The Puglia Book
My visual memoir
My visual memoir, Sogni D’oro (Dreams of Gold), is a 100-page 10”x10” book fully concepted and designed from scratch. The book documents a special experience I had participating in an art conservation and restoration workshop in Puglia, Italy led by the incredible team at Messors. The immersive school included demonstrations in fresco-making techniques, lectures in art conservation practices, trips to UNESCO world heritage sites such as Matera and Pompeii among many other cultural experiences. My particular focus during the workshop was on fresco restoration and plaster reinforcement at an ancient Masseria built along the Appian Way.
Images, copy, and editorial design are my own. A passion project.
Select spreads
The book contains multiple personal essays, pieces of research, maps, collages, and images shot on a disposable camera.
Here I share some of my favorite vignettes.
About the Type
I selected Canela, a robust typeface family of multiple weights and widths, to help tell my story. The serif characteristic of the typeface reflected the traditional setting of the workshop. The interplay of typeface widths helps evoke the sense of playfulness and discovery that I had during the novel experience.
The book jacket
The custom book jacket features a favorite image from the trip; Mother and son standing onsite at a cave/fresco restoration during a rain storm. I used samples of my handwriting for the book title and back cover caption.