Book Title: Active and Passive Environmental Controls: Informing the Schematic Designing of Buildings 

Client/Publisher: McGraw-Hill (2003)

Role: Design, typesetting

Author: Dean Heerwagen

Size: 8 x 10 inches, case bound

This foundational architecture textbook by University of Washington professor Dean Heerwagen is, at close to 1000 pages and 4.5 pounds, the largest book I’ve designed and typeset.

Working within the publisher’s page design standards for a one-color interior, I set up a template for the chapters and then dug in to the 6-month task of flowing in the manuscript and developing the full-color cover.

The design is strictly utilitarian per McGraw-Hill’s design standards, but care was given to how a student approaches the text, making sure illustrations and charts appeared on the spread in which they were mentioned.

Six months seems like a long time for layout, but for a textbook of this scale it was a fast-paced schedule. To minimize downtime, the author and I worked out a schedule that allowed for him to review one chapter’s design while I worked on the next, while also prepping another chapter for the design phase. This meant that at any given time we would each be working on 2 or more chapters, revising one while building another. There were many late nights, but I’m pleased to say our agile approach worked and we were happy with the results.

With over 18 years of experience in agency and studio settings, Amy Redmond is a visual designer who thrives on variety, creating print and interactive work for corporate and non-profit clients. To keep her creativity refreshed, Amy balances digital design with time in her letterpress studio (Amada Press) in Seattle. She also teaches at the School of Visual Concepts.