I had to create a mood of 1916 Dublin, where two boys fall in love while one teaches the other to swim.

I used handset 1916 typography, and tried to depict the sense of “jumping in”—a quality these 2 brave boys must have felt—while maintaining the gritty, aged look of old Dublin.

I am happy with the pause that is created between the two parts of the title—At Swim…Two Boys—almost as if it was two titles. I also love the photo (it was hard to find art from Ireland in 1916).