Hasta La Ideas

Edinburgh College of Art graduate Freddy Taylor has produced a limited edition book for photographers’ agent Horton-Stephens that combines photographers’ portfolios with written reflections on the ad industry.

From the Office of Horton-Stephens showcases the work of 19 of the agent’s photographers. Each photographer’s portfolio is introduced by a quote about advertising and paired with an advertising creative’s written response to that quote. Contributors include AMV BBDO’s Paul Brazier, M&C Saatchi’s Mark Goodwin and It’s Nice That director Alex Bec.

Spread above: ” I honestly believe that advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on”: Jerry Della Femina. Chosen by Dave Buonaguidi

Taylor started work on the project in December and finished designing the book in April. “I’ve known Louis-Jack Horton-Stephens [the book’s editor] for about six years and we’ve always wanted to work together, so this was an ideal opportunity,” he says.

“The company approached me wanting to develop a limited edition publication that showcased their photographers’ work and could be sent to almost every ad agency in Britain. It was only after pushing the brief that we decided to use the publication as a platform to approach creatives about critical issues in the ad industry,” he explains.

The book is printed on a mixture of glossy and recycled paper and uses Neuzeit S book and heavy fonts. “I wanted to create a clean, modern publication that takes typographic inspiration from the everyday paperback, and places maximum emphasis on readability. The mixture of the glossy and recycled stocks emphasise the different sections, and the choice of cover paper [Fedigroni’s textured E/E49] is designed to mimic the surface of a white office wall,” he says.

It’s an impressive piece of work from Taylor, who graduated just last year, and a beautifully produced and interesting take on the traditional photographers’ portfolio.

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