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Design Category
Book design, 2006
Design firm
Modern Identity (New York, New York)
Collection
(2007) 50 Books/50 Covers of 2006
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A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005 presents both personal and editorial images from the past 15 years of photographer Annie Leibovitz’s career. This book is a record of a life that is at once mundane and sublime.
From a design standpoint, the project focused on respecting the photographs as photography. The rough black borders of the original prints were kept intact; the edges were kept rough, sometimes not even making it to the edge of the page. Grids of four pictures to a spread were used to create little movies throughout the book, presenting not what Cartier-Bresson would call a “decisive moment” but rather a glimpse into a “life moment.” The combination of personal and professional images introduces the reader to the odd non sequitur of a very famous life.
“Powerful! The photos speak for themselves—there’s a personal Annie whom you never knew.”