Erwin Olaf's OWN

Erwin Olaf's Own is a solo catalogue by the photographer. It showcased most of Olaf's works, having more than 300 pages. We can immediately see this book from afar, by its size of 30cm x 30cm, its cover using the photography of Olaf to its advantage and the elegance of the font of the title. Its spine being very simple is perfect for the book and it really well with the photo used for the cover.

I bought this book 3 or 4 years ago and I was always looking at it for inspiration and I'm still looking at it for inspirations but for different projects. It's one of the most beautiful photographer book i had the chance to see in real life. The photos become alive when it's printed and you flip the pages. I know Olaf's artworks doesn't fit everybody's taste but, in my opinion, it goes beyond with its technique only.

If you ask me, a simple use of typography couldn't be better. It doesn't upstage the photo in the background but still shows clearly its name and the artist. The font used it is called GEO SANS design by Manfreid Klein in 2003. It will inspire me to try simpler book covers, because i usually gravitate around more complex composition and using the space to its full extent. But how it will truly inspire me is the reveal behind the first cover, because this is a jacket. When we take off the jacket a beautiful fabric hardcover with an embossed photo.