The Brief

I always wanted to design a hard cover book. For our publication design assignment, I had to choose any “green” topic or issue and design a publication of any format around this specific topic. I find the whole topic of electronic waste interesting. So naturally this was my choice. I learned a lot about what to look for when buying electronic gadgets.

My whole idea behind this book was to use recycled materials. The cover sleeve is the actual circuit board of an old keyboard I smashed up. I like the patterns made by the circuit paths, and of how it leads to each keystroke. (FYI, the yellow dots and stripes, on the circuit board, are real gold!) This pattern gave me the inspiration for the design of the book. This pattern flows through the book in the chapters and the contents pages.

The typographical palette I used was Civic, Berthold Baskerville and Sansumi. The colour palette consists of royal purple, dark green and gold. A lighter tone of black (like 98% black), makes the text richer and easier on the eye. However, this will also decrease the production cost.

The paperstock of the book are recycled office paper. I wanted to use plant based inks but there are only a few printers in South Africa that print with these types of inks. In binding the book, I decided to call in the expertise of a professional book binder near me. In the end, I'm proud to say that I have designed a hard cover book.