Book Making 101 with Hannah Materne - Surplace Workshops

This workshop series will provide the skills and guidance for first-time bookmakers to produce a graphically sound, high-quality 1-50 page publication of their choosing. Basic graphic design theory and practical skills will be taught, ranging from the more technical (ex. how to set-up a nice looking block of text) to the more artistic (ex. curating the flow of images). The primary goal of this series is to manifest your artwork, project or content into a tangible, beautiful and shareable object.

You will be working primarily using Adobe InDesign (free trial available), and will print your work digitally. We will explore different binding techniques; based on your goals this can be done either professionally at the print shop, or by hand in class. I will teach simple hand-binding techniques (saddle stich, Japanese binding, accordion) based on the interest of the group.

We will visit nearby print shop Copie 2000 and bookbinding store Papier Japonais to learn about the local resources and stock up on materials.

This course explores how best to display your content in book form, so please have your content collected ahead of time! I will provide the necessary tools and materials for in-class activities, however participants should be aware they will be responsible for purchasing the materials to produce their book. Participants should bring a laptop that supports Adobe InDesign, and SurPlace’s computer will be reserved should a participant not have access to a laptop.

Please apply with an idea in mind! The unconventional is welcome! Should we exceed capacity, the selection of participants will favour bookworks that lean towards imagery over text, or those that strive for an ‘artbook’ feel.

Hannah Materne is a freelance graphic designer and artist based in Montréal, QC. Her practice is deeply influenced by her experience at her rural Ontario cottage, and concerns itself with changes to the mind, the body and the built environment from this island to the city. Materne holds a BFA in Design from Concordia University. She is a member of the Loyola College of Diversity and Sustainability and was a finalist for the 2015 Association des Designers Industriels du Québec (ADIQ) award for her public space redesign project ‘Wavespace’. Materne has presented at Detroit Future City in Detroit, MI, interned at Bruce Mau Design’s Toronto office and was the 2017 summer artist-in-residence at the Concordia University’s Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR) in Montréal. She loves making moss gardens and values a green tea milkshake above all other milkshakes.