These books have the most cunning binding of all - none!
Spineless Classics are posters that contain the entire text of classic works of literature, cunningly set so that the text creates a silhouetted shape related to the book. They are primarily meant as decoration, rather than to be read, but it is possible to read them if you don't mind climbing a wall and squinting at them. I will focus on their design, both how well it looks and how it relates to the book's content.
As with all endeavours, some are more successful than others.
... I'm going to try really hard not to just repost their entire list, but bear with me. Here goes:
The text has been arranged in narrow columns to form the silhouette of a boy's face and hand, and Tinkerbell. The remaining space has been left white.
Once again, an apt use of typeface for the title and author name. The text-image is a clever reworking of a classic image for this story. I particularly like how the columns of text form the towers of the Emerald City.
This design is very plain. The only embellishment is in the title and author name, which act as a boxed centrepiece to a field of near-solid text. The focus is on the fancy lettering of the title, not the text as in the more illustrative designs. The design resembles the plain covers or title pages of old-fashioned books, but the overall effect is too simple for my tastes.
The second version forgoes the title and author name altogether. Instead, it makes dual use of the text as silhouette and backdrop, outlining the shapes of a woman in profile and a ship. The design is immediately evocative of the main emotional conflict of the story, and I believe it is far more successful than the plainer option.
Spineless Classics are posters that contain the entire text of classic works of literature, cunningly set so that the text creates a silhouetted shape related to the book. They are primarily meant as decoration, rather than to be read, but it is possible to read them if you don't mind climbing a wall and squinting at them. I will focus on their design, both how well it looks and how it relates to the book's content.
As with all endeavours, some are more successful than others.
... I'm going to try really hard not to just repost their entire list, but bear with me. Here goes:
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| Peter Pan, 700x1000mm |
The text has been arranged in narrow columns to form the silhouette of a boy's face and hand, and Tinkerbell. The remaining space has been left white.
The silhouette is skilfully done and evocative of the story, but I feel that it is a very neutral portrait. The boy (Peter?) is in profile, with his face apparently at rest. There is no emotion, whereas this is a story of adventure and excitement. All in all, the image is competent, but not satisfactory.
The title and author, however, I do like. The font used is very ... piratical. Most suitable!
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| The Secret Garden, 700x1000mm |
This one gets it: here the text fills most of the page as the garden wall, door and girl. The partial obscuration of the title and author name behind the door is a good touch for a book about discovering hidden things.
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| The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 500x700mm |
Next, a comparison of the two available options for Jane Austen's Persuasion.
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| Persuasion, Version 1, 1189x841mm |
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| Persuasion, Version 2, 700x1000mm |
Samples collected: 7 July 2012
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