A Collection a Day: packaging mockup

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This is a mockup of the Collection a Day packaging.

It's a tin with a hinged lid.

The actual height is indicated by the edge of the white paper.

Ever since I asked Lisa if she would allow UPPERCASE to publish her A Collection a Day project as a book, I've envisioned it packaged in a special collector's tin. Throughout 2010, Lisa documented her various collections through daily photos on her project blog. It was an incredible idea, and one that she followed through on brilliantly. However, with the excitement of her daily posts behind us, I wanted to make something lasting, tactile, hefty, covetable... all the things that one cannot accomplish virtually. Since the project is all about the love of things, whether special treasures or mundane objects made meaningful en masse, the book version of A Collection a Day takes that exuberance to heart and becomes a desireable object in itself.

As a graphic designer, it has been a dream to try my hand at packaging — to think in three dimensions and imagine something in a material and production process that is new to me. I love the challenge. Imagine with me the mockup above with a glossy finish, and two levels of embossing on the decorative band, bread tags, 3-6-5 and the title. Imagine opening the hinged tin for the first time to discover a little block of a book and gently lifting it out. You can either keep your book in the tin, or (as I have imagined it) keep small collections of your own inside the tin. The memory of my grandmother's buttons kept in a cookie tin was my inspiration. I can still recall the wonderful racket a gentle shake would make!

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In case you didn't see this earlier, here's a quick video of the book block (the block is with the tin company, otherwise I would have photographed it with the cover design on it.) Imagine 448 pages of amazing objects, beautiful design and fine typography.

Pre-order the book here on its own or as part of the book bundle.

A Collection a Day: design reveal

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The book comes packaged in a special collector's tin!

 

I'm excited to share with you the book cover, tin and sample page design for Lisa Congdon's A Collection a Day! The book is a whopping 448 pages (over one inch thick!), 6.5" x 4.5" and comes packaged in a special collector's tin.

To pre-order your copy visit our online shop. (Special pre-order price of $25, regularly $35.) This book is also available in our UPPERCASE Book Bundle: get all four of our forthcoming publications as they are published, with special features, goodies and packaging and save! The Elegant Cockroach (October 2010), Work/Life 2: the UPPERCASE directory of international illustration (March 2011), A Collection a Day (March 2011) and The Suitcase Series Volume 2: Dottie Angel (June 2011).*

A Collection a Day: book block

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Here's the small-but-hefty book mockup for Lisa Congdon's A Collection a Day. Now I've got to go and design all those pages! The special collector's tin is in progress as well and once the artwork is cleared for production, I'll share that with you as well.

(Book preorder price is $25—you save $10 when preordering. The book is also available as part of the UPPERCASE book bundle which includes The Elegant Cockroach which ships immediately, followed by Work/Life 2 in February, A Collection a Day in March and Dottie Angel in June.)

Bundle up for Christmas!

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The UPPERCASE Book Bundle is a great Christmas gift!

Receive four beautiful and unique books over the course of the next few months.

The bundle begins right away with recently published The Elegant Cockroach, a beautifully illustrated tale of a stylish creature living in the big city. For booklovers (and lovers) it is a romantic story of love, longing and six legs. The book is hardcover with black cloth and copper foil title with a full colour jacket and black endpapers. Here's a look at a sample image from inside the book. (See a short book trailer film here.)

The Elegant Cockroach is followed by Work/Life 2: the UPPERCASE directory of illustration (international edition) to be published in February. Nearly 100 illustrators from around the globe are profiled, with peeks into their studios, sketchbooks and personal lives. You can take a look at the first edition of Work/Life to get a sense of the content and design of the next edition. (Limited numbers of the first edition are still available.)

Cover illustration by Alyssa Nassner

image by Andrea D'Aquinoimage by Juliana Salcedoimage by Blanca Gómez

Then in March, we send you A Collection a Day by Lisa Congdon. I am REALLY excited about this one. Throughout 2010, Lisa has been posting an image of one of her collections every day. It is an amazing project full of incredible objects and visual inspirations. It has existed as a blog for the year, but we are turning the project into something you can hold in your hands: a small but hefty 6.5" x 4.5" tome with over 400 pages at about 1.25" thick. The book itself will be packaged inside a collectible tin, in which you can store your small collections and precious treasures. The tin design is in progress and I'll be sharing it with you soon. When purchased as part of the Book Bundle or preorders, the special tin is included at no extra charge.

In June, we send you the icing on top of the cake: The Suitcase Series Volume 2: Dottie Angel. Tif Fussell is a prolific crafter and blogger. I've prepared a short film to introduce you to Tif and her alter ego Dottie Angel, but we will have to wait a few more weeks before it makes a very special premiere. The book will be around 192 pages full of Dottie wisdom, craft how-tos, anecdotes and ramblings, pretty pictures and ponderings... The design details are still in progress, but the book will include some very special touches such as actual sewing on the cover and the inclusion of vintage fabric swatches! When purchased as part of the Book Bundle or preorders, you will receive some special extra goodies with the book. (The first book in the series was about Camilla Engman; take a look here.)

All of these amazing books will be sent to you or your recipient as they are published—The Elegant Cockroach will be sent out now so there will be something to unwrap under the tree. We can also email a Christmas e-card to your recipient to let them know what they'll be receiving in the coming months.

The bundle is just $100 and you will save off the total cover prices plus get the special extras. You also save on shipping costs by purchasing the bundle rather than each book individually. To order the bundle, please click right here.

Do you want the UPPERCASE Book Bundle for Christmas? Let your Santa know by sending him this link: http://tinyurl.com/2vsr7nd