We’ll post here about our design influences and decisions. Fonts, colors, artwork, links, copyright and favorite authors.
Overall Aesthetic
We love Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Art Nouveau was popular around 1900 and incorporates a curving, organic feel with solid masses and grounding. Art Deco became popular in the 1930s and is very mechanical, simply unadorned, colorful and bold. The two styles bracket the first World War. The post card incorporates an art deco feel on the front. We go back in time a couple decades for an art nouveau-inspired back. Here are some other examples of both styles.
Art Nouveau Poster 
Art Deco Poster
Links
Some links to things we like.
Riverlight Center, writing programs in Mystic, CT.
Books
(Click on the book covers to see more information at Amazon.com)
This book is getting harder to find. Ed first saw this treasure book in the 5th grade. The school brought in a copy and told the kids to figure it out. When we’d been good and completed an assignment, the reward was a few minutes with Masquerade. We didn’t know it at the time but the treasure had already been found. The puzzle methods found in this book will be adapted and expanded to make West By Sea a multi-level treasure puzzle.
We first saw the book “NOMAD” by Sibella Court on the discount rack at a West Elm in Norwalk, CT. The overall feel of this book is close to what we want to achieve with West By Sea.
This classic book by Henry Beston was first given to us by a dearly loved mentor. The author was said to have spent entire mornings on a single sentence. After spending a solitary year in a small house on Outer Cape Cod, his fiancé told him “no book, no wedding.” We’re not going to spend as much time pondering each and every syllable, but the story helps inspire us to write the best possible book in the time we have.
Ed’s aunt Sharon gave him a Jack London anthology. Although not directly on his mind, these stories of adventure inevitably drove Ed to pursue a career at “the edge”. If you are a stranger to Jack London’s work, you’d do well to pick up a couple of the e-books and give them a read, starting with Call of the Wild and White Fang. Or better yet – get yourself the anthology and soak up the greatness of this early 20th century writer.
Given to Ed by his first mentor, Zorba’s quest for green stones is legendary. “One day in Berlin came a telegram: ‘Found a wonderful green stone. Come immediately, Zorba.” Is a wonderful green stone reason enough to travel halfway across Europe? We think it is.
Another book suggested by Ed’s first mentor, this story of Howard Roark points out – with urgency – the moral imperative to be your own man / woman. There is no compromise in the world of Howard Roark: your creative genius must stand on its own or be utterly swept away by mediocrity. Don’t let this happen to you!
Author Jeff Henning is a friend from college and an early backer of our West By Sea book project. Go around the world to solve a mystery that has been hidden since the days of pyramids and pharaohs. This is the first of a series, and the latest expanded version from February 2013 will get you started.
An interesting book by Roger Black, an early inspiration for our attraction to Red, White and Black design.
Images and Fonts
Royalty Free images are sourced from 123rf.com
Selected fonts for the project are
Campanile
Eccentric Std
Handwriting Dakota
Mouse Deco
