Fine binding masterclass III: creative approaches to design binding
- Course Code: VD374
- Dates: 18/07/24 - 20/07/24
- Time: 10:30 - 16:30
- Taught: Thu-Sat, Daytime
- Duration: 3 sessions
- Location: Keeley Street
- Tutor: Sue Doggett
Course Code: VD374
Duration: 3 sessions
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
Creative design for bookbinding is often seen as a challenging part of the binding process, especially if binders feel uneasy about being 'creative'. This course aims to introduce a range of activities to help you to explore your own unique way of responding to a text and ways of engaging with the content of a book in creative and practical ways to develop your confidence in this area of design binding. Through a range of guided exercises, your tutor will encourage and support you through tasks aimed at exploring a text, and developing ways of translating these responses into a visual design. The source material on this course is the written word and we will use a range of different texts, culminating in a short story which you will use to create a small portfolio of visual responses.
What will we cover?
To begin with, there will be practical exercises to encourage exploration of the ideas generated by the textual and visual prompts using a range of simple creative processes. In between the excercises, there will be lots of discussion and workshop time in which you will have the opportunity to explore everyone's ideas and responses. Illustrated talks will introduce the concept of design for binding and different ways in which binders use materials and processes to create their work. Later in the course you will be given a short story to work with using some of the techniques you have learned to create a small portfolio of visual responses to the text. There will also be the opportunity to discuss how designs can be translated into the materials and techniques associated with fine binding but this course will not include practical demonstrations of these techniques.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- use text and image prompts to generate ideas
- identify methods and techniques for generating ideas
- use visual and textual research to develop ideas
- use simple creative processes to explore your ideas
- create a small portfolio of designs in response to a short story
- recognise a range of contemporary binders' work and their ways of working.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is aimed at those with bookbinding skills who feel they would benefit with support for their creative design work. It is also suitable for anyone working in book arts who is interested in ways of responding to and engaging with a text. A willingness to engage with creative activities in a supportive environment is important but you do not need to be an artist - so please don't be put off if you consider yourself to be 'bad at drawing' or 'not very creative'.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
- Practical workshops
- Class discussions and presentations
- 1:1 tutorials
- Illustrated talks
- Personal research and developmental work between classes is encouraged.
- Use of Google classroom.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Materials are included in the cost of the course but please bring any art materials that you like to use if you would like to. You may like to bring some decorative and coloured papers and magazines for collage work too. Please bring a sharp pencil, notebook and pen to each class as you might wish to make your own notes to supplement the course handouts.
Need art supplies? Our partner London Graphic Centre has everything you need from pencils to printing services, at 15% off.
To get an LGC discount card, students will need to show proof/ confirmation of enrolment of them being a student at City Lit. You can apply for our card in-store or by simply emailing info@londongraphics.co.uk with a scan or photo of relevant confirmation. The student discount does not apply to products that are already discounted or on offer. More information can be found here- https://www.londongraphics.co.uk/student-discounts/.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
VD412 Bookbinding: gold tooling on paper
VD361 Creative arts for bookbinding II: leather dyeing techniques
VD300 Bookbinding: gold tooling on leather
VD251 Bookbinding: decorative techniques for leather
VD370:Fine binding masterclass I: end papers.
Sue Doggett is an artist who creates hand-made books and bindings. She gained a first class honours degree in Visual Studies and Art History from Oxford Brookes University in 1985 and an MA in Design from Brighton University in 1998. She received the World Craft Council Award for Contemporary Craft in 1994 and was elected a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in 1996. She has lectured and led workshops in book arts in the UK, Europe and the USA and she currently teaches bookbinding and book arts at City Lit. As an exhibiting Fellow of Designer Bookbinders, Sue works to public and private commission including the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and she is the current editor of ‘The New Bookbinder’ journal. Her work is represented in public and private collections in Europe and USA and can be seen at the Hyman Kreitman Research Library, Tate Britain; The Folger Library, Washington DC; Yale University Library, San Francisco Center for the Book, The Bodleian Library, Oxford; The Centre for Fine Print Research, Bristol and Manchester Metropolitan Museum.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.