THE SMALLS
Book Design & Publishing
The Smalls is a 5.5” by 8.5” collectable poetry book that comprises seven poems about racial justice and equality to educate and offer different perspectives on the subject of racism and inequality. It is a product of a creative project designed by Sebastian Wu that communicates his interpretation of the un/settled exhibition at the Belzberg Library on Simon Fraser University Vancouver Campus that features the work of poet Otoniya J. Okot Bitek and artist-educator Chantal Gibson. This project was carried out with the intention to establish an understanding of how poetry can be used to battle racial injustice and inequality.
Research & Creative Brief
Thorough research on the appropriate audience and the current market for the book was conducted. It helped determine the appropriate sizes, typefaces, layouts, paper types, biding types, and finishes for the book.
Cover & Interior Layout Sketch
Three book covers with different styles along with rough interior layouts were sketched.
Type Sampling
Four different typefaces were applied to the interior layouts with different margins, columns, baseline grids, font sizes, font weights, and leadings. A total of twenty-four type samples were printed with crop and bleed marks on standard A4 papers and trimmed for comparison and selection.
Creating Roughs
The three book covers and interior layouts were redesigned in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign with the three most appropriate and outstanding type samples. They were printed with crop and bleed marks on standard A4 papers and trimmed for comparison and final selection.
Peer & Mentor Review
The roughs were presented to my peers and mentor for critiques. The feedback helped select the best book cover and book interior and further refine the book design.
Book Mockup
After finalising the winning book cover and interior design, I printed, trimmed, and saddle-stitched the book for final proofreading and reviewing. The book was well-polished before it was sent to the printer.
Printing & Publishing
The book was a limited edition with only two final copies printed by The Printing House in 80-pound paper stock with perfect binding and soft-touch lamination for the book cover. It was published in collaboration by Turn/Up Press and Belzberg Library, SFU Vancouver and exhibited in Belzberg Library from December 14th to January 21st. Belzberg Library has included the book as part of its library collection.