Vicereines of Ireland Academic Book by Jurga Rakauskaite-Larkin Receives the A' Design Award in Print and Published Media Design

The Work

Project

Vicereines of Ireland Academic Book

Function

Academic Book

Category

Print and Published Media Design

Discipline

Communication Design

Industry

Branding & Advertising and Entertainment

Colors

Light Gray, Rosy Brown, Thistle, Dim Gray and Gray

Images

5

Client

The Office of Public Works

The Recognition

Laureate

Jurga Rakauskaite-Larkin

Country

Ireland

Recognition

A' Design Award

Edition

2021 - 2022

Design ID

#135430

Credits

Team

Myles Campbell, Mary Heffernan, Irish Academic Press and Kopa Print

Image Credits

Image #1 Unknown artist, The Right Hon. The Countess of Buckinghamshire (detail), 1778. Reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland Image #2 Ausra Lazauskiene, Marbling artist Image #4 Robert French (photographed by), The vicereine’s boudoir at the Viceregal Lodge, Dublin, Reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland. Image #5 After Sir Thomas Lawrence, Lady Henrietta Cole, Lady Grantham, later Countess de Grey, National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh Henri Gascar, Frances Talbot (née Jennings), Duchess of Tyrconnell, Bridgeman Images. Maria Phipps, Countess of Mulgrave, later Marchioness of Normanby Montego Bay, Jamaica, Photograph by Scott Wicking, reproduced courtesy of the Marquis and Marchioness of Normanby. Photographer: Kevin Fox, 'We Shoot'

Design Details

Unique Properties

Aim of the design was to capture rich material world, and also to reflect these women's humanity. The choice of a simple cover rather than grand portrait, that mainly appear on the covers of art history books, reflects this approach. The gilded frame that usually surrounds many portraits is placed not around the portrait image but behind it, on the hard cover, allowing the image of the woman to come forward. It encourages reader to look beyond the superficial image of women as decorative partners to powerful men.

Inspiration

The book tells the untold story of a group of overlooked women in Irish history. As the wives of the countrys rulers, they were the female faces of the British administration in Ireland before independence. Even though their privileged world was one of shimmering fabrics, sparkling pearls and blossoming flowers, many of these women worked hard to relieve crushing poverty, promote Irish fashion and mitigate injustices. Despite their pioneering efforts, they have long been almost entirely forgotten in Irish history. Their story, and the value of telling it for the first time, inspired the project.

Research

The research for the design grew out of several years of original research for the book. This research was carried out in public and private archives across Ireland, Britain and the USA, and attracted funding from bodies including the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. The main sources were the letters and diaries of these women, as well as their private collections of textiles, sketches and personal objects. One of the most inspiring of these objects was the paint palette of one of the women featured in the book. The book's colour scheme was taken from the blush pink paint colours that have survived on the palette since the 1780s.

Challenge

As an academic book, there were specific design conventions which had to be followed. The challenge was to strike a balance between meeting these criteria and reflecting the seriousness of the book's content, while also pushing the creative boundaries to modernise the image of the art history book. A bold colour palette, unexpected cover image (and application of it), use of a ribbon bookmark inspired by the diaries of the vicereines and the choice of contemporary serif typography all helped to overcome this challenge.

Realization and Technology

The making of the book was a dialogue between the written content, the visual material discovered during the research, and current design practices. One of the key sources used in the writing of the book was an old Italian marbled notebook that belonged to one of the women. This inspired the creation of artwork for the book's end papers. The book's colour palette was sent to an artist, who created six bespoke patterns using a traditional spot marbling technique. After selecting the most suitable, the pattern was digitally manipulated to give this traditional pattern a contemporary look.

Project Duration and Location

Project started in 2019 and was finished in 2021 in Dublin, Ireland.

Specifications

Size: 21.46 x 2.79 x 24.51 cm portrait, Cover: Hardcover with Luxor 220 Gold foil block on the front and spine Dust jacket with Matt Black foil block on the front and spine, Printed: 4/4 CMYK, Binding: Hardcover, head and tail gold bands, 2.5 mm boards, thread sewn, Black silk ribbon, Repro: Images supplied digitally, image and colour corrections, One set of digital colour proofs

Keywords

book, irishdesign, irishculture,