School is back in full swing and I’m excited to start sharing some of the fun projects I was busy working on over the summer months. First up, this legacy photography book project checked both the “meaningful” and “creatively challenging” boxes so I had to say yes…

When Becky initially contacted me, she had already asked her dad, an amateur (and very talented) photographer to make a book of his lifelong favorite images. In addition to highlighting his favorites, she wanted to him to share the “why” –  what moved him to take the photo, what was most meaningful to him about the moment. The goal was to have a record of both his images and his thoughts to share with her sisters.  The book on the left below was his first draft.

Becky turned to me for help elevating the design and content of her dad’s first draft. We cleaned up and added to his stories and put the focus back on his amazing imagery.

It was a privilege to work with Stuart’s beautiful library of images he has captured throughout his life. However, one of the first things I did was highlight more images of him, the photographer, in the book (note to self: kids want to see the person behind the camera!).

We kept the general organization themes the same, with a focus on his various exhibits and travel photos. However, rather than having one page full of the 8 photos that he exhibited, we gave those each of those images their own page and space to breathe. He appreciated that the images in the book now looked like how he matted and framed them for an actual exhibit. This cleaner design layout approach gives the reader the chance to really slow down and appreciate his special images.

We ended the book with a selection of personal favorites that did not fit neatly into either of the Exhibit or Travel categories. 

Of all the changes we made, I think my favorite new addition to the final book was the note to his daughters on the last page paired with a great image of him, in his element.

Through much collaboration and communication between designer, daughter and photographer, I am pleased to say we arrived at a final product that will not only be passed on to his three daughters, but many more copies were ordered to share with other special people in Stuart’s life.