Wintec researchers David Sidwell and Luke McConnell. Designer Luke McConnell says while working on the book he explored the similarities between music notation and the language of design.
Upon Returning: A Collection of Piano Pieces is a publication dreamed up by Wintec researcher David Sidwell in collaboration with a number of Waikato-based composers, many of whom are researchers and tutors from Wintec: Abby Pinkerton, David Sidwell, Debbie Nisbet, Jeremy Mayall, Martin Lodge, Megan Rogerson-Berry, Nick Braae and Wayne Senior. The introductory essay was written by Sarah Munro, a post graduate adviser at Wintec. Luke McConnell is a senior academic staff and researcher at Wintec and was responsible for the publication’s design.
Jacki Coffey, Regional Business Manager at
Gravitas Media, partnered with Wintec on the project and entered the publication to the Pride in Print Awards, and received a gold award in the publications category. Judging is based on technical excellence in all facets of the production process, typography and good design, allowing specialists to make judgements based on the potential and the limits of processes, and the materials and equipment used.
The project’s origins can be found in the metaphorical bottom drawer of many a creative. Sidwell had noticed for several years that he and his fellow creatives had unfinished projects lying around so put the provocation out to other composers to participate.
The book has a particular Waikato flavour with pieces referencing the Waikato awa and other significant associations to the area. A bonus of the publication is that each piano piece within the collection has been recorded at Wintec by Dr. Jeremy Mayall. These audio recordings are available online and can be individually accessed using the QR code displayed alongside the composer's notes in the book.
McConnell began exploring the idea that music notation and design share much in common.
“Design is a language used to help the reader navigate the marks on the page,” he said.
Navigation through language is nothing new to McConnell who teaches Visual Communication on the Wintec Bachelor of Design degree and has been involved in many way-finding and signage projects, including
bilingual wayfinding and a
Port Waikato community project, so it’s not surprising that while he was working on the book he kept returning to this idea of navigation through language.
“In a moment of surprise, I was captured by a thought: perhaps there is a relationship between the language of music notation and the language of design. I considered how a rest symbol informs the pianist to pause for a specific time while a fermata invites them to dwell on a note longer than usual,” explained McConnell.
He said notation devices parallel the language of design.
“On a page, the space between paragraphs informs the reader to pause momentarily, while a word in bold might suggest to the reader to dwell on this word more than others”.
McConnell worked closely with the printer Jacki Coffey at Gravitas Media on the project, experimenting with stocks and inks and trying to see how far they could push the capabilities of digital printing.
“The team at Gravitas did an amazing job of the final print and partnering with them throughout the process has led to an outstanding piece of work that all involved can be proud of,” he said.
Collaboration across domains, industry partnerships and pushing the boundaries through creativity is something that happened when you work at Wintec, said McConnell.
While the book stands out as a vehicle for collaborative exchange, it is also a useful example to share with ākonga/students.
“Showing students something tangible we’ve made is really useful, being able to flick through pages, feel the weight and texture of the stock, it is invaluable learning for aspiring designers.”
Difficult to capture on camera, the book is highly tactile and has five different paper stocks including a flyleaf of red felt. The red felt, along with the use of black, white, and copper metallic ink were used as a nod to the materials used to build a grand piano.
