Looking for the Local 

'Looking for the Local - Architecture and the New Zealand Modern', by Justine Clark and Paul Walker, Victoria University Press, 2002.

A photographic survey of New Zealand architecture from the 1950s and '60s, seen through a unique collection, accompanied by an illustrated essay discussing the forms and ideologies, attitudes and viewpoints of the built forms of post-war New Zealand.

To bring together the box of original prints discovered at the ATL and an essay including illustrations, footnotes and references into a book that would display the collection as it stood in 1958.

I worked with the authors, assisting in editing and sequencing the photographs, bringing my own sense of visual aesthetic to their project and was asked to "apply the same design rigour and aesthetic to production as you did for 'On the way to an ambush'." publisher, Fergus Barrowman, VUP.

Using my passion for typography and composition, texture and form, allowing the content to shape the design brings this body of work into a contemporary context, while capturing the vernacular of New Zealand's modernism. Clear, concise typography, working with Eric Gill's typefaces, delivers the content without deviating from the content of the essay. The extensive footnotes and numerous illustrations are kept alongside the relevant text, set vertically, forming an intersecting element with the horizontal direction of the illustrations. The photographs are displayed close to their original form - the rhythm and connections allowing them to flow through the book.

"It was as we imagined, yet more than we ever imagined." - Justine Clark

Regarded as a vital source and reference to architecture of its time in New Zealand, and a beautiful object to have, the book sold out within months - becoming a collector's edition.

It's keenly sought after, so protect your copy.

Highly Commended, 2001 Best Cover, Spectrum Print Book Design Awards

Back to Studio Catherine Griffiths