Village Books - Ben Holmes

villagebook.co

About

Started originally in the Corn Exchange, now in the Thornton Arcade. 

Provide a creative space where independent print publications (zines, magazines, books) could be available for people to see in the centre of town. Bring stuff from outside of the city into the city, but also provide a space where creatives studying in Leeds can have a space to show off the work they are doing. The 2nd floor is a gallery space for collaborations and for showcasing work outside of Leeds, making the art scene in this Northern City more diverse.

Why Self-Publish?
Zines - The internet makes it so easy for your work to be seen every day by a lot of people, but it is fairly passive because there are so many other similar designers. The Zine slows people down and the active process of having to concentrate on that one publication will mean that the focus is only on that person's creative output. 
- more exciting than on screen 
- can collect a series
- work doesn't get lost amongst other files

https://www.madepublishers.com/publications/ 
http://librarypaper.co.uk/ (students from LCA)
http://www.artlicks.com/
http://maxsiedentopf.com/funny-money
http://www.christophernunn.co.uk/news/2015/12/23/holy-water-publication-now-available
https://villagebooks.co/products/gold-dust
https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/charlie-kwai-shoots-londons-city-boys-030417
http://www.edwardnewton.co.uk/Flowers-and-Weeds
http://www.ursulajernberg.nl/portfolio/characters-of-jante/
http://terrranova.com/catalogo/illa-por-salva-lopez/

What they look for?
- mainly focus on photography books
- all elements come together and say a lot about the content inside, consistently
- people need to get it immediately

Concept
- how it is communicated
- is it obvious what it is about
- needs a purpose
Format
- can communicate a lot about a book
- the format can drive the idea
- Matthew Connors: Fire in Cairo - the size of the image on the page gets bigger and bigger as the book goes on. to show how you zoom into the story and get clarity on the story presented, starting from a distance and zooming in on the situation. Bound backwards with the same image at front and back, to represent the idea of thinking you know about a situation but until you have fully engaged with it you actually do not. 
Design
- the conflicting idea of whether or not you should see the hand of the designer or not 
Print
- how you print things can dramatically change how someone looks at  publications 
- 5 colour riso-printed book looks nice
Paper Stock
- can help to portray the content within the publication

Bartolomeo Celestino

This book is a collection of photographs stood in the same spot in the Australian ocean, printed onto matte paper throughout and then shiny every now and then to make the colour pop. 
Binding
- two books ring bound together
Details
- has to suit what you are trying to say 
- do not need to spend a lot to say a lot, just need to think it out well 
Books as a product
- need to be suitable for a shop or the intended target audience
- how it will look on a shelf amongst other books