MUCH OF OUR PRINT WORK over the last 20 years has been high quality color art and photography books. As a designer you couldn’t ask for a better and more enjoyable medium. The only catch is that when you have all the best reproduction resources at your fingertips, you better make sure the design lives up to the expectations. I think you will see from the samples here that the end results are beautiful indeed.
U.Va. Pictorial History

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819, building an “Academical Village” that was a uniquely beautiful architectural vision from the beginning. It is on the World Heritage list of sites to be preserved at all costs. GDA was contracted to not only design this extensive pictorial history, but to also identify and scour the myriad photo archives at the University to find the images that tell the story. MORE

Pulse of the Planet

Jim Metzner has a fascinating radio show on which he showcases the world of sound. The Nature Company asked us to design a book/CD package that marries a book and a CD together without compromising either one. MORE

The Declaration of Independence

The Library of Congress had decided to publish a second edition of this title and bring it into the modern age. The book tells the story, through photographs of documents and an accompanying essay, of the evolution of the U.S. Declaration of Independence which turns out to be an interesting story indeed. The first edition had been published decades ago in black and white. This edition is in full color. MORE

Trail of Tears, Paths of Beauty

This book tells the heartbreaking story of the U.S. government’s persecution of the Navajo and Cherokee people. Part of the story here is how the Navajo and Cherokee cultural appreciation of beauty helped them endure and even thrive, despite the cruel treatment to which they were subjected. MORE

Human Physiology

Dee Silverthorn’s Human Physiology textbook had done well in a tough market, holding down the number two slot on the strength of good writing and a deep understanding of her student’s needs. It rocketed to number one after our redesign of this edition. MORE

In the Japanese Garden

One of those fortuitous match-ups of subject and designer. Jim has had a long-standing interest in Japan, and has spent time in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and various other Japanese cities. When Starwood Publishing approached GDA about designing a book on the Japanese Garden, shot by National Geographic photographer Mike Yamashita, Jim thought he was in heaven. A true labor of love. MORE

Atlas of the American Economy

The Congressional Quarterly’s “Atlas of the American Economy” is packed with hundreds of illustrated charts and graphs, all designed to make the fairly dry subject of economics more comprehensible and more appealing. GDA received this book as a stack of spreadsheets and a manuscript and was responsible for everything from there to the finished product. MORE

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello

The definitive essay on Thomas Jefferson’s fascinating mountaintop home in Charlottesville, Virginia. No home has ever been so shaped to the contours of one man’s broad and restless mind. It is a complex subject that demanded a quietly sophisticated design. MORE

Complete Fix-It

This book is one of the most complex projects we have ever undertaken. It is what is known in the book business as a “slice and dice” project. It draws its source material from about 15 different original publications, each with their own illustration style. GDA redesigned all the content, reworking both digital and non-digital illustrations to a common style and color palette, thereby producing a book that does not betray the scattered nature of its original material. MORE

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