Snip: A barbershop talk

Posted: December 14th, 2009 | Author: Marcelo | Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

This book was inspired by my interest in exploring one cultural aspect of Toronto. A photograph of a barber was the inspiration that helped to choose Barbershops as a topic.

Process and Methodology

I started by going around different shops and taking pictures of each place, trying to get familiarized with the topic. The other source of information and content for the book was a basic interview. It helped me to understand what were some of the thoughts and concerns that barbers have in Toronto.

Once these materials were gathered, I was able to analyze and begin to sketch and try different layouts until I reached to the solution that felt to be the most suited.

With the layouts and test prints done, the next step was to produce the book (print and bind).

The book

The book is mainly photography based. It can be read as a series of images that allow the reader to have a good understanding to this ‘world.’ Furthermore, the interview topics were arranged to create five chapters that explain what a barbershop is.

The five chapters are:

– Beginnings: a look at how each barber started.

– Changes: what are the main transformation that took place and how barbers feel about them.

– Being a barber: what it means to be a barber and how they see their own profession.

– Clients: who they are and what is the barber’s relationship with them.

– Stories: famous stories that can only happen at these shops.

In terms of design and art direction, I’ve decided to create a layout that enhances and let each photograph to be seen and experienced. The text and the small collage also helps to enhance the ‘barbershop feel,’ where different stories, people, and generations are mixed and blended together.

Colour wise, I chose to use a bright cyan/turquoise colour and a gray tone. They work well together, balancing each other and also can be related to some of the iconic products found in those places (i.e. the barbicide).

The folio was also treated to resemble the traditional barbershop pole (red striped).

Physical aspects

The book size is 7 in x 8.5 in. This size was chosen to allow an easy and comfortable reading experience, but with a big enough size to let the photographic details to be seen.

The paper is Euro Art 100lb. text matte coated. It provides enough thickness and weight to the book without being too thick to flip through it.

The cover uses the same paper, but has a matte lamination and was wrapped around a thing cardboard, giving enough stiffness, but not too stiff as it would be if the cover was a traditional hard cover.

Personal thoughts

I really enjoyed the whole process of designing this book. Every step had its own challenges and questions, but it still provided a good amount of pleasure and fun. I personally would like to develop this book so that it could show even more pictures and interviews. It was a great journey!

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