Graphic design ephemera from the Edna Taçon book + AGO exhibition. See it at @agotoronto until Aug 30, or in the book, which is finally live on my site 💻🥲
Edna Taçon: Verve and Decorum opens this afternoon at the AGO.
Designing this book felt like being given a gift. Discovering Edna’s work and learning about her life, mining through the incredible ephemera and graphic design of the time, and being a fly on the wall during the study days last spring felt incredibly special.
A true multidisciplinary artist, her work and many talents (hat designer!) extended far beyond painting.
It marks so many firsts for me: my first commission after mat leave, and my first independent book project. Thank you to everyone at the AGO, the Taçon family, and every single person who helped bring it to life. This book is really special.
I hope everyone gets a chance to see the exhibition and learn about this incredible artist.
WARBURG SPREADS from Jesse Mockrin: Echo. The book features Warburg-style spreads that reflect Mockrin’s thorough research process, gathering hundreds of references from Baroque paintings to pop culture figures like Hunter Schafer, Timothée Chalamet, and Rihanna (with plenty of easter eggs). Inspired by Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas, the spreads are organized into themes: Witches, Solomons, Daphnes, Sabines, and Magdalenes, running through the book as endpapers and visual interludes. Echoing the handmade quality of the original Atlas, the images were hand trimmed with the help of Kathryn Yuen and photographed in the studio by Paul Weeks.
@jessemockrin / @adamlevineago / @weeks52 / @kathrynyuen / @jimshedden / @agotoronto
I AM HERE: Home Movies and Everyday Masterpieces
Exhibition catalogue for the beautifully curated show by Jim Shedden and Alexa Greist, featuring an incredible archive of home movies from Rick Prelinger and artwork from many generous contributors.
Designed with Gilbert Li and Alison Hahn, this book came together just as the exhibition brought us back together in person after the pandemic.
I focused on what we jokingly called the “I AM HERE moments,” the trickier parts of the design that needed extra care. Figuring out a folio system that combined page numbers, captions, artist names, and tombstones all on the same spread. Finding a way to show as many Prelinger stills as possible without overwhelming the page. Working on the spreads that broke the grid. Marking up diagrams for Fiona Smyth’s hand-lettered openers so the letters wouldn’t fall into the gutter. All the satisfying and brain-breaking invisible puzzle-solving work designers do.
We documented the project ages ago but never got around to posting. The show is long gone, but the book is HERE.
Cover and title lettering by Fiona Smyth. Documentation by Paul Weeks.
Big thanks to everyone who contributed to the publication and exhibition, especially the AGO publication team.
BOOK DESIGN for Bertram Brooker: When We Awake!
Getting to know Brooker’s work and creative range through Michael Parke-Taylor’s research was one of the most rewarding parts of the project. One of Canada’s first abstract painters, Brooker was also a true multidisciplinary artist. An ad executive by day, he worked as a graphic designer, illustrator, novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, actor, musician, and art critic.
The book design aims to feel modern and timeless, with a structure that speaks to both designers and readers. Typeset in Gerstner-Programm from @forgotten_shapes
Grateful to Michael and the entire team at the @mcmichaelgallery for being such thoughtful collaborators.
Designed at @toogldesign with Gilbert Li.
Photos by @weeks52 , who continues to photograph my work with such care.
