JOHN CAGE
OVERVIEW
I designed a book composed of John Cage’s autobiographical statement and photographs of or relating to him, to express his experimental music work in a printed form.
DETAILS
I designed a book composed of John Cage’s Autobiographical Statement and photographs of or relating to him, to express his experimental music work in a printed form. I used the typeface Akzidenz Grotesk BQ because it is both easy to read and remarkably expressive when utilizing its various weights and font sizes. I decided to make the piece black and white to communicate to the viewer that it is a historical account, as well as keeping it timeless. I heavily relied on a 3 x 3 grid in InDesign to organize the placement of text (on the cover as well) and give structure to the chaotic and experimental nature of the piece.
CHALLENGE
Attempting to convey John’s work without the use of sound is difficult. How can I express his experimentation with my layout design and type treatment?
PROCESS
When I was assigned this project I did research on John Cage. Who was he? What did he do? I listened to various songs and albums as well as reading through his autobiographical statement. I then gathered images for the project. I created four page treatments that I applied throughout the book and decided on a black and white image treatment. Next we had a class critique and it was suggested that I create an alternate dialogue throughout the book with the upside down text. I then applied that to various spreads. One of the last steps was creating the front and back cover. As well as printing a miniature version of the book. Finally I printed at my school’s digital print center.
