Communications Studio Reflection

June Seo Youn
Aug 31, 2018 · 2 min read

08/31/2018

Artefact: The High Line by by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio & Renfro

Instead of rushing into investigating its back story and its authors, we opened the book as an unassuming reader would do. The book was large, had numerous interactive elements (i.e. flaps within pages), large images, and different paper textures. This led us to think that perhaps the book was more than just a documentation of a construction, but also a celebratory item; a trophy to their immense achievement. It was packed full with content, taking the reader through ordered stages of a construction. We went from sight research to planning and design, and all the way to post-construction and its impact on the park construction across the globe.

We then decided to dig into the detailed aspects of formatting and grid layouts. At initial glance, the book did not seem to have a straight forward grid. There was a consistent outer margin, but the contents within it moved around freely from page to page. This personally gave this book dynamic appeal, which otherwise could have been a dull subject. We did notice however, there were instances where certain grids repeated, such as the spreads indicating a new stage in the construction, and the introductory architect-interview sections for each stages. The page numbers were also fixed into one place. This was crucial, as it gave the book proper structure, and easily noticeable guides for the readers.

I especially enjoyed the architect-interview sections. It was printed on a rough yellow paper, and a type font that resembled that of a typewriter. It felt as if we were taken back to the moment when this park was beginning to become realized. It surprised me how such elements could change how a reader sensed time within the story the book is trying to tell.

It was stressful work in the beginning, because it seemed as though the book did not have a straight-forward repeating grid layout. But I noticed that despite this, reading the book did not feel like walking through absolute chaos, but gave me a very steadily paced walk through carefully selected items. The book had a story to tell, and led the readers for an adventure down its park.