← All work
Publication · Illustration · Research
Niche to Norm
A book about the zipper, tracing how it moved from niche markets like rubber boots and tobacco pouches into everyday life.
01 · Artifact
Why the zipper?
The brief: pick an object, research it, and design a book around its function, meaning and significance. I found candidates by reflecting on stories from my past: baseball hats, quarter zips, snorkeling gear, tin can pulls and zippers.
I chose the zipper for its silent but important place in everyday life.
02 · Research & narrative
From a broad history to a sharp story.
I researched the zipper’s history, design, mechanics, marketing, types and future. The thread that stood out was its early life in niche markets, and how that shaped the products that followed.
I built the narrative around two of those markets, B.F. Goodrich boots and tobacco pouches, with history, evolution and the future around them.
Sources included online articles and the book Zipper: An Exploration in Novelty.
03 · Moodboard
Inspired by the original patents.
The early zipper patent drawings were the center of the book’s look. Around them I gathered references for the illustration style, color and type.
04 · Drafts
Three drafts to a square book.
Draft 1
A linear narrative that moved through the zipper’s whole life in great detail.
Draft 2
A new book shape, a refined narrative, the Tuppence typeface to match the book’s energy, and the first look at the illustration style.
Draft 3
A narrative focused on early niche markets, red and orange in place of orange and yellow after test prints, and a square format for more interesting layouts.
05 · Final design
Flip through the book.
Click the pages to turn them