Dangerously good design for Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice

I thought our CAIP blog visitors may like to hear straight from the artist designer who has designed our cover for the book "Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice, Inquiries for Hope and Change". James Dangerous from Calgary, Alberta, is one of the most knowledgeable designers I have ever worked with in terms of the history of typography and typeface and the art of letterforms. An artist and "interdisciplinarian" James is also a musician, writer, editor and poet as well as an actor... and (soon-to-be) father.

In the post below James Dangerous generously explains his design process:

"The design of the text—being for a book of many parts and visions—is complex yet intended to read simply. The bulk of the book is set in the Adobe Caslon family, as it a classic-style typeface with a plethora of stylistic variations and ornamental options. This allows for a clean, modern look to the text while gesturing towards the weight and trace of historic authority, while allowing a wild amount of creative variation when needed.

Many of the titles and subheads in the book are set in Arno pro, a typeface that has many of the same positive qualities of Adobe Caslon (modern-yet-classic, many variations, etc.) but is much more suitable and adaptable for titling. The sans face used for captions and some subtitles in the book is Bell Gothic, a clear and functional face with small radical flourishes: traditionally associated with the avant-garde, Bell is a wonderfully adaptable and useful sans serif type. Each of the book's major sections are heralded with the use of a font mimicking an old Dymo label-maker. Aside from adding a bold splash of contrast to the opening section, it gestures towards a "hands-on" approach to creativity in interdisciplinary practice, as well as helping the book develop a strong design identity (i.e., utilizing the classical-yet-modern stylings of Arno and Caslon to show erudition and a familiarity with history, Bell to gesture towards avant-garde approaches, and Dymo to gesture towards an idea of bricolage).

Pages are set according to a very tight grid based on the lead: 0.2312", to be precise. Margins are also based on the lead, with the proportions of 3:3:4:5. Using a tight grid allows for a precise uniform sense of layout, enabling good spacing and gutters, and yet it can be manipulated in a very precise way to allow for interesting and dynamic layout of pictures, captions, tables, and more. The margins themselves can be "violated" by having type, text, or image bleed into the margins; as long as the items laid out thusly remain on the grid, they can puncture the margins without offending the eye. There are thirty-four gridlines across the page and forty-two from top to bottom, giving an immense range of space to play in while keeping a strong sense of precision.

With regards to the cover, the "butterfly" theme could easily stray into a thematic design more associated with less important and rigorous works than Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice. Fairly or not, the butterfly could easily be misinterpreted as "frilly" or "flaky", as its importance as a symbol of transformation, rebirth, weightlessness, and beauty have been appropriated many times by less-than-skilled artisans of the visual metaphor.

In the case of Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice, Inquiries for Hope and Change a butterfly of living grass grows on dead paper. This has the suggestion of creativity allowing life to bloom where it did not before, as well as gesturing towards creative mediums (paper, canvas, etc.) The grass is also a landscaper's sod, as opposed to wild meadowgrass: this is a cultivated and urban life, rather than one of the wilderness. The cover uses Arno Pro and Bell Gothic Typefaces to present a face that is uniform with the interior of the book.

About James Dangerous

James Dangerous edits and designs non-fiction books of all sorts. He also designs filling Station magazine, and—with his wife, Jocelyn Grossé—edits the non-fiction section of the same magazine. His most radical design work has been seen in posters and packaging for musical acts. Many designers begin as visual artists; James found his way into the field via an enduring love of typography.

As a writer, James has published fiction, poetry, non-fiction and more in Canada and Sweden, and free-lanced as an interviewer and reviewer, most notably in FFWD Weekly. He also loves to draw and read comics, and occasionally releases graphic reviews of graphic novels.

When he's not designing, writing, or drawing, James works as a musician. He leads the nine-piece radical country band, James Dangerous & the CIA; homeless children, animal lovers, political junkies, senior citizens, and death metal enthusiasts have all delighted in the CIA's music as they've brought their boundlessly enthusiastic live show to everything from charities to metal bars. James also plays lead guitar in The Ogden Owls, Bowser's Brood, and with Elise Hall-Meyer's solo work; he frequently sits in with bands Haggard Beat, crime scene inFUNKstigation, and The Pickled Hicks. Much of his live music performance borrows heavily from his days as an actor working in theatre — He hopes to re-engage in film and performance in the future.

His latest adventure is fatherhood.



Visit James Dangerous at www.jamesdangerous.com


About Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice,
Inquiries for Hope and Change

Meet our editors

Available July 2010.