Student Project

Advent Antiquity

Nothing is Trivial

A complete book design for Graph 251, built around a personal concept — a fictional band called Advent Antiquity and their album Nothing is Trivial, exploring the ideas of life, love, and who we are as humans. Full design from cover to closing page with photography, artwork, and songwriting.

Editorial Design2013

Student project. Advent Antiquity was not a client and did not commission this work. Coursework, Everett Community College — Graph 251.

DesignerJohn S. Eldridge, Jr.

Advent Antiquity was a book design project for Graph 251 at Everett Community College. The assignment was to design a complete book from cover to closing page — build the grid, choose the type, set the pages, and prep it for print-on-demand through Blurb. I built it around my own concept: a fictional band called Advent Antiquity and their album Nothing is Trivial. The band's name holds the spiritual layer — "Advent" is the arrival of the divine, the moment music enters the world and transforms silence. "Antiquity" makes it timeless, ancient, a force humans have always used to connect with the sublime.

The album itself is about something more grounded. Nothing is Trivial is about navigating the challenges of life and still working to be a whole and decent human being. The challenges are part of the learning, and the destination wouldn't be the same without them. Every note, lyric, photograph, and design choice in the book carries that weight — nothing is trivial.

The cover

The front cover sets the tone for everything inside it. All of the title work throughout the book — the cover, the section openers, the song titles — was created with bamboo brushes and india ink, then digitized.

Front cover — the hand-lettered album title in brush and ink, reversed white out of a dark ground, sitting inside a dense field of handwritten lyric fragments in low-contrast grey
Front cover — the hand-lettered album title in brush and ink, reversed white out of a dark ground, sitting inside a dense field of handwritten lyric fragments in low-contrast grey

The interior

The interior was composed spread by spread. The front matter and the chapter openers hold to a fixed structure — the margins, the type sizes, and the placement of the red chapter numerals repeat, so the book has a spine you can feel as you move through it. The song spreads were set visually inside those rules, one at a time, which is why no two of them are laid out the same way. The lyrics carry the voice of the book, set against traditional artwork converted into digital artwork, full-bleed photography, typography, and hand-lettered titles. Hailey Francis modelled for most of the photography in the book.

Title page — the hand-lettered title high on the recto with the author line set small in italic well below it, the whole verso left empty
Title page — the hand-lettered title high on the recto with the author line set small in italic well below it, the whole verso left empty
Acknowledgements — a narrow justified column on the recto under a serif head with the names picked out in bold: Hailey Francis for modeling, Wade Spane and Jessica Bienevez for lighting, studio space and consulting, and the Publication I class of Winter 2013 at Everett Community College
Acknowledgements — a narrow justified column on the recto under a serif head with the names picked out in bold: Hailey Francis for modeling, Wade Spane and Jessica Bienevez for lighting, studio space and consulting, and the Publication I class of Winter 2013 at Everett Community College
Dedication — "In memory of Susan Mae Dominguez", two lines only, set high on the recto with the rest of the spread left open
Dedication — "In memory of Susan Mae Dominguez", two lines only, set high on the recto with the rest of the spread left open
Contents — four chapters set in serif with dot leaders: Fifteen, Fly Beyond Me, Awakening, Passion. The copyright and colophon sit in the bottom corner of the verso
Contents — four chapters set in serif with dot leaders: Fifteen, Fly Beyond Me, Awakening, Passion. The copyright and colophon sit in the bottom corner of the verso
Introduction — "This book is:" followed by a centered stack of single words that runs from tragedy down to salvation
Introduction — "This book is:" followed by a centered stack of single words that runs from tragedy down to salvation
Chapter 1 opener, "Fifteen" — a brush-drawn 1 and 5 locked into a rotating monogram with a red counter at its centre, the chapter name in small caps beneath, and a red numeral 1 anchored at the foot of the verso
Chapter 1 opener, "Fifteen" — a brush-drawn 1 and 5 locked into a rotating monogram with a red counter at its centre, the chapter name in small caps beneath, and a red numeral 1 anchored at the foot of the verso
"Suicide" — the title in brush and ink at a huge scale across the foot of the verso with two red accent strokes, lyrics set centered on the recto
"Suicide" — the title in brush and ink at a huge scale across the foot of the verso with two red accent strokes, lyrics set centered on the recto
"Reverie" — hand-lettered title and centered lyrics on the verso, with a full-bleed photograph on the recto of the song's original lyrics written on bar coasters
"Reverie" — hand-lettered title and centered lyrics on the verso, with a full-bleed photograph on the recto of the song's original lyrics written on bar coasters
"Time Bomb" — a full-bleed photograph of a pistol and loose cartridges on a red surface, each bullet hand-marked with a word (FEAR, RAGE, HATE, PAIN, LIES), running under the hand-lettered title and lyrics
"Time Bomb" — a full-bleed photograph of a pistol and loose cartridges on a red surface, each bullet hand-marked with a word (FEAR, RAGE, HATE, PAIN, LIES), running under the hand-lettered title and lyrics
"Forever" — a full-bleed black-and-white photograph of Hailey Francis's hand, black nails and rings, dark liquid running across the fingers, set against centered lyric stanzas and the hand-lettered title on the recto
"Forever" — a full-bleed black-and-white photograph of Hailey Francis's hand, black nails and rings, dark liquid running across the fingers, set against centered lyric stanzas and the hand-lettered title on the recto
"On My Own" — two lyric columns across the spread with the title hand-lettered large and mirrored through the centre, and a narrow vertical crop of my own photograph of Hailey Francis holding the outer edge
"On My Own" — two lyric columns across the spread with the title hand-lettered large and mirrored through the centre, and a narrow vertical crop of my own photograph of Hailey Francis holding the outer edge
Chapter 2 opener, "Fly Beyond Me" — handwritten lines stepped down the recto with the key words picked out in red, thin concentric arcs sweeping behind them, red numeral 2 at the foot of the verso
Chapter 2 opener, "Fly Beyond Me" — handwritten lines stepped down the recto with the key words picked out in red, thin concentric arcs sweeping behind them, red numeral 2 at the foot of the verso
"Fly" — the title in brush and ink at the top of the verso with a nested triangular eye mark, lyrics running in two ragged columns across the spread
"Fly" — the title in brush and ink at the top of the verso with a nested triangular eye mark, lyrics running in two ragged columns across the spread
"Sunray" — the recto filled with the word hand-lettered over and over at different scales and angles, lyrics set flush left on the verso
"Sunray" — the recto filled with the word hand-lettered over and over at different scales and angles, lyrics set flush left on the verso
"Breathe" — my photograph of Hailey Francis in a straw sun hat, taken into Illustrator and Photoshop and rebuilt as flat graphic shapes, running full bleed with the hand-lettered title and lyrics set into the light side
"Breathe" — my photograph of Hailey Francis in a straw sun hat, taken into Illustrator and Photoshop and rebuilt as flat graphic shapes, running full bleed with the hand-lettered title and lyrics set into the light side
"Breathe" outro — the refrain hand-lettered in dark grey over a pale ghost layer of the same phrases repeated hundreds of times, one line per page
"Breathe" outro — the refrain hand-lettered in dark grey over a pale ghost layer of the same phrases repeated hundreds of times, one line per page
"Breathe" outro, inverted — the same treatment reversed white out of near-black, "GIVE ME LIFE" stepping up in scale on the verso against a cascading line on the recto
"Breathe" outro, inverted — the same treatment reversed white out of near-black, "GIVE ME LIFE" stepping up in scale on the verso against a cascading line on the recto
"Inundated" — lyrics flush left on the verso, with a full-bleed photograph of a whiskey glass on dark wood in a warm pool of light, the title hand-lettered into the grain and short lines placed inside the shadow
"Inundated" — lyrics flush left on the verso, with a full-bleed photograph of a whiskey glass on dark wood in a warm pool of light, the title hand-lettered into the grain and short lines placed inside the shadow
Chapter 3 opener, "Awakening" — a solid justified block of condensed all-caps over a pale ghost text layer, with single letters picked out in red to spell the chapter name as an acrostic, red numeral 3 at the foot of the verso
Chapter 3 opener, "Awakening" — a solid justified block of condensed all-caps over a pale ghost text layer, with single letters picked out in red to spell the chapter name as an acrostic, red numeral 3 at the foot of the verso
"Abeyance" — a full-bleed night photograph of coloured bokeh across both pages, lyrics reversed out in light type on the verso and scattered single lines on the recto, title hand-lettered in grey at the corner
"Abeyance" — a full-bleed night photograph of coloured bokeh across both pages, lyrics reversed out in light type on the verso and scattered single lines on the recto, title hand-lettered in grey at the corner
"Convoluted" — two flush-left lyric columns with the title hand-lettered in blocky brush caps across the foot of the recto, a single letter and the punctuation in red
"Convoluted" — two flush-left lyric columns with the title hand-lettered in blocky brush caps across the foot of the recto, a single letter and the punctuation in red
"So Be It" — centered lyrics on the verso stepping into indented lists, short centered lines on the recto, title hand-lettered large with a red accent stroke
"So Be It" — centered lyrics on the verso stepping into indented lists, short centered lines on the recto, title hand-lettered large with a red accent stroke
"Covers" — a pen line drawing of a face with wide eyes peering over the edge of a blanket, taken into Illustrator and finished as a digital illustration, filling the recto with the title hand-lettered above it and lyrics flush left on the verso
"Covers" — a pen line drawing of a face with wide eyes peering over the edge of a blanket, taken into Illustrator and finished as a digital illustration, filling the recto with the title hand-lettered above it and lyrics flush left on the verso
Chapter 4 opener, "Passion" — a vertical stack of hand-lettered words alternating in scale down the recto with the chapter name in red, red numeral 4 at the foot of the verso
Chapter 4 opener, "Passion" — a vertical stack of hand-lettered words alternating in scale down the recto with the chapter name in red, red numeral 4 at the foot of the verso
"Repose" — a soft-focus full-bleed photograph of Hailey Francis asleep under white sheets, the title hand-lettered into the fabric, centered lyric stanzas on the recto
"Repose" — a soft-focus full-bleed photograph of Hailey Francis asleep under white sheets, the title hand-lettered into the fabric, centered lyric stanzas on the recto
"Eyes of a Goddess" — my photograph of Hailey Francis's eyes taken into Illustrator and rebuilt as high-contrast black-and-white digital artwork, spanning the spread, lyrics flush left at the outer edge and the title hand-lettered at the corner
"Eyes of a Goddess" — my photograph of Hailey Francis's eyes taken into Illustrator and rebuilt as high-contrast black-and-white digital artwork, spanning the spread, lyrics flush left at the outer edge and the title hand-lettered at the corner
"Insignificant" — the sparsest spread in the book: a tiny red hand-lettered title on the verso, a four-line centered stanza on the recto, everything else white
"Insignificant" — the sparsest spread in the book: a tiny red hand-lettered title on the verso, a four-line centered stanza on the recto, everything else white
"Consummate" — lyrics flush left on the verso, the title hand-lettered at the foot of the recto beside a solid black signpost illustration
"Consummate" — lyrics flush left on the verso, the title hand-lettered at the foot of the recto beside a solid black signpost illustration
About the author — a portrait on the recto above a short bio paragraph, closing the interior
About the author — a portrait on the recto above a short bio paragraph, closing the interior

Back cover

The back cover closes the book the same way it opened — quiet, dark, and deliberate.

Back cover — the dark ground and handwritten lyric field carried over from the front, with a closing line hand-lettered larger and reversed out at the foot
Back cover — the dark ground and handwritten lyric field carried over from the front, with a closing line hand-lettered larger and reversed out at the foot
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