In this memoir, 95-year-old author Jim McDougall recounts his personal story of time spent in the South Pacific during World War II. This would become the first of three memoirs we would do together over the next several years.
He was an ordnanceman on one of the amphibious “Black Cat” PBY Catalina aircraft. His story offers a frank and touching personal glimpse into one man’s life in the Navy, and the continual tension between boredom and terror that marks the lives of those in active combat.
Creative Brief
Jim recounts his enlistment in the Navy and assignment to the South Pacific in 60 short story arcs. Thoroughly researched, he used a combination of historical references and his own flight log notes, enhanced by old photographs, maps, and other graphics.
As his designer, I needed to reprocess many old photos, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera. In addition, I needed to (re)create several graphical elements, such as maps, to help clarify his story.
As often happens in this type of project, several of the images were of insufficient quality for press work. Through a combination of resolution adjustments and noise and grain additions, I was able to produce a consistent look and feel throughout the book.
Details Matter
I love tailoring divider lines to a book’s text. It is a traditional embellishment that adds a certain flair to the pauses in the story. In this case, a swash from the BonBon Ornaments by Feno Type provided a suitable look—reminiscent of the front profile view of the PBY aircraft, and its large twin engines.
The particular deadline for this project was the “Wings of the North” Air Expo at Flying Cloud Airport in July 2018. Here, author Jim McDougall and his daughter, Jackie, who was instrumental in editing and organizing the project, proudly show off copies of the first printing of the book.
If you look closely, you can see the maps from the book, reimagined as posters to accompany his table at the event.
After selling out the first run, we tweaked the editorial and a few images, and ran a second run of books—again at Bookmobile.
“I would like to convey special gratitude to Paul Nylander whose creative and technical advice and assistance … brought us over the finish line.”
