Postmodern Design Complete book
Worked as a research assistant on the 2017 book: Postmodern Design Complete. Author: Judith Gura. Publisher: Thames and Hudson, London.
About the project
Project Overview
Legendary design historian, professor, and author Judith Gura hired me as her research assistant for a book she was working on: Postmodern Design Complete.
Role
Research Assistant for Images and Permissions, Design Team Liaison, Project Management.
Team
Christine Hauck, Design and Research; Judith Gura, Author
Challenges & Solutions
During my two-year collaboration with Judith Gura, I took on additional roles besides her research assistant. I worked with the publisher’s design and production team in London to create a comprehensive guide for Postmodernism.
Challenges
I researched, acquired, and evaluated all the images. Keeping to the art book’s design template, I selected the best and highest resolution images for the Thames and Hudson’s designer, freeing her to design the best possible product.
More Challenges
The scope of this book project was far reaching and complex. The project, which was supposed to take just a year, grew to two years due to production setbacks as well as several permissions and legal challenges.
Innovative Design Solution
I recommended to Judith to expand the scope of the book and for it to include designer and architect preliminary sketches and artist comps of produced projects in the book. Thames and Hudson liked and adopted this idea, and it resulted in a more comprehensive guidebook.
My Role
During the two years that I worked on this book, I wore many other hats besides that of a research assistant, the position I was hired for. I created a spreadsheet tracking requests, responses and materials received for Judith and the designer. I accurately recorded image information and attribution so that Judith could write photo captions. I created permissions forms with the Thames and Hudson Legal Department covering image usage and photo credits for the book. This legally protected the publisher Thames and Hudson. I was involved in the book’s conception through to its production and successful release.
Turnaround Time
I saved the publisher time and money by ensuring the project’s release timetable and enabled the designer to create the best possible product.
Results &
Learnings
Outcome
The book Postmodern Design Complete was named a 2017 New York Times Best Art Book. It has gone into multiple reprintings and still has a 4-5 gold star rating.