Indecision (for the better)

This week I've mostly been exploring more logos and typefaces. Although I like the name "The Book Keep," at this point I think I'm going to keep my options open and explore some additional possibilities and images just so I'm not limiting myself and this project turns out to be the best it can be. My first critique is on Tuesday (yikes!) and by that time I'm planning on having 3 different potential names and at least 3 different logos for each name. I'd also like to have at least one bozzetto to demonstrate the direction I'd like to go with the author portraits.

Also in the area of my research, I've started reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Since I'm planning on doing a portrait of Jules Verne, as he is one of the pioneers of science fiction, I thought it would be necessary to read at least one of his works. I'm enjoying it thus far!

Finally, I may have a lead on custom shelves. One of my friends, Mary, said that her dad loves making shelves as a hobby and is pretty affordable. He's in the Cleveland area, which isn't so bad since it's close to wear I live. So hopefully I will hear back from her this weekend as to whether he'd be willing to help me out!


And more Bookshelf Porn for your viewing pleasure. This is a bike shelf. Very interesting, it would be fun to try to incorporate quirky objects like this into shelves...

Portrait Plans

To give character of the interior of my bookstore, I've decided to paint 3 author portraits to go along with each of the genres I want the bookstore to specialize in. I'm pretty excited about this, as it will also let me incorporate my studio art major and my love for painting people. So here are the authors:

Fantasy: J.R.R. Tolkien

Sci-Fi: Jules Verne












Horror: H.P. Lovecraft












Right now I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to be doing with them--I'm thinking of either incorporating them into a scene from one of their stories, or adding a single more subtle element to the portrait (i.e. a smoke ship coming from Tolkien's pipe, etc) and decorating the frames. I'll probably start the sketching soon, getting materials, and by the end of the semester having a bozzetto for each portrait; this isn't something I should procrastinate on, for my sanity's sake.

What's in a Name?

So I think I've settled on what I'd like to call my little bookstore: The Book Keep. This name indicates that the store will have more of a fantastic leaning (Keep=Castle Keep) I think, and will allow me to play with the combination of castle and book imagery. I'm still in the sketching phase of the logos; I seem to have a lot of ideas, but nothing looks quite right drawn out yet.



























More Bookshelf Porn. I've always loved hidden passage ways in bookshelves.


EDIT: After seeing the picture above, Aleece was nice enough to give me a website of a company in Columbus, Secret Doorways, that actually these doors! They're pretty darn expensive, but hey, maybe if I unexpectedly come into a lot of money....

Blargity Blog

“These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.” - Gilbert Highet, Scottish-American classicist

After working like crazy on a project for Monoprint, I unfortunately haven't had much time since Tuesday to work on logos. My goal is to have some solid ideas and sketches by Tuesday which will hopefully evolve into a single great logo by the end of the week.

I have been keeping a little black capstone book though, where I just jot down ideas, and lately I've been thinking about materials. If anyone knows where I can find:

a) A good used bookstore so I can start buying books to fill shelves (and some to commit book violence against and mutilate for collage purposes).

b) A flea market sort of place where I can find cheap and interesting chairs and tables and possibly bookshelves. My cheapest bookself option is WalMart at the moment, and they're just 7ft tall black shelves for $25 each, but if I can find something more interesting than plain flat black that might be nice.

I've also come across another blog that's good for inspiration, Marc Fitten's Indie 100. Mr. Fitten is an author who's traveling across the country to promote his new book at independent bookstores. He does a little write up on each one and includes pictures, so it's cool to see the different personalities these bookstores can take on, from the signage to the interiors.

'Tis all!

Bookshelf Porn and Emailing the Future

It's not as X-rated as it sounds. I've found the most wonderful blog for inspiration, called Bookshelf Porn. It features beautiful pictures of bookshop interiors from around the world, and I can't get enough of it.

























http://bookshelfporn.com/

It's definitely a good resource for gathering ideas and elements that will give my brand a certain feel and aesthetic. I'm liking the cluttered, yet cozy, feeling that many of them have...the antithesis of the cold modern look with the clean sharp lines. I've got my eye on a certain corner of the gallery that I think will work perfectly. In other news, I'm coming closer to coming up with a name and I'm tossing around a few logo ideas...but a post with pictures will come when I'm a bit more confident in the direction.

Emailed my future self, right before the capstone show. I hope that she's not having a nervous break down and still has as much love for this project as I do now. But I can only offer last minute encouragement.

All Systems Are Go

I have finally pitched my proposals! It was slightly torturous waiting a week to figure out what direction I'm going, because I just want to work. But I am now officially going to take off working on branding an independent bookstore!

Here are the details. Basically, I've always wanted to own an independent bookstore (and live in an apartment above it with a bookstore dog, but I think that's beyond the scope of my project). But one thing that I think a lot of small bookstores are lacking, which probably leads to failure in many cases, is specialization. I'm planning on branding a sci-fi/fantasy/horror bookshop and physically creating a space for it. One of the most important things to me in a bookstore is how it feels; I like to be surrounded by books, comfy chairs, cozy spaces, and creativity. And now I get to create it. I want bookshelves collaged with pages (yes, I know, a lot of used book violence may be committed here), perhaps the shelves that make books appear to "float," portraits of iconic authors to adorn the shelves of their genre, a logo, a (wooden?) sign, bags, a website, employee t-shirts, business cards, bookmarks, comfy chairs, coffee tables, and much more that I can't think of off the top of my head.

I already have endless enthusiasm and love for this project. And I think that's a good sign.

Now to think of a name for it...