Composit Press, a new student-run bookbindery on OSU’s campus, will begin producing photo books in 2025
By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - June 5, 2025
Unbeknownst to many, tucked away in the garage of Snell Hall, consists of a fully functional, student staffed, book press, able to print and bind both soft- and hard-cover books.
Under the supervision of Evan Baden, senior instructor of photography in the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts, students in The Photographic Book (ART 355) focus on the art of book binding in all of its forms, using appropriated and original imagery to create a variety of publications. Now, Baden and his students are venturing into new territory with Photobook Design and Production (ART 399, for now), designing and producing photo books for professional photographers nationwide.
Starting in fall 2024, students will pitch their individual photobook designs to a professional photographer and then produce the book using the industrial equipment located in the studio. After the photo books are completed, all proceeds will go to the artist and Composit Press, feeding back into the studio to better improve the student experience.
“The cyclical nature of the class allows students to experience the entire process: designing the structure, sourcing the materials, crafting the layout, then pitching their mockup to the photographer in person,” explained Baden. “All while manufacturing the chosen design from the previous term.”
The studio will also be taking commissions, with students working under Baden’s guidance to create publications, notebooks, journals, bookmarks, and other materials for external clients.
Within the Bittersweet
Students in fall term 2024’s ART 399 created and presented mockups of photographer Allison Grant’s series, titled Within the Bittersweet. Grant, an artist and an associate professor of photography at The University of Alabama, created the dark, narrative photographic series about raising children amid concerns about the impacts of climate change and environmental contamination. The photos were taken in and around Grant’s home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where dense vegetation and natural beauty intersect with industrial and fossil-fuel facilities that dot the region.
“I had my first daughter when I was living in Chicago and curating a gallery showing related to climate change,” said Grant. “The intersection between the experience of raising children and the tangible impacts of human-made climate change was so striking to me. To my surprise, I felt it so deeply when my daughter was born; the challenging years ahead of not only raising a child, but also experiencing the effects of climate change, felt so real, visceral, and close.”
After moving from Chicago to Alabama, Grant immediately noticed the proximity and toxicity from the fossil fuel industry that presented immediate health questions and concerns. Grant’s images attempt to relay the psychic experience of raising children in the era of climate change.
“I was thinking about all of the natural beauty and experiences central-Alabama has to offer, but there’s always a darkness looming nearby,” explained Grant.
Grant reviewing mockups at Composit Press in November 2024
Students reviewing each other's mockups of Within the Bittersweet
Grant speaking with students about their proposed designs for Within the Bittersweet
Students reviewing each other's mockups of Within the Bittersweet
Students of Composit Press cutting fabric for Within the Bittersweet
From design to production
The 14 students each had six weeks to choose from over 100 of Grant’s photos, to sequence, design, and print into a fully-functioning mockup. Grant visited the studio in November 2024 to review each mockup and listen to the students’ pitches. Each student presented their own, unique version of the book.
“I tried to come into the process with a collaborative spirit and to trust the students and trust Evan,” said Grant. “There were a wide variety of options and I surprisingly learned a lot about my own work from the students’ framing and sequencing of my photos. Each book created a different exchange between viewer and artist.”
Grant decided to choose the mockup by Holly Thompson, a senior majoring in graphic design and minoring in anthropology and photography.
“When I opened Holly’s book, I felt that I was stepping into her world,” explained Grant. “The opening sequence was a powerful and linear portrayal of climate change and by the time you arrive at the title page, you’re entrenched in this beautiful and intimate world. Holly saw my work in its entirety and made it into something tactile and immersive.”
When Thompson first saw Grant’s work, she was overwhelmed by the beauty of her “human-based, natural photography.” Thompson got to work by conducting visual research, e.g. creating collages and vision boards, starting with her “wildest dreams” for the mockup, then narrowing down to what would be plausible in six weeks and appropriate for Grant’s photographic style. In the end, Thompson chose a softcover book that used images of vines and forest overgrowth from one of Grant’s photos on the inside covers, creating the immersiveness Grant admired.
“I wanted readers to feel encompassed and closed in from when they opened the cover,” explained Thompson. “Each photo presented amongst and in between the vines.”
For the students, the mockups they presented to Grant were final drafts, but for Grant, this was the first draft. Working together after the selection, Grant, Thompson, and Baden refined the design and made changes to the book. The book became hardcover, grew in page count and size, and was rearranged.
As for next steps, once Thompson had created a final mockup, Grant and Baden announced the pre-sale of the photo book during winter 2025, with students in spring term’s ART 399 leading the production with Thompson advising.
“There’s something that happens when you know what you’re making is ‘real’ and that will be out in the world that other people will engage with. I saw the students’ deep investment in their designs,” said Grant. “It was an amazing and humbling experience and something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Two students using machinery to emboss the cover of Within the Bittersweet
Final product of Within the Bittersweet
Students examining photos directly from the printer
Serving the arts community
In addition to annually printing a new photobook, Composit Press accepts commission-based projects, whereby students will manage a production for an external organization, from initial design to delivery, as an opportunity for independent study.
During winter term 2025, Abigail Piña, a junior in graphic design, collaborated with curator Amy Chaloupka and artists and writers Garth Amundson and Pierre Gour to develop a printed catalog for their upcoming exhibition at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington. Titled Not the Whole Picture, the exhibition, which opened in March 2025, is a visual compilation of 35 years of photography, painting, and mixed media installation, which centers queer identity while exploring the arc of their collaborative and personal partnership.
Piña and Baden met with Chaloupka, Amundson, and Gour early on to outline the program and organize the mix of images and essays. After aligning priorities and agreeing on a final look, Piña began production of the 28-page book.
“Overall, the most important step was confirming that initial sense of what the artists were looking for that reflected the existing brand of the museum,” said Piña. “Then, I needed to find the right balance between the wants and needs of both the artists and gallery, while staying true to my personal style.”
A daunting task with lots of trial and error, after three months of work, Piña printed, hand folded, foiled-stamped, trimmed, and stapled each program, resulting in a powerful mix of storytelling through photos and essays.
“Working as part of Composit Press was a huge learning opportunity for me,” said Piña. “This experience gave me my first glimpse into the professional world of design and brought great awareness of the amount of steps that go into the production of a book.”
An image from the printed program for Not the Whole Picture by Composit Press