Rational Beauty

The American South, steeped in equal parts history and mythology, has long been of keen interest to photographers. Over decades they have captured the South’s evolving character through images of people, landscapes, and cultural expressions while addressing pressing issues of the American experience, such as racism, poverty, slavery’s legacy, environmental challenges, immigration, and the impact of a modern, global economy.

Working with nearly 300 images across some 300 pages, we sought to do justice to the photography and the story it conveys. A Long Arc: Photography and the American South, which complemented a five-month exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta, features the work of more than 100 photographers. The book, like the exhibit, spans the region’s history, from slavery and the Civil War to the civil rights era and the present day.

To emphasize the images’ visual power, our design placed them front and center, with layouts and annotations serving supplementary functions. We reinforced the chronology and themes of the content by establishing seven distinct sections, each accompanied by a brief essay. Much like a docent, the design acts as a guide, providing helpful period stamps in the bottom right corner of each page to anchor photographs within their historical context.

The pale blue tint on the cover and chapter dividers is a nod to traditional Southern porch ceilings, and the typographic arrangement for the title and chapter headings conveys a sense of incompleteness and tension. Our type choices, GT Alpina and Bureau Grotesque, were selected for their spirited and historically relevant attributes, uniting to enhance the complex story of Southern photography.

AIGA Winner
50 Books | 50 Covers, 2023