ONE TITANIC YEAR LATER (post 4)

One important decision to be made when designing any book is far too often an overlooked one, the paper stock. The paper plays a vital part in how a book feels and looks. Certain stocks take ink very well while others are more resistant. For this book I went down the road of mould made papers. These tend to be heavy, soft and usually have what's known as a deckled edge. This edge is achieved naturally in the mould and no two sheets are exactly alike because of it. I was struck with the simple fact that when stacked and viewed along their edge there is the illusion of waves at sea. After debating several I decided to go with a rough Zerkall 225gsm which is white in colour.


The book will be housed in a solid, heavy case which is very protective. The case is built around 5.8mm thick board and covered in a charcoal grey book cloth. Although not to actual size the mock up of this case is very impressive, special thanks again to Tom Duffy of Duffy Bookbinders (mentioned in the last post). The exposed binding has drawn attention. The idea is that it is symbolic of the many layers to Titanic, it's many decks and also serves to depict the nautical nature of the subject through the exposed binding chord, reminiscent of ropes. The chord's aesthetic is not finalised yet but may eventually be dyed blue and finished in sea knots. I like the juxtaposition of the meticulously printed and finished book and the rough, exposed binding. The next step in the journey of the binding is to experiment with different finishing techniques for the cover - hot foiling, debossing etc.