Limited Edition Giovanni’s Room
LIMITED EDITION GIOVANNI’S ROOM
2022
San Luis Obispo, CA
The goal was to design and bind a limited edition version of James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room for a book design class — GRC 439 Book Design Technology — at Cal Poly SLO.
The project had a turnaround time of 10 weeks and required the use of Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop. The type of stock used for this book was Neenah cotton 80-pound text with a letterpress finish in pearl white. The book was printed on a Konica Minolta AccurioPress C12000.
This project was made for educational purposes only.
CONCEPT & DESIGN OBJECTIVES
The goal of this limited edition version of Giovanni’s Room was to convey similar feelings of the original book cover’s ambiguity and heighten the events of the book through its design.
The charm on the front cover was sanded down in order to stabilize and lay flat. The Eiffel Tower represents Paris—the primary setting of the book.
The full title spread includes a lone person on the floor representing Giovanni’s room. David and Giovanni's relationship mostly takes place in Giovanni's cramped and rundown rented room on the outskirts of Paris. As a result, the room symbolizes the private and secretive nature of their affair.
I opted for Orpheus Pro as the header and title typeface because of its eye-catching open-type features. To complement it, I selected Meno Text as the body text for its clear readability. Together, these two typefaces helped to convey a sense of whimsy and uncertainty that mirrors the protagonist's journey in a society that disapproves of their sexual orientation
The blue and maroon end sheets represent Brooklyn and Paris, respectively—two notable places in the novel. The colors tie in with the emotions elicited within the two parts of the book. Blue represents sadness and shame. Maroon represents both love and passion as well as violence, alluding to the traumatic events that take place in the second half of the book.
Throughout the book, the chapter-opening photos are designed to mimic hazy recollections. They give a glimpse of the chapter’s events or setting. Each detail of the design was curated with special attention to enhance the reader’s experience as they explore the intricacies of Giovanni’s Room.
PROCESS & FINAL DELIVERABLE