This week we wanted to show you a pair of personal histories by a husband and wife, Mack and Judy Lawrence. We've done a number of memoirs for couples over the years; some in separate books like this...
These his and hers personal histories are made to "match" and to fit nicely together on a shelf.
... and others in a combined volume like this.
This book tells the history of a married couple in one large volume.
But Mack and Judy's personal history projects were unique compared to others we've done. For one thing, they each had a particular idea in mind of what they wanted that was different from the other's. For another thing, this is a second marriage for both of them. They had both lost beloved life companions, and wanted to celebrate the lives they led with their former spouses as well as their "second" life together.
We completed the design for Mack's book, The Road I Have Taken, early in 2014 and Judy's, The Road Less Traveled, a few months later. The titles were of course influenced by Robert Frost's famous poem "The Road Not Taken." But as you'll see, each book is very different.
Because Mack had written a longer narrative for his book, we designed his book to be a slightly larger size (8.5" x 11"). We used spare, masculine typefaces and kept the page design simple and elegant. Mack opted for a simple navy leather cover with gold stamping.
A simple navy blue leather cover with gold stamping.
Judys' book is decidedly feminine. Since her narrative was shorter, we designed her book in a slightly smaller size (7.5" x 10"). We used a decorative background for each page, and chose elegant script typefaces for the titles. The result is a charming pictorial book that reveals her emigration from Norway to America and her subsequent life here. She chose a fancier photographic cover.
Well done, Judy and Mack!
