KEIK Design Bureau, based in Greece, designed this amazing 70x100cm silkscreen poster dedicated to the space, where our favorite stories are kept safe…
“Our bookshelves shape our virtual “spaces”, where the voices of our favorite authors and their characters are placed next to each other, creating in that way unique “maps” of stories. For every bookshelf there is a different navigation between the collective past, the imaginary future and our relevant experiences in the present.”
The Design
Poster named “Tell me a story from before I can remember”, as a small tribute to Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life”.
The design draws a bookshelf, which contains 100 books divided in 5 categories ( Fiction, Language & Philosophy, History & Geography, Arts & Films, Science Fiction ). KEIK Design Bureau waw interested in the notion that a bookshelf’s primary image is being formed through the spines of its contents. 100 different spines were illustrated, trying to balance traditional and modern patterns, without the element of the typography in the titles. That was decided cause in a distance, the letters in a spine start to blur and create solid blocks of color and shapes. After a while you can locate a book with just a quick scan through the visual impression of the spines. Spines were illustrated having in mind the little details that we love to find in books. Elegant ornaments, little animal logotypes, old fashioned binding techniques and powerful patterns, combined together to form the identity of our (your) bookshelf.
Every book is connected with a relevant phrase, located in the table of contents. In that way the characteristic nature of a title was kept, but in a more subtle way. The invented “titles” are phrases, quotes and references based from favorite books, magazines, film scripts and graphic novels. Every one of them is placed accordingly in the 5 categories, trying to build a deconstructed story throughout the timeline of the bookshelf. For example you find the title “09. Collective Self Narratives” in the Fiction category, “45.Cabinet of Curiosities” in the Arts & Films category and “85.Seashells and Tree rings ” in the History & Geography category.
The typography of the poster was used in order to accompany and continue the bookshelf’s grid in a “periodic table” method and to connect the horizontal navigation between the spines and the titles.
Enjoy below and buy here: Bigcartel
The Silkscreen Printing Procedure
Τhe method of screen printing was chosen in order to find a connection between the traditional book binding and printing techniques. The high resistibility in time makes a screen printed poster a valuable artifact, just like a good old artbook. The 70x100cm poster was screen printed with 2 colors on 10 main color combinations on a variety of papers and materials. In general almost 40 different combinations of colors and paper were produced in total of 100+ signed and numbered prints. That led to many limited editions and experimental results. The large format was decided, in order to achieve the maximum similarity with a real bookshelf size as possible.
Color Variations:
Purchase at: Bigcartel
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