American Beauty

Exhibition identity and an award-winning art book

WHAT WE DID:

Visual Identity • Editorial Design • Art Direction • Production Management • Web

SECTOR:

Arts & Culture / Photography

A distressed and diminished interior of the Woodward Presbytarian Church in Detroit with a lone American Flag drooping at the corner

We partnered on the identity, exhibition catalogue, and collateral for photographer Philip Jarmain’s American Beauty—a series of large-scale architectural photographs documenting the rapid loss of Detroit’s early 20th-century buildings.

The graffiti covered and ransacked interior of the Lee Plaza Hotel

The Problem

  • Create a catalogue and identity that honor the scale and craft of the work without overpowering it.

  • Translate a century-old Detroit design vernacular into modern typography and layout.

  • Manage premium book production so prints reproduce faithfully and the object feels archival.

Our Approach

Lead with restraint. Let the images breathe. Build the brand from Detroit’s own visual language.

  • Editorial system: generous white space, clean grid, and minimal ornament so structure lines and details in the photographs stay front and center.

  • Identity cues: a custom logotype that nods to historic Detroit signage and the Tigers’ early mark, paired with a robust, modern typeface to reflect the region’s industrial character.

  • Production craft: close collaboration with Hemlock Printers to tune materials and specs for a large, tactile, durable book.

A brand showing American Beauty wordmark in an Olde English style and a subheading of The Oppulent Pre-Depression Architecture of Detroit
Two posters with generous negative white space and strong grid, highlighted by a prominent colour in the photograph

What We Made

  • Exhibition catalogue and launch collateral (posters and website) that carried the series identity into the gallery and onto the street.

  • Limited-edition hardcover book: 13.5" × 10.5", 132 pages, 60 photographs with historical text notes. Case-bound in black cloth with an optional wrapped slipcover, each with a foil-stamped mark.

  • Identity system: logotype inspired by early Detroit letterforms; plaque-style lockup structure; type and layout rules for consistency across print and web.

Art book inside a gunmetal grey slip cover with an embossed American Beauty Logo on it
Close up detail showing the spine of the book, bound in black cloth with a silver print of the American Beauty logo
Cover of book bound in black cloth with an intricate foil brand on the front, showing American Beauty
A book spread with generous white space that includes an introduction and the latin words "Speramus meliora; resurget cinerbus
Clean book spread showing the interior of the Belle Isle Aquarium
Clean book spread showing the interior of the Michigan Theatre
Clean book spread showing the interior of the Woodward Presbytarian

Outcomes

  • The exhibition launch drew strong critical response, and the publication received awards.

  • The book’s materials and finish created a “sublime tactile experience,” matching the subject matter’s gravity.

  • A cohesive identity and editorial system that scales from posters to long-form print and web.

A minimal website homepage showcasing the interior of the Lee Plaza Hotel and minimal brand of Philip Jarmain and American Beauty

Project Facts

Client: Philip Jarmain
Role: Visual Identity, Art Direction, Web Development, Editorial Design, Production Management
Production: Hemlock Printers (book)

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