How We Made a Graphic Design Book
By Patricia Belyea / Guest Columnist
Create Magazine / Winter 2005
Design books have been published on business cards, letterheads, shopping bags, direct mailers and other specific types of printed projects. Now there is a book on folders and envelopes!
Belyea led the development of "Fantastic Folders and Exceptional Envelopes," a 164-page paperback published by Rockport Books. It was a 16-month experience that included our team members in Seattle, Rockport's staff, and a photographer on the East Coast.
There were some real lessons learned from the journey. Numero Uno is that design book contracts are not lucrative. The payback is the opportunity to be non-stop passionate. At the time, the universe provided our firm with a Fortune 100 client - so we were able to balance our checkbook.
The front of the book is educational with chapters on designing custom folders and envelopes. Our research took us to Graphic Impressions and McCallum Envelope, Seattle trade shops, and behind the scenes to see every step in their manufacturing processes.
An enduring memory was of a tattooed and pony-tailed worker who adroitly pounded metal rules into routed die boards. A die-maker for over 20 years, his swift and smooth actions did not waste an ounce of energy. Although die-lines are handed off as digital files, the fabrication of die boards is still a human craft.
Besides information on producing custom projects, the how-to section is stuffed with illustrations showing die-lines of simple and complex projects. Naomi Murphy, the lead designer of the book, built all the line drawings in Illustrator then puzzled together the text, diagrams and photos of examples using InDesign.
Ultimately the book will be published in other countries. This affected design layouts as Japanese can take up to 25 percent more space than English text. The positive result is a design with some breathing room - just the right amount of "white space." To prepare for foreign versions, all the text is black and placed on a fifth layer so it can easily be changed to a new language.
The bulk of the book is a portfolio with page after page of glorious design projects. Contacting designers around the world was a big task. Our approach was to use the Internet to reach out to our peers. An introductory e-mail with a 3-page PDF attachment invited designers to submit their work.
The first round of e-mail addresses was culled from a 70-page list of designers provided by Rockport. An army of interns at Belyea then searched the Internet for companies in faraway places as Rockport mandated that one third of the work be international. The final Requests for Submissions were handed out as hard copies to attendees at GraficEurope in Berlin.
Over a six-month period 250 entries arrived at our offices. Each one was carefully opened, coded and stored in boxes labeled Yes, No and Maybe. The selection of 100 was based on our own Northwest design sensibilities and the question: "Is it fantastic or exceptional?"
Folders and envelopes had wraps, flaps, slots, clasps, specialty printing and more. Handling so many great projects was inspirational for the designers in our studio.
One such project is an envelope program from AfterHours in Indonesia. Impeccably printed in tangy yellow and metallic silver, the envelope flaps were shaped like round-cornered tabs. Even more unusual was a mini-hole that went through each envelope, precisely punching through a disc icon on both sides.
Every project in the gallery is accompanied by a short story by Jenny Sullivan. A writer with a velvet pen, each case study is capped with an amusing subhead that adds personality to the primer. The copy for a tall, narrow folder with a modern real estate brochure is entitled "Tall, Stark and Handsome" while an announcement and envelope for an aerospace company is aptly titled "Jet Set."
Novelty covers are in style these days. Rockport splurged on a fun feature - a flap wrapping from the back to the front and tucking into a curved slot - making the book like a capacity folder. Two prototypes were prepared to check the design and fit.
The book holds some basic yet important messages for designers: Remarkable work is the result of big ideas and attention to detail. A complete comp is needed for a folder or envelope project to ensure that the whole package fits together. Making a CAD dummy with the correct paperweight is ideal. And partnering with top vendors is the best way to ensure quality.
Patricia Belyea is founding principal and Creative Director of Belyea, a graphic design firm specializing in branding and marketing programs. She can be reached at patricia@belyea.com or 206-682-4895.