‘Peter Blake: Collage’ is a major new monograph dedicated to the artist’s groundbreaking exploration of collage, featuring a foreword from David Hockney and published by Thames & Hudson, in association with Waddington Custot. We designed a book which mirrors the eclectic nature of Peter Blake’s work.
Not a typical exhibition catalogue.
Waddington Custot briefed us to design a book that was a joyous celebration of Peter’s work, appealing to his diverse fan base. The solution was to produce a book that didn’t conform to the familiar model of typical exhibition catalogues.
We took inspiration from Peter Blake’s love of type.
Why limit ourselves to one typeface, when Peter, in his own work, would never do this. Overall, 30 different typefaces were either designed, customised or sourced from his artworks and library of references.
For the cover, we went for a graphic approach that spoke to the artist’s appreciation of simple geometric shapes, while referencing key artworks.
The colours chosen are what Peter has used and continues to use repeatedly in his work. The typeface is our own redrawing of Caslon Egyption, chosen for it’s slight imperfections
We aimed to push the design and the production of this book so that the outcome shares a measure, even if it’s a small measure, of Peter’s creative playfulness, his love of colour and lettering. In doing so, we hope the book is a rewarding reading experience to those who value Peter’s work most, his ever growing fanbase.
