Blue Jeans: Articles of Interest #5
Select spreads shown.
8in by 10in
Saddle Stitch Binding
Typefaces: Adobe Caslon Pro, Job Clarendon, and Trade Gothic LT Pro
FL 2022. Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.
Advisor: Amy Auman
This book was designed for Capstone Studio in Fall 2022 and is based on the 99% Invisible episode “Blue Jeans: Articles of Interest #5,” which traces the cultural significance of American denim alongside the hidden costs of its production. My design intentionally contrasts the nostalgia of Americana with the consequences embedded in denim’s history, using collage to expose tension between image and meaning. I chose to invert the Americana imagery to interrupt the automatic sense of nostalgia it evokes, pushing back against the “golden era” narrative of denim that often ignores its social and environmental costs.
I focused heavily on refining how images interacted across spreads. I aimed for pairings that communicated on both a conceptual and visual level, often through mirrored textures, repeated forms, or directional movement. To break up the binary between Americana and consequence, I introduced a third visual language—a periwinkle duotone—that offers moments of pause and helps sustain reader engagement throughout the book.
My typographic system evolved through extensive testing, drawing initially from vintage Levi’s advertisements and Western display type to evoke Americana. Refinements toward Adobe Caslon Pro, Job Clarendon, and Trade Gothic improved legibility and cohesion while reinforcing the tension between denim nostalgia and the industry’s harsher realities.