The “Dummy Book"
Inside the “Dummy Book”
Gluing the book into the handmade cover
Inside the finished book
Project Title: How the Other Half Lives Book
Client: No client
Duration: 5 months
Objective: Create a redesign of a How the Other Half Lives; a classic book, which was banned for revealing the squalid living conditions in the slums of New York in the 1880s. The redesign helps show how large of an issue homelessness is today.
Background: The book How the Other Half Lives was banned for the photography and the exposure of the New York Slums during the 1890s.
Research: I researched different statistics that relate back to the context of the book. I found statistics in the The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Handbook and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. I wanted statistics that supported the idea that the chapter was about. To start off the book I found a statistic that relates to the number of homeless was reported in California in 2017 (134,278). Another statistic I found was associated with different races who are homelessness in 2017 (White at 47% to Multiple races at 6.5%). also looked for inspiration for text layout, typefaces, colors and book jackets.
Strategy: Doing the research behind this book, I wanted to focus on homelessness in California, since it’s a thriving and growing state. Many people push aside the idea of homelessness being an issue in California, but it’s one of the greater issues, we struggle with as a state.
Design solution: The cover of the book (which is a sepia shade) matches the colors of the headers and data inside the book. The book jacket is a cut out of the New York skyline from the 1890s. There’s also what society considers to be your “stereotypical homeless person” on the front and the back of the jacket. Inside there are photographs that the author originally took, that had been edited to match the others. The chapters that didn’t have pictures received statistics on California homelessness in 2018 year.
Challenges: Researching statistics was difficult, especially finding something that is reliable and current. That’s why I had to go through the websites that were regulated through the state of California to get more structured statistics. Physically making the book was the challenge that I tackled. As graphic designers we are always working on our computers, and doing something with our hands is different. The most challenging process when making the book was the end product, just because I didn’t want to mess up, even though I did in a few spots.