Te Herenga Waka University Press
Award for Best Typography 2023
Finalist
Designer: Gideon Keith & Carly Johnson, SEVEN
Title: Making Space: A history of New Zealand women in architecture
Publisher: Massey University Press
Format: 250 x 220 mm, 448pp, flexibind plus jacket
Typography: A uniform approach was taken to typography using Neue Haas Grotesk in only one weight — Roman — as the sole typeface for the book, in a bid of restraint to highlight the integrity and discipline of the architect. With the use of one weight and one font, hierarchy can be a challenge so caps were introduced to give strength to headings, as well as for their structural form. Exaggerated indents were used in body paragraphs as an ode to the idea of Making Space and being pushed out.
“A book bringing to light the story of female architects making space for themselves in a male dominated profession, much of which had been lost to historical record. It was organised into three sections that move through time, each opening with a DPS and intro floating in the recto.
It was a tricky book to pull together, with early sections consisting of ‘rumpty’ archival matter and better imagery not coming until 1990s onwards. Each chapter would have endnotes that followed. The audience was the architectural community and those interested in it, as well as those interested in women’s history.”
Judges’ comments From the striking typographic cover with its bold statement spacing to its controlled internal system, this book is a confident and systematic piece of typographic design. It takes a strong modernist layout that works well for the subject matter, and manages white space beautifully to counterbalance the set-solid body copy that feels forthright and unyielding. With classic historical notes this book also manages to feel fresh and contemporary in its typographic treatment.
