As the son of two parents that spent most of my lifetime writing and publishing historical non-fiction, it was really bound to rub off on me. Under the Porchlight Design Co. imprint, I've put together some publications that are mostly photography-based. I take up all of the design, layout and content. These are the highlights...
The Century 21 Exposition forever changed the landscape of Seattle. It brought new architecture, celebrity appearances and national fanfare, sending the city on a promising and unique course.
Thousands of official and unofficial souvenirs were produced to advertise and commemorate the Seattle World's Fair. Some were attractive, unique and functional, while others were just plain weird: banks using branded pieces of nuclear reactor windows, folding steak knives, buttons protesting the affects of short-term vacation rentals and even a brochure for topless showgirls were all produced for the fair.
62 Souvenirs showcases a unique collection of those souvenirs curated by myself and my dad, Norm Bolotin. I dreamed up this project as a way to collaborate and bring together my dad's more traditional approach of historical non-fiction with my design-focused approach to Pacific Northwest history. You can find the book at Porchlight Design Co.
The book features 132 color pages with raised gloss lettering on the front cover. Below you'll find a promotional video I made, as well as interior photos.
Thousands of official and unofficial souvenirs were produced to advertise and commemorate the Seattle World's Fair. Some were attractive, unique and functional, while others were just plain weird: banks using branded pieces of nuclear reactor windows, folding steak knives, buttons protesting the affects of short-term vacation rentals and even a brochure for topless showgirls were all produced for the fair.
62 Souvenirs showcases a unique collection of those souvenirs curated by myself and my dad, Norm Bolotin. I dreamed up this project as a way to collaborate and bring together my dad's more traditional approach of historical non-fiction with my design-focused approach to Pacific Northwest history. You can find the book at Porchlight Design Co.
The book features 132 color pages with raised gloss lettering on the front cover. Below you'll find a promotional video I made, as well as interior photos.
This book took me a good two years to complete. While it is very photography-heavy, "Washington" is just as much of a "light" history book. Photos have captions, dates, and bits of information you might not know about the Evergreen State. The images in the book are intended as a glimpse of the state's structures, people and life during the 1940s through the end of the 1970s, taken by amateur photographers. Most of the photos were unearthed from slide collections discovered in estate sales, auctions and second-hand stores, and a handful came from family members.
The book is 160 pages and to liven it up even more, the cover has raised gloss lettering and interior cover printing as well.
Below you'll find the promotional video I made, as well as some interior shots.
The book is 160 pages and to liven it up even more, the cover has raised gloss lettering and interior cover printing as well.
Below you'll find the promotional video I made, as well as some interior shots.
I've always loved collecting historic Seattle goods and over time I've amassed a small stack of Washington State brochures and maps. They're great design references as well as pieces of history. I came up with the idea to publish the little collection in a small bound book that I describe as somewhere between a zine and a book–Visitors. It's for sale at Porchlight and online at Porchlight Design Co.
Visitors is a 6" x 9" softcover book. The book contains all photos, with a little bit of text in the introduction.
Visitors is a 6" x 9" softcover book. The book contains all photos, with a little bit of text in the introduction.
In 2018, I started publishing Mid Seattle, a journal that documents the still-standing mid-century architecture in Western Washington. The interior pages are simple enough–photos of the buildings with the date they were constructed. At the end of each volume, their addresses are listed along with notes about the buildings. As of 2021, five volumes have been published and each comes with an accompanying enamel pin.
American Motel is a collection of found photography documenting motels and vacationing in the mid-century. Each photo was found as a 35mm slide, scanned and cleaned up to show the highlights of lodging, style and more in mid-century America.
