Next steps

Okay, so I had an idea for my folio, but I’m not sure how effective this will be. I’ll experiment and see what can I do to make sure it is useful and entertaining at the same time!

I’ve pretty much set on the idea of creating a book that is a collection of stories or conversations that take place in a barber shop. This means it can be basically about anything. The choice or guide will be the stories that the barbers I visit actually tell!

In terms of the book as a physical object, I’m thinking of it being french-fold, with a taller/narrower dimension. Still not sure, but this is one possible direction I might want to take my book!

The next step is to actually think of my experimental book! Any suggestions?

Book Blueprint

My book is about barber shops. I am particularly interested in understanding these places both culturally and visually. Barber shops offer a wide range of people coming together and becomes a place where stories are shared.

What have I figured out so far

So far, I have gone out to 5 different shops, taking a lot of pictures and interviewing some of the barbers (most of them owners).

Here’s a sample interview.

I think I was able to see very different types of shops and they allow me to get a better glimpse of what I’m trying to do.

I have also tried to research some books about barber shops and must confess that it’s been a very though task. I’ve got some very detailed book manuals that explain in depth what someone who wants to become a barber should know.

I’ve also watched a couple of movies where somehow the story ties to the barber shop context (Barbershop and Rushmore). Watching those movies was very entertaining and also give me a better understanding of what these places really are: a social environment.

What do I still have to do

The next steps are really figuring out what this book should really be about. I don’t want it to just be a photographic collection and arrangements of images in sequence, nor a manual or ‘how to’ book on this subject. I’d like to do a book that explores the barber shop idea on a more conceptual level.

So the main thing I need to do is start experimenting with some of the pictures I took and see what I can do to bring this book to the ‘next level.’ I also need to gather more stories and transcribe the interviews.

Inspiration Sources

My inspiration sources have actually been taking pictures of the places and being able to talk to the barbers. I’ve watched Barbershop, which gives a lot of insight on the cultural relevance of these shops especially in the African-American context.

Another source of inspiration are old-school photography and typography. Letterpress posters and other materials created decades ago have become a great source of visual stimuli. Lastly, I’ve been listening a lot to the tracks that are listed on Brian Gossett’s web site. It’s mostly tracks based on city heists, but I find the genre to very inspirational for my topic too!

What’s still fuzzy in my mind

I still don’t know what the final book will be about. I guess I still need to answer the question of what is a barber shop and what’s their cultural relevance today?

What kind of graphic approach will be best suited? Not to mention typeface(s).

How can I explore this theme in a different/unusual way?

What I’d like to ask the class

Any sources/inspiration I can look at? Is there any other way I can tackle my book? What else can it be?

What is a barber shop to you?

Sewing

Yesterday Reg showed us some book binding techniques and right after I came across this animation of a sewing machine. I kept staring at it for a few minutes… very amusing!

Found here.

It’s pizza time!

So I just presented my Basic Binding exercise today. I decided to create a little recipe book on how to make pizza from scratch. I liked the challenge of having to design something with a very few pages. I had to be able to show a good overview, but with enough instructions so that people can actually follow it to make their own pizzas!

I realized that I also really like the square format. Reg’s suggestion of using a proportion that is related to your book subject does help a lot!

Barbershop

Just watched Barbershop and it was a great comedy movie! It showed a lot of the social context that these places have in the African-American culture. Although the context of a lot of the Canadian barber shops that I visited are different, I think it’s important to understand a little bit of the context and types of relationships that can be formed.

I really hope I can get great stories and insights from some of the shop owners.

Updates on my book

So today I took the whole day to go around downtown Toronto taking pictures of some of the barber shops. All of them were really nice and welcoming! I was able to get some good shots, but I still feel like I need to get better pictures, especially of them in “action.”

The next steps are to get to talk and interview them maybe during this coming week. Saturday is a busy day and I felt like it wasn’t a good time to talk to them.

To do list

So here are things to do:

• write a waiver form

• go out and visit different barber shops around the city

• take photos!

• transcribe the interviews

That’s what I have to do so far!

Book Topic

So my book topic will be about barber shops. I thought it’d be an interesting topic to explore since there are a lot of them that are disappearing. I am specially interested in exploring the common elements as well as the quirks of these places.

I’m also planning on getting to know more about the owners of these shops. They probably have great stories that took place in these places and it would nice to know even their own stories of how they set their shops up and what was it like to be a barber many years ago.

If you have any suggestions of books, magazines, movies or any other kind of resource, feel free to let me know!

Show & Tell

The book I’d like to present this time is one of my favorites. It’s Martin Venezky’s “It is beautiful—then gone”. I really love his graphic style and his dedication to graphic design. The book is a collection of Venezky’s work throughout the years with an interview in which he is able to explain more about his background, education, and some significant projects.

Martin seems to be really drawn to cataloging and collecting a great number of objects, laying them out one by one until the objects or graphics create a visual style and language of its own. This attitude of cataloging different images of the same subject is emphasized throughout the entire book.

For those who judge a book by its cover

The Book Cover Archive is a great place to see a great number of book covers. It has a good number of titles and also offers a brief information on the designer and main typeface. You can also search for book covers by publishers, art directors, authors, etc.