Page 1: Great Expectations

Page 1: Great Expectations is an experimental book exploring the relationship between graphic design, typography and reading. The authors asked 70 international graphic designers to design the first page of the book "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. This project is enriched by the diversity of each participant graphic achievements. It well deserves its distinction at "Design Observer 50 Best Books 2012".

GraphicDesign& is a publishing house founded by Lucienne Roberts (graphic designer and design writer) and Rebecca Wright (programme director of graphic communication in St Martins school in London). Their desire is to show to readers how graphic design is connected with other areas and add value to it. The idea of this first book was to show to the public how the layout affects the perception one has of a text. The price of the book (£15) is affordable enough to be accessible to  to the largest possible number. Each of the 70 designers received the same text and were free to design the layout the way they wanted. For each study, the designer wrote a text explaining his approach. At the end of the book, you will also find a glossary of terms specific to editorial design. These three elements (price, explanations and glossary) enable everyone to enjoy this book and understand the contribution of graphic design to literature.

Spin agency has imagined how, since its first publication, Great Expectations has evolved through the ages, continents and trends. This first page summarizes all these developments.

Ian Noble insists on the role that Pip plays as the main character and narrator of the story.

Quentin Berthelot wanted to show the emotions of the hero in this first scene where he walks in the graveyard looking at the graves of his family.

The editors received a great number of explorations as varied as each other. They were classified by theme: Book, Word, Interaction, Image, Tone and History. For example, some chose work on typography, other on the format... The "Book" category includes designers who work on a layout system which can be applied to every page of the book. The "Word" category displays studies about word repetition or grammatical structures. "Interaction" explores the link between size and medium (newspaper, classical book, screen or QR code). "Image" examines the use of typography as an image. "Tone" uses the emphasis on certain words to create an atmosphere on the page. Finally, "History" includes studies that try to summarize the whole story on one page.

Experimental Jetset studio has transformed this first page into a form evoking the hero seeking to fill the gaps of his family history.

Fitzroy & Finn arranged the words in columns evoking the alleys of the graveyard where the hero walks in the first scene of the book.

Paul Luna is referring to the original medium in which was published the news, in the newspaper "All the Year Round".

I enjoyed this book a lot and recommend it to both designers and non-designers because it has a high educational value. We can only welcome this initiative from GraphicDesign & amp; which aims to explain to the largest possible number, the value that graphic design can bring to other disciplines. It is remarkable to see many possible interpretations of the same text and the impact the layout has on the perception of a text. I invite you to discover the other books from GraphicDesign & amp; on their website. Their book "Golden Meaning" connects graphic design and mathematics through the representation of the golden number has seen by 55 different designers.

Extract from "Golden Meaning".

Two more books are planned for autumn 2015. The first one is about the link between graphic design to religion and the second one between graphic design and social sciences. "Looking good" will displays illustrations of over 40 nuns outfits and explain their specificities. "Graphic Designers Surveyed" will displays a study about 2.505 graphic designers on their job. Many good reads to come!

By Thierry Fétiveau – September, 2015. All rights reserved.

Page1: Great Expectations
320 pages / 110mm × 178mm / 70 gsm
Language: english
Price: £15