Glossaries for Forwardness

Glossaries for Forwardness was a multi-platform project and exhibition by artist Marie Farrington that took place at the Museum Building in Trinity College Dublin.

The Museum Building is renowned for the wide range of Irish stone types used in its construction. The design of the publication for Glossaries for Forwardness was influenced by the emphasis on materials in the design of the building. At points throughout the publication, text is printed reversed on the opposite side of the page it is read. The tinting which results from this allows the publication's materials (the semi-transparent 60gsm paper and ink) to be incorporated as part of the design.

The Geology and Geography departments housed within the building also influenced the design. Marbling (which references geology in both its name and its look) was frequently used for the end pages of books designed during the era the Museum Building was built. Custom marbled patterns were created using iron gall ink (a type of ink popular at that time) and are used throughout the publication.