THE WIZARD of OZ
The Official 75th Anniversary Companion
Patient
- HarperDesign
Treatment
- Design
- Typography
- Image restoration
Diagnosis
For the 75th anniversary of the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz, we designed a deluxe commemorative book that not only covers the history and making of the film, but also features undocumented material, including film cells of deleted scenes and trailers unseen since the 1930s.
• 9.25 x 11 • jacket printed on silver foil paper • 176 pages, 4-color hardcover book • custom envelope containing 9 removable features
Product photos by Sam Fritch
Accolades
- Communication Arts Typography Annual 5, 2015
- Print’s Regional Design Annual 2014
- How’s International Design Annual 2015, Outstanding Achievement
The chapter openers tell the story of The Wizard of Oz through recognizable character quotes, song lyrics, and iconic images.
A ruled grid structure helps organize the text and photos and ground them on the large-sized pages.
The late ’30s Art Deco styling of the film separates it from the more Victorian look of the Oz book series and earlier film adaptions, and is the inspiration for the font choices and design elements developed for this book.
We created custom typography and borders for all of the major characters that reflect their various playful personalities.
Rare costume sketches and makeup tests provide insight into the evolution of the cherished characters we’ve come to know and love.
Many of the borders and design details were directly influenced by architecture details of the Emerald City sets.
Various sidebars are scattered throughout the book, separated from the main text by their soft green background, emerald or ruby borders, and a distinctly playful deco typeface for the titles.
A major asset are the numerous rare set photos featured throughout the book, newly discovered and published here for the first time.
The authors had discovered film cells of lost trailers and outtakes to use in the book. The materials were in somewhat rough shape, so we had to meticulously restore the film cells to printable quality.
To make this commemorative 75th Anniversary celebration even more special, a custom silver envelope containing nine removable items is tucked into the back of the book.
Inside the envelope is a plethora of memorabilia we designed, including a custom die-cut frame with swappable photos as well as certificates for the iconic gifts the Wizard presents to each character at the end of the film.
We designed a newspaper clipping for the Oz Herald announcing the death of the Wicked Witch of the East, as well as created a facsimile of the Witch’s death certificate as seen in the film. Rounding out the package are reproductions of vintage posters, lobby cards, a bookmark, and an unusual glossy promo photo—note how the Tin Man is strangely colorized as gold!
