Between my husband and I, our house is filled with coffee table books. Even though they can be expensive sometimes, the majority of mine were actually gifts or ones I found while browsing the bargain book and clearance sections of book stores. I have many design ones that I love because of the design and the inspiration I can find anytime I flip through the pages, and of course I have all those Broadway ones that I love because the design evokes the memories of sitting in the audience watching the show, but there are also a few that I like for different reasons:
As a few of you realized last night (and some of you already knew), I have a twin sister. The above coffee table book, Twins, is a look at twins of all ages, races, and backgrounds. The stories included are sometimes heart wrenchingly sad, but there are others that are incredibly uplifting, and all of them do an amazing job of telling the world what it is like being a twin. The cover design has never been my favorite, but the inside pages were kept very simple, letting the photos and writing really tell the stories:
Another one of my favorites is a book of the history of cameras which I gave my husband as a gift. I think this book has taken content that is very much like a reference book and made it visually appealing while maintaining an easy to navigate structure.
The last example I want to share is a book about love across the world which was produced by National Geographic. They kept the design of this book very clean and simple and of course it's filled with stunning photos:
I think it would be neat to design a book on twins who work (or have worked) together. My sister and I worked together for about 6 months after graduating from college, and then again for 5 years at the same design firm. I think our work dynamic is different than most co-workers and it would be interesting to see how those kinds of work/twin relationships compare around the world. I think it could be a combination of advice on working with your twin, funny stories, and maybe even some failures. Those photoshoots would be so much fun too!
