A dictionary story book

When it comes to typography language always comes first. This might seem like a fairly obvious statement to make but to find this harmony between content and form is incredible hard.

It was the first problem I came across when I started making books and it stemmed from being both author and designer. There is a need to achieve legibility but also have a strong visual aesthetic. I don’t think they are exclusive but at times they can be at odds.

An example of exploring this balance came about in a project called a ‘dictionary story’. Initially the project started as a short narrative in which certain words from the dictionary became living characters that met each other –

“Springs next victim was Lawless who was rejoicing in being knocked away from such a boring neighbour as Lawful. Lawless landed straight on top of Lawn which suddenly became very unruly. After some time Lawn was no longer and in its place sat Jungle, happily spreading its creepers across the page.”

From exploring the meaning in writing it was then applied it to its design. As I came to set the type I realised, by creating two columns, you could have the story running in one whilst the definitions of the words ran in the other.

The final element to ‘a dictionary story’ was the typographic illustrations. Here I used the definitions to illustrate what was happening in the narrative.

This project hopefully goes some way to explaining some of my thoughts around language and design.

With a dictionary story I was exploring the idea of ‘reading environments’ and what happens when you become ‘lost’ inside a book. I wanted to see what happen if words could take on their own meaning without the help of the reader.

I became interested in books because they are the objects that house our knowledge - they are the place where previous generations stored what they knew. I also love the fact that a dictionary has the ability to say everything that can be ever said, it contains all the stories imaginable but just not in the right order !

The edition is limited to 100 signed copies. Circle Press, London, 2005.Getty Research Institute USA.
Tate Gallery UK
V&A museum UK
The British Library UK
Museum of Modern Art New York US
The National Poetry Library UK
Smith College USA
Stanford University USA
Swarthmore College USA
Chelsea College of Art London UK
Wellesley College USA
Scripps College USA
Lafayette College USA
Camberwell College of Art London, UK