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Design Category
Book design, 2003
Design firm
Murphy Design Inc. (San Diego, California)
Collection
(2004) 50 Books/50 Covers of 2003
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Rob and Christian Clayton wanted to celebrate more than 10 years of painting together as brothers, collaborators and friends. I was invited to work as a catalyst, organizer, producer and friend. The overall process was a celebration of what makes the Clayton brothers so special—a back and forth process that was much like solving a puzzle. Our intent was to look through thousands of images and decide which created the best flow and rhythm for this volume’s content.
The approach invited exchange, open collaboration and discussion about image-based pages, and how to provide narrative to the reader without typesetting endless copy. The process of elimination, addition and then doing it over again took place over the course of six months. The end goal was to capture special moments on high-quality pages printed with premium care. All materials were archival, and heavy hours of production time were invested to capture the essence of color and texture on every page.
The impact was a complete sellout of the first edition of 4,000 within three months. The book has inspired many fans of art as the Claytons experienced sellout crowds at art openings and book signings on the West and East coasts.