The Brief:
This week we want you to combine your writing and design into one holistic form and experiment with innovative ways to launch your project.
Please remember that we seek original, innovative, exciting, and appropriate design ideas. Be brave and ensure this is the focus, and you do not attempt to implement a more pedestrian approach.
We accept the format of your publication may not be in a traditional book form. For example, if using digital, performance or installation platforms, please communicate this clearly within the final presentation.
- Complete your essay and design a visual synopsis of your publication, to include the following:
- Front cover (with title and your name)
- Chapter opener
- Two double-page spreads
- Back cover (using your previously written short synopsis)
- Your final design should include some or all of your 3,000-word text and original, self-generated images and export it as a PDF.
- Include your complete 3,000-word article, story, or essay at the back of your PDF.
- Write a short paragraph about how you might fund, promote, and launch your project if you were an independent author.
My Findings:
Although I’ve found that my book is the typical photographic book you’d find on any coffee table, I wanted to be a little more experimental with the launch and the materials some of the pages would be printed on.
To begin with, as this is a photographic essay, I wanted the photos to remain the focus, so I opted to leave out the title on the front cover. This will instead be printed on the spine using Bell Centennial Std, the typeface used in Yellow Pages directories. I also created the book’s spine to look like the spine of the directories, with bright yellow and bold black typography. This is an in-your-face approach to not only stand out on a bookshelf but also allude to the content of the coffee table book.
One of my coursemates suggested making this a hardback book, which I hadn’t considered as I wanted it to resemble the yellow pages as a paperback. There was something fun about the fluidity of the Yellow Pages. The book bent open as you held it from the weight of the pages. Although this may not stand the test of time, it would give the audience more of that nostalgic feeling. It would also comment on the demise of the phone box and how, although successful in some cases, they haven’t stood the test of time against technological advancement.
They also suggested the idea of printing the handle as a 3D object. The reader would then pull open the book like a phone box door. Although I wouldn’t know how this would work on an actual book, I like the idea. My biggest concern is that it would get damaged on a bookshelf or get in the way and not sit flush between books or underneath coffee table books. I, therefore, wouldn’t want readers to be put off purchasing this book because of the 3D elements.
As Darren Wall said from the lecture material, trying to make things people want to own and keep forever is essential. Tapping into nostalgia would be a significant driving factor for this to happen. They don’t want just another coffee table book. They want a memory or their own keepsake (Wall, 2023).
Although younger generations may not be so familiar with the Yellow Pages, those who are would primarily be buying this book. And the yellow colour and choice of title would be eye-catching enough to those younger generations.
This may seem like a straightforward to the typography, and I would agree, but I felt choosing any other typeface would go against the subject matter. Telephone directories were standard in public telephone boxes, and not too many years ago, they were still being printed and used. I also wanted to highlight how technology has changed communication in all aspects of the phone box, and using a past format of the Yellow Pages felt like the perfect way to showcase this change.
Although this is an updated typeface version, if I were to use a more contemporary typeface, I feel this idea would have been lost in translation. I also liked the concept of the Yellow Pages being a part of bookshelves worldwide again. Designing the spine in this way allowed their history to continue, and I thought it would be the perfect conversation starter for anyone who likes to peruse bookshelves. A nod to nostalgia, as it were, that would encourage people to jog down memory lane, much like the photography in the final publication.
I played with the image on the front cover a few times. One other idea is pictured above. I didn’t think this had the same professionalism or impact as the image of the door handle. I also like how the image of the door handle didn’t require the need for a title. It showed the audience what they were looking at and pointed those less familiar with the phone box, quite literally, in the direction of finding out what it was. Although I imagine most people reading the book would already be interested in or associated with the phone box, therefore, they wouldn’t be a need for a title on the front.
I had a similar idea with the back cover in that I wanted to use a photograph of the back of a phone box. However, it didn’t have the right impact when I put this together. It was also quite dull, in my opinion. Therefore, I changed it to the photograph of the phone as that is what you see when you open the door of a K6, pictured above. It also made it much more visually interesting than a solid red background. Although both ideas would have worked, I thought this idea was visually stronger and provided a more visually appealing perspective.
The internal flaps would be very simple in design and mainly consist of my biography and explanation of what being British means to me. This would be on the back cover flap. And on the front cover flap, I would include a foreword written by a collector or historian interested in red phone boxes. As part of my submission, I have included my synopsis of the launch, funding and promoting proposal on the front flap and some quotes from the survey I conducted on the back flap. This is to show you how the final layout would look with text.
I chose to lay it out this way as this is typical of photographic essays. And I’ve seen this style before, pictured below. Photography was the primary subject matter in many examples I researched, and the text was merely a tiny accessory. As I didn’t have any text to go along with the images, I chose to have a large amount of white space so that the photographs could stand out. In further developments, I could include some text like the location of the phone box or a little note about the image itself, but as I find the photos quite self-explanatory, I thought any text would be redundant.
(Jodidio, n.d.)
And as my 3000 essay serves as an introduction, I thought it was the best place at the beginning of the book. As mentioned previously, there is nothing overly dynamic or new about the publication, and this is because I personally like the designs of traditional coffee table books. I think they can be very effective in telling a story, and as mentioned in my essay, if the design isn’t broken, why try and fix it?
To make this book a little different, I have designed some pages to be printed on alternative paper types, like the original design drawings. These would be printed on transparent sheets or bible paper as a nod to the original paper Sir Giles Gilbert Scott would have used. I would interchange this with blueprint paper as a nod to the kiosk types that never made it to full production. This would also offer a break in the blank space and inject a different colour. By the 20th image, the red could become a little exhausting.
These pages are represented by this cream-coloured box. I also wanted to add a break in the layout by cutting the image. Although I’m unsure if this would be the final layout, I like how you’re encouraged to focus on the details of one section and then the next. I wouldn’t print anything besides illustrations or design drawings on these pages, as I think some of the depth of photography I’m looking for would be lost.
Sorting the ideal printer for this publication is also important. As Darren Wall said, it’s about connecting with a printer which isn’t just interested in volume (Wall, 2023). I, too, would like to work with a smaller printer who is solely UK based but also has a genuine interest in the book’s subject. I feel like they’d put as much work into the final product as I would, and with them being UK based, not only would we be championing another British product, it would make it logistically much easier to produce as well. Whether we chose to go the print-on-demand route or were to print X number of copies to distribute to X number of stockists, like museum gift shops and museums.
Throughout the development stage, I had to pay particular attention to the crease where the pages join. Some images are placed over this, but I’ve tried to lay them out so that the join successfully impacts the picture, either by not interfering with the red phone boxes or by splitting them apart. Highlighting that they are two separate phone boxes, and although positioned together, they’re not necessarily the exact version of the K6. It was my way of showing the audience that they need to look a little closer to find the little features that have been a big part of the history of the K6, such as the Monarch crowns or the cable holes in the back panel.
I took most of these photos on my Android phone. I have also taken some images using a film camera, but as the camera was a very basic trashcam, I didn’t have many hopes for their quality. I’m still waiting for them to return from the printers to see how they would work in the book. I wanted to use film to add to that nostalgia. There is something about the tactility of film quality. It adds an exciting visual element. However, if I publish this book, I’d like to use a portrait photographer. Not only would their equipment be better quality than mine, but they’d also be able to capture better images, and the personalities, for lack of a better word, of the phone boxes.
I’d also include more images of adopted phone boxes. Leaving them out wasn’t intentional in this challenge. I hadn’t planned my route around London and, therefore, didn’t come across any. They’d be included in the final publication as I feel it’s a big part of their history. It wouldn’t be an authentic photographic essay if I omitted them.
Regarding how I would launch and market this publication, I would like to try something like what Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s L’Arc de Triomphe Wrapped, pictured below. This idea was not only completely crazy, but the photography also produced is extraordinary. It says a lot about wrapping something familiar to many people and seeing it from a new perspective.
(Taschen, n.d).
Wrapping a red phone box would comment on how it’s essentially now a redundant object that many people ignore, but we are familiar with the object. Placing these wrapped phone boxes in obscure locations would be conversation starters. Images of these phone boxes would create a buzz on social media, and when shared across all sites, they would help spread the word about the significance of phone boxes in our identity as well as the book.
Once unwrapped, these boxes would be converted into mini coffee shop bookstores or interactive spaces where people could grab a coffee or keyring and a copy of the book. I hope to place these in obscure locations, like the middle of Stonehenge or the middle of Blackpool Beach on the shoreline, as you wouldn’t expect a phone box there, and it would encourage people to think about it and interact with it too.
Another idea I had was to create an automated message or conversation about what it means to be British or a nostalgic memory that would play when you picked up the phone. I’d set these up in many phone boxes around London where the phone would ring until someone answered. When they answered, they could listen to the message and story. The book’s details and information on where to buy one would be on a poster stuck around the inside phone boxes.
These would generate stories and posts that people would share on social media. Which would be a vital tool in the marketing itself. To generate the initial conversation, I’d invite specific influencers, book reviewers, and journalists to visit a sight or to listen to the message in a phone box in return for a copy of the book and, more likely, a small payment.
Another idea I had was to ask Dom Joly from Trigger Happy TV to get involved. We would set up some red phone boxes in obscure locations as above, but when they rang, Joly would be there to answer them and do a sketch show as per his sketches on Trigger Happy TV with the mobile phone. As people are familiar with his work, they would be engaged with the idea, although I’d have to figure out a way to highlight that it’s about the book and not another episode of Trigger-Happy TV. Although this wouldn’t necessarily be detrimental to the publication. Any press is good press.
All these ideas could be used throughout the whole marketing strategy. It would help keep the buzz going and aid in promoting the book over many months. As it differs from a magazine in that there won’t be regular releases of the publication, using social media would be vital in continuing to market the book. We could create pop-up phone boxes around the UK occasionally, using a K6 as a coffee shop one month and then an interactive space the next etc. Each time inviting influencers to experience it in exchange for posting about it on their social media.
As for the launch, I’d hold several launches in several locations. I’d like to include other quintessentially British icons for the launch. One idea is to run a bus tour, like the hop on hop off bus tours around London. I’d invite a select group of people to enjoy a cream tea, prawn mayonnaise sandwich and maybe some fish and chips amongst other ‘British’ food and talk about the book there. They could then hop off in one location in London, where we would reset and pick up another group of passengers. This could then culminate in an after-party somewhere significant, like The Shard St. Pauls Cathedral.
Another idea I had was to hold a similar event on the London eye. It wouldn’t be to as many people as a London bus, but the idea is that we would drop off and collect new attendees each circuit. Logistically this would be trickier to reset than with the bus tour, but it would give us plenty of time to discuss the book and make for beautiful social media posts with the views of London as a backdrop.
I would also consider holding a launch in a museum where you could see real-life examples or other locations where surviving examples were, like the Smithfield Meat Market. Although this wouldn’t be the obvious choice for a book launch, creating a pop-up bar in this location would allow attendees to interact with a surviving example. I’d have to consider doing up the phone boxes if they were particularly damaged, as there wouldn’t be anything worse than a phone box full of drug needles or smelling of urine at an event.
When thinking about the launch idea, I was inspired by a campaign my coursemate shared. To promote the museum exhibit, NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, the New Museum commissioned Droga5 to create a campaign to promote the event. Recalling 1993, used public payphones in New York in a brilliant public art project which allowed people to listen to the experiences of people who lived during those turbulent times. This campaign was so successful because of the nostalgia it created and the insight into the history that it provided. It commemorated not just art but societal changes in those days. (Droga5 LLC, 2013)
As my book champions a piece of iconic British design, I would first apply to the British Lottery or the Heritage Funding Directory for funding. I’d approach them because this project is about repairing and rebuilding British design. And attempt to try and change the perception of the red phone box as an essential piece of our identity as opposed to the perfect public toilet. Failing this, I would run a Kickstarter campaign. As Darren Wall says, doing campaigns this way needs a lot of prior planning and preparation, although it doesn’t need to be perfect. We also need to proceed with caution as it’s completely consuming. But with some grit and determination, it could be a success. I believe there are enough people who are excited about red phone boxes that it would get enough backing (Wall, 2023).
In her book, So you Want to Publish a Magazine?, Angharad Lewis suggests that using sponsorship is an exciting avenue for financing a project. This would certainly be an option to consider, as adding a little logo advertisement in or on the book would still be in keeping with the directory idea. I hadn’t considered this a possibility, so reading this was insightful (Lewis, 2016).
Lewis again provided fascinating insight when considering how I would fund this project. As I’m not very savvy in accounting, reading about her experience with hiring an accountant was eye-opening. I hadn’t considered this part of production before, mainly because I’ve never needed to. Their advice for putting together a business plan would be vital, and keeping on top of tax affairs would be one less thing for me to think about. I could then focus this time on marketing (Lewis, 2016).
As I’ve run a small GoFundMe project before, I know the pros and cons of starting this way but know first-hand the rewards it reaps. To maintain the buzz around the funding campaign, I’d also speak to some museums holding many of the surviving kiosks to get their input and backing. And possibly place posters about the campaign around the museum.
If this first book went well, I’d consider publishing a second book focussing on the other different kiosk designs. There may not be enough surviving examples to create a complete book per kiosk type, but it would make an exciting sequel to fill in the historical gaps of the K6 and provide some further context to its significance. By promoting and publishing the second book, you’re also re-promoting and re-marketing the first, which should help boost sales.
I think picking one definitive idea is where this gets tricky. I think any one of these ideas would be successful. It would all depend on the many factors discussed, such as funding, size of the project etc. For this challenge, however, I’ve picked a fun idea that could theoretically work in a real-life situation.
Final Outcome
References
Droga5 LLC (2013). New Museum | Recalling 1993. [online] droga5.com. Available at: https://droga5.com/work/recalling-1993/ [Accessed 22 Mar. 2023].
Jodidio, P. (n.d.). Cabins. [online] Taschen. Available at: https://www.taschen.com/en/books/architecture-design/49363/cabins/ [Accessed 17 March. 2023].
Lewis, A 2016, So You Want to Publish a Magazine? Laurence King Publishing, London. Available from: ProQuest eBook Central. [22 March 2023].
TASCHEN Books (n.d.). Christo and Jeanne-Claude. L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, Paris – TASCHEN Books. [online] http://www.taschen.com. Available at: https://www.taschen.com/en/limited-editions/art/60053/christo-and-jeanne-claude-l-arc-de-triomphe-wrapped-paris/ [Accessed 8 Mar. 2023].
22/23, Falmouth University, delivered Friday 10th March 2023.
Wall, D 2023, Week 8 Lecture: Design and Critique, lecture notes, History and Futures GDE
Ollie Goldson-Truman | MA Graphic Design | Falmouth University 