In 2019, I created a printed a book containing my partner Hayden's poetry, paired with my own photos and graphics. This was an exercise in typesetting and layout as well as creative interpretation.
I gathered and read as much of Hayden’s poetry as I could find. I also read some of her favorite works from poets like Anis Mojgani and Bill Moran. The imagery and style that emerged from their work helped form the visual style and title. 'hert' is a combination of the Poet's initials, H.E.R., and her work's sometimes painful themes.
I collected samples from a few printers and decided on a perfect bind for the finals. The ‘hert’ book became a meaningful memento and special coffee table book for our friends and family to read.
I took from this a better sense of the printing process from planning and layout, to binding and bleeds. A physical vessel for my design was a nice departure from the purely digital projects that fill most of my time.
A sequel titled 'dhert' will be next, this time exploring themes of earth, mud, dust and finding our place amongst it.
