Vicereines of Ireland Libro académico by Jurga Rakauskaite-Larkin

Vicereines of Ireland Libro académico by Jurga Rakauskaite-Larkin is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award de Hierro in Diseño de Medios Impresos Competition Category.

HierroImpresión· 2022

Vicereines of Ireland Libro académico

by Jurga Rakauskaite-Larkin

Client: The Office of Public Works

A' Design Award de Hierro Winner in Impresión Category

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Colors

The Design

About Vicereines of Ireland Libro académico

Vicereines of Ireland es un libro académico sobre un grupo de mujeres olvidadas en la historia de Irlanda. El diseño capta el rico mundo material de estas mujeres y refleja, además, la humanidad de sus acciones. La paleta cromática se tomó de los tonos rosa rubor que aún se conservan en la paleta de pintura de una de ellas. Las guardas se inspiraron en un antiguo cuaderno italiano marmoleado y se realizaron con la técnica tradicional de marmoleado por gotas, posteriormente adaptada digitalmente. Un marco estampado en lámina de oro se aplica sobre la tapa dura, detrás de la imagen de portada, de modo que la mujer representada se proyecta hacia el frente.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Hierro

Vicereines of Ireland Libro académico ha ganado el A' Design Award de Hierro, un reconocimiento prestigioso concedido a buenos diseños que cumplen los requisitos profesionales e industriales que se esperan de creaciones bien diseñadas. Los ganadores de Hierro demuestran gran habilidad, alta especialización, comprensión experta y capacidad creativa de sus creadores. Se espera que Vicereines of Ireland Libro académico sea una creación muy apreciada, admirada y querida, práctica e innovadora. Este diseño ganador del A' Design Award de Hierro integra las mejores prácticas del sector y tiene características técnicas competentes unidas a conocimiento práctico y talento. Vicereines of Ireland Libro académico es respetado por su minuciosidad y está concebido para aportar mejoras en la calidad de vida que ayudan a hacer del mundo un lugar mejor.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Aim of the design was to capture rich material world, and also to reflect these women's humanity. The choice of a simple cover rather than grand portrait, that mainly appear on the covers of art history books, reflects this approach. The gilded frame that usually surrounds many portraits is placed not around the portrait image but behind it, on the hard cover, allowing the image of the woman to come forward. It encourages reader to look beyond the superficial image of women as decorative partners to powerful men.
Dimensions & Packaging: Size:
21.46 x 2.79 x 24.51 cm portrait,
Cover:
Hardcover with Luxor 220 Gold foil block on the front and spine
Dust jacket with Matt Black foil block on the front and spine,
Printed: 4/4 CMYK,
Binding:
Hardcover, head and tail gold bands, 2.5 mm boards, thread sewn,
Black silk ribbon,
Repro:
Images supplied digitally, image and colour corrections,
One set of digital colour proofs
Tags: book, irishdesign, irishculture,
Production Technology: The making of the book was a dialogue between the written content, the visual material discovered during the research, and current design practices. One of the key sources used in the writing of the book was an old Italian marbled notebook that belonged to one of the women. This inspired the creation of artwork for the book's end papers. The book's colour palette was sent to an artist, who created six bespoke patterns using a traditional spot marbling technique. After selecting the most suitable, the pattern was digitally manipulated to give this traditional pattern a contemporary look.
Design Challenge: As an academic book, there were specific design conventions which had to be followed. The challenge was to strike a balance between meeting these criteria and reflecting the seriousness of the book's content, while also pushing the creative boundaries to modernise the image of the art history book. A bold colour palette, unexpected cover image (and application of it), use of a ribbon bookmark inspired by the diaries of the vicereines and the choice of contemporary serif typography all helped to overcome this challenge.
Research: The research for the design grew out of several years of original research for the book. This research was carried out in public and private archives across Ireland, Britain and the USA, and attracted funding from bodies including the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. The main sources were the letters and diaries of these women, as well as their private collections of textiles, sketches and personal objects. One of the most inspiring of these objects was the paint palette of one of the women featured in the book. The book's colour scheme was taken from the blush pink paint colours that have survived on the palette since the 1780s.
Inspiration: The book tells the untold story of a group of overlooked women in Irish history. As the wives of the countrys rulers, they were the female faces of the British administration in Ireland before independence. Even though their privileged world was one of shimmering fabrics, sparkling pearls and blossoming flowers, many of these women worked hard to relieve crushing poverty, promote Irish fashion and mitigate injustices. Despite their pioneering efforts, they have long been almost entirely forgotten in Irish history. Their story, and the value of telling it for the first time, inspired the project.
Project Duration: Project started in 2019 and was finished in 2021 in Dublin, Ireland.
Team Members: Editor: Myles Campbell
Project Manager: Mary Heffernan
Publisher: Irish Academic Press
Printed: Kopa Print
Image Credits: Image #1 Unknown artist, The Right Hon. The Countess of Buckinghamshire (detail), 1778. Reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland
Image #2 Ausra Lazauskiene, Marbling artist
Image #4 Robert French (photographed by), The vicereine’s boudoir at the Viceregal Lodge, Dublin, Reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
Image #5 After Sir Thomas Lawrence, Lady Henrietta Cole, Lady Grantham, later Countess de Grey, National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh
Henri Gascar, Frances Talbot (née Jennings), Duchess of Tyrconnell, Bridgeman Images.
Maria Phipps, Countess of Mulgrave, later Marchioness of Normanby
Montego Bay, Jamaica, Photograph by Scott Wicking, reproduced courtesy of the Marquis and Marchioness of Normanby.

Photographer: Kevin Fox, 'We Shoot'