National Gallery of Victoria: What’s the first step in your book design process?
Karina Soraya: The first step is to look at what will be in the publication – the images and the editorial copy – and think about the hierarchy of this content. This informs the overall look and feel of the book, including the consideration of materials such as the type of paper and the style of embellishments. I then look in more detail at the type of artworks that will be included, which helps me consider more detailed elements such as the typefaces.
If there are big main essays and shorter texts, like in Cats and Dogs, I think about how they fit in the publication alongside the images they relate to. Should the images be inset, or should they go before or after the text? Aimed for a more general audience, Cats and Dogs is a little more interactive, with the two long essays each containing inset images that the reader can refer to as they go along.
NGV: How did you develop the book’s wonderfully vibrant colour scheme?
KS: I knew that I wanted dynamically contrasting colours, to go with the idea of cats and dogs being opposites. At first, I looked at the colours that cats and dogs can see – like blue, green, yellow – but the colours weren’t that interesting. I wanted contrasting colours that were still harmonious. I took the same approach with the cover type, which is different sizes, to create that movement and tension – like the tension (and movement!) between cats and dogs.
With the colours, I did explore a few different options. Originally, I had vibrant orange and lilac purple, and another option was dark purple and teal green. Again, there’s that friction. In the end, we went with this bright red and blue – I just adjusted the red colour to make it more legible.
NGV: Which typefaces are used in the book and what was your rationale for choosing them?
KS: The serif font, which is used for the body text, is Sebenta and the san serif, used for headings, is Grosa. They are both from Feliciano Type foundry, which is based in Portugal. In keeping with the contrasting idea of cats and dogs, I chose fonts that are quite different from each other. Usually, if I want to use more than one font, I choose fonts from the same foundry because even though they are different, they still have the same quirks and they will complement each other with similar curves and lines.
I tried the design with just one font, but it didn’t feel right with just one – Cats and Dogs is all about counterpoints!
NGV: What challenges presented themselves as the process of designing Cats and Dogs went on, and how did you solve them?
KS: The types of works in the book vary quite a bit – you have sculptures alongside etchings, paintings alongside photographs. When laying out the book I had to think about what looks good together. I always consider the rhythm of the book: flipping through, from one page to another, you want to make sure it feels right and that nothing really stands out or is jarring to the reader. At the same time, you need to include blank pages to create breathing room.
For me, personally, when I design, it has to make sense no matter what. All the elements in that book need to connect, from the grid to the typefaces to the layout.
NGV: What’s your favourite part of Cats and Dogs in Art & Design?
KS: I love a good contents page. It tends to be the most overlooked part of a book, but I love it when the contents page is interesting to look at in terms of both typography and layout. I really like the way the contents turned out in Cats and Dogs, but I also like the contents page in another book I recently designed, Precarious Movements: Choreography and the Museum.
NGV: Finally, can you tell us – cats or dogs?
KS: I have a pug called Rhino, so I’d have to say dogs – but don’t tell my cat!