Diane Arbus was an American photographer who is widely recognized for her black-and-white photographs of marginalized people and unconventional subjects. She is known for her distinctive style, which often captured the raw and unvarnished reality of her subjects. This artist catalogue features her later works from 1963 to 1972, shot with a twin-lens reflex Rolleiflex camera that produced highly detailed square images. To illustrate Arbus’s distinctive radical style, I decided to create a book that is elegant, yet feels uncomfortable, just as Arbus’s images.
The design of the book is based on squares, relying on a 10x10inch format and a square grid system. All images are surrounded by white space to emphasize the idea of marginalization. The use of typography is minimal, yet unconventional: distressing and inconsistent type treatment are seen throughout the book. The document features multiple transparent elements nodding to the essence of photography. The choice of coptic binding, featuring an exposed spine, is meant to give a more “raw and unvarnished” feeling to the catalogue.