This publication is an answer to the brief Anniversaries of the ISTD 2018. The aim is to celebrate what I believe is a piece of Irish heritage. The Old Moore's Almanac is a booklet that is published annually and takes pride of place in the homes of many farmers across rural Ireland. It was highly anticipated by its readers each year. The Almanac was considered an essential piece of material for the rural community, and for anyone who had a connection with agriculture. Old Moore was a philosopher, astrologist and mathematician, was revered throughout the land for his wise predictions.
The aim of the book produced is to celebrate Old Moore for his ingenious predictions that were read and believed by many people every year. The book represents Old Moore's unacknowledged status as a teacher, advisor and herald about the coming year. Through the development of the concept of the Almanac being deemed an Anniversary, I considered its visual appeal. The piece represents Old Moore himself, as a source of knowledge and status. Designed with a traditional aesthetic it gives the piece substance and power. It is a publication to be held in high regard. I have reinforced this status by giving Old Moore a voice to speak to his readers directly to express his importance. His voice is conveyed through the careful selection of a typeface. This typeface is utilised throughout the book in order for Old Moore to portray his wisdom and vast knowledge. The book is a platform that has allowed Old Moore to come back from the past like he has done every year.
The arrival of the Almanac is deemed an anniversary and the concept is extended
to celebrate the turf and hay harvesting. Through my extensive research into rural Ireland I have created visual devices that pay homage to the bog as well as the hay. This is articulated in the layout and shapes created with my paragraphs.
My initial research was a combination of the contents of the Old Moore's Almanac as well as people's personal experience of the Almanac. Content of the Almanac was easily accessible on the internet through their website, as well as the reading of this year's edition. I also visited libraries in order to search for old editions. I wanted to really highlight the history of the book and what made its existence so important to the people of old Ireland, the traditionalists. I developed the idea further after speaking with my grandparents. I remember it being a talking point in both their houses all through my childhood from early December every year. It was an annual focal point as regards certain events, for example the harvesting of the turf and the bailing of the hay. I felt that this was an important aspect regarding the experience of the Almanac's presence. This was when I developed the idea of using visual devices from the bog and the bailing of hay, as they are two annual re-occurrences. I chose to then to include the voice of the Almanacs readers as I felt that it was important to emphasise their reliance on its predictions every year. The piece I designed is a contradiction to the treatment of the Almanac in the past. The intended aesthetic of the design is to look and feel superior.
The Old Moore's Almanac is a publication that has warmed the hearts of many people over two and a half centuries, it informed many of our ancestors of important wisdoms and weather predictions. The intended audience would primarily be people who hold a place for old Ireland in their hearts, passionate readers who have a strong interest in their culture. The piece could be exhibited in the Kells type trail that takes place annually. It brings people and typographers from all over Ireland together to celebrate type. Its intent of my piece is to celebrate the publication for what it is and treat it with the respect it deserves. It was seen as an important piece of daily life for the people of Ireland who had any connection with agriculture.
It is a combination of Old Moore's voice, the voice of the people and visual devices
that led to the construction of a successful design aesthetic. I wanted to stick to its original form as best I could in order for it to be recognisable to those with whom it would resonate. Throughout my design process I felt that as the Old Moore's Almanac was such an undervalued piece of reading material, it is time to celebrate it and allow it to take pride of place in the eyes of its readers, giving it the Anniversary it deserves. The design is a representation of status, power and knowledge.
In order to create the book, I began looking into some of the previously published editions of the Almanac. This is where I found the bones of my grid structure as well as margins and gutter spacing. I knew that what I was going to produce wasn't going to modernise the book in any way. This was not the designs intention. In order to achieve a traditional aesthetic, I began researching typefaces. As it is a very text-heavy document I understood that it was important to select a typeface that would work at both a high and low point size. I also recognised that I needed to create variance between the voices in the piece. Within this research the choice of a serif typeface enhanced traditional aesthetic to the piece. The type choices as well as layout were carefully constructed in order to complement the piece.
