Awards Book Archive

Capturing Nature: Early Scientific Photography at the Australian Museum 1857–1893
  • Shortlisted

Designed by
Klarissa Pfisterer, Pfisterer + Freeman
Category
Best Designed Literary Fiction Book
Year
2020
Publisher
NewSouth Publishing

About the Designer

With a background in design and branding in Australia and the UK, Klarissa launched Pfisterer + Freeman in 2000, specialising in book projects for publishers big and small and for independent authors with an idea or story to share. She is based at the Abbotsford Convent Arts Precinct, Melbourne.

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Design Rationale

The early scientific glass-plate photography of animal specimens from the Australian Museum are both fascinating and macabre. A strong use of black in the design, frames the eerie beauty of these black and white images and the light and spacious typography keeps the focus on the photography. The part-title and chapter opener pages reference the difficult process of plate-making with strong black backgrounds, light exposure and negative light effects. The spot UV on the cover captures the process of pouring light sensitive collodion liquid onto a fresh glass-plate and overlaid frames capture the sense of exposure and negative light.

Details
Dimensions
200 x 260 mm
No. pages
192
Credits
Internal Design
Klarissa Pfisterer, Pfisterer + Freeman
Typesetting
Pfisterer + Freeman
Printing
1010 Printing
Author
Vanessa Finney