Chabad Booklet
Download the Booklet as a PDF

Chabad was an interesting project. A friend of mine wanted to take this one didn't have the time and asked me to help out. While not my first print job, it was my first large booklet. While with print work you forfeit the immediacy inherent with web design and development, there's something very gratifying about seeing stacks of your work fresh off the press.

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The goal for the booklet was to have a contemporary design sensibility while tying in traditional elements of family, friendship, Judaism, and togetherness. Many of the photos I used came from Chabad members themselves, making it possible to accurately illustrate these concepts within the design. While a great benefit to the booklet, these photos also proved to be one of the greatest challenges as they came from compact consumer digital cameras. With most, I had to employ numerous Photoshop touch-up techniques to minimize the high levels of grain, artifacts, and other undesirable elements present in many impromptu digital photographs while still maintaining a level of detail expected in print work. It took more time than any other part of the project, but was worthwhile in the end.

The design itself was built around a single concept: growth. Natural elements, specifically trees (a frequent symbol of life and growth in Judaism), were used as a common element in the design. Additionally, the arrangements of boxes on each page served to illustrate growth. Pictures resided within the thriving nature and boxes ascended as steps. I also made an effort to keep a focus on the visual elements, as anyone taking a quick look would get a clear sense of the flavor of Chabad by seeing its members interact. Later, when able to take more time, they could go back and explore the text that interested them, remembering the sentiment from the graphics.

The project took most of my summer, but was well worth the time. While one of my older projects, the booklet is still one of the first pieces of work I like to show when sharing my print work.