European illustration

Photography: Lex van Pieterson

When we were initially given the task to handle the entire design for the English publication European Illustration 1983, I decided to carry it out with a small team within the studio. European Illustration describes itself as: “European Illustration has become a major event in the European publishing calendar. Drawing its material from the widest range of European publishing and mass media. It is an unparalleled showcase for the versatile talents of leading illustrators at work in Europe today.” At the start of this project, I chose to incorporate subtle humor as a guiding principle in the design. Apart from straightforward design, the thread of subtle humor runs throughout the entire book. This concept is ultimately visible in: the cover, the application of the publisher’s logo, the portraits of the jury members, incorporation of elements from the displayed illustrations and the title pages of the various categories.

On the front of the book, there’s a drawn map of Europe. To the right is a vertical bar explaining the meanings of individual map symbols (legend), such as airbrush, gouache, acrylic, pen and ink, mixed media, etc. These map symbols reappear on the map of Europe, showing, for example, that pen and ink are commonly used in the middle of France and the south of Italy. Airbrush is prevalent in the east of Germany. On the back of the book, there’s a map of North and South America, illustrating that pen and ink is also used extensively in the Amazon region. The expressive arrows shooting across the continents symbolize mutual influence. While nonsensical, when applied carefully, this can be quite usable and aesthetic.

The publisher’s logo is a black circle with the initials BC in negative space, representing Booth Clibborn. Typically, a publisher’s logo appears once in a book. In this edition, the logo appears multiple times throughout the book, as well as on the image on the trolley that depicts the jury members. This repetition ensures that readers won’t forget the logo’s form.

The jury members for this publication are all well-known names in the world of international mass media. Generally, they tend to be vain individuals. To playfully address this, we decided to portray them as small spatial objects using the principles of cubism.

The book’s layout is intentionally conventional and calm, emphasizing the visual added elements. These visual elements are fragments taken from the original illustrations, sometimes added arbitrarily to certain illustrations.

For the title pages, I created several paper objects of around 40x40x40 centimeters. These objects are made from various types of paper and bits of plastic that I found in the studio’s trash cans. This is a technique I’ve employed before. Later, I learned from a fellow designer in America that the verb “to Dumbar” originated there, referring to this approach.