Crafting Composition No. 1 (Thanks to Universal Everything)

04 July 2011

Not too long ago, someone asked us what we thought of craft: if it’s important to us and what kind of role it plays in our work. And it got us thinking. Craft, for us, is about detail, it’s about paying attention and it’s about (and this is going to sound so naff, but we mean it) loving what you do.

It’s no wonder then, that when Sam Renwick, from Universal Everything, went on press to Belgium to check in on Composition No. 1, rang us and in between questions about colour saturation and stock quality, said “I just love this stuff.”

So why did Sam go to Belgium for the day? He went to check on the colour: to see if the red was really red enough and the yellow pop enough. And to see how the black sits on the paper: too dense, not dense enough. He talked through how Salvador Plascencia’s diagrams would be folded: text out or text in. And checked (for what seemed like the hundredth time) if the paper inside the box was big enough, not too small, that there was enough room around the paper, but definitely not too much.

So back to this question of craft, the thing is, when we think of craft, we think of it as extending to everything we do: there is a craft to writing books, a craft to designing them, but also a craft to how author contracts should look and feel, there is a craft to telling stories as much as there is a craft to how those stories are shared.

And, well, lame as it may sound, there’s just a whole lotta love, too. (Not too much though, and not enough, but just the right amount).

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