the famous boxer. A photograph of Archie Brennan (in Hawaii!) appears on the back cover, in a circle that echoes the one on the front cover.  

The colours that form the identity are sampled directly from the photograph of the Muhammad Ali tapestry: dark blue as the main colour, with a lighter blue used elsewhere for emphasis, alongside oranges and yellows, to give a zingy pop art feel. 

The title is set in Stencil, a typeface often associated with pop art, and the rest of the cover is set in Clarendon, a typeface that sits well with Stencil and also captures the nostalgic mood that appears in some of Brennan’s tapestries such as My Victorian Aunt from 1967. 

After some printed tests, I found Clarendon, particularly in its light version, to be surprisingly readable for extended bodies of text so the main body of the book is set in this typeface – for contrast, I used Adelle Sans light for captions and secondary information. 

The book is 210 mm x 240 mm, 48 pages, and was printed by Allander on Gallerie Art Matt, with a scuff-resistant matt laminate on the cover. It can be purchased directly from the Dovecot website or at the exhibition, which runs until 30 August. Don’t miss it, it’s a great exhibition with five star reviews from both The Scotsman and The Times.

Click here to find out more.

Kate Downie: Between Seasons Catalogue

Between Seasons is a catalogue that accompanies Kate Downie’s exhibition at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh from 3-26 June 2021. At the heart of the exhibition is a series of ten paintings of trees painted throughout the seasons, during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The paintings are all divided by a central horizon line with two representations of a tree in different seasons; the bare branches of winter contrasting with the full canopy of summer. Each painting can be turned through 180 degrees so that one of the the two representations is uppermost, changing the atmosphere of the painting completely – during the course of the exhibition, the paintings will be rotated periodically. In the catalogue, this problem of there being no right way up for the paintings has been solved by having a larger image of the painting on one page and a smaller image of the painting turned full circle on the facing page; some of these images are accompanied by a further photograph showing Kate working on the painting in her studio (often on a ladder) to give a sense of scale – they are vast! 

I have worked closely with the artist on the book along with Tommy Zyw, the director of The Scottish Gallery. Photographs in the catalogue are by Michael Wolchover and it includes an essay by Susan Mansfield. The book was printed by Gomer Press in Wales on Gallerie Art Matt paper. I have typeset the book in a combination of Freight Sans Pro and Freight Text Pro, a clear and understated typeface that, with its unified serif and san-serif versions and a wide range of weights and styles, offers a wide palette of contrasts to design with. The choice of typefaces, combined with the use of white space, has given a clean and contemporary feel to the book that gives the paintings room to breathe and allows them to shine. I have cut out some of the works on paper and given them a subtle drop shadow to amplify the sense of them being objects. The book has a strong physical presence, and, as the artist remarked: “It feels just great ‘in the hand’ as an object. The size is just right.” I’m very pleased with the design of the front cover: the combination of a detail from Kate’s painting and the arrangement of type that I devised for the title treatment works very well, I think, offering a hint of the typography and layout of the book as well as a teaser for Kate’s wonderful series of paintings.

You can find more about the Between Seasons exhibition here.