Overview
I have created covers, interiors designs, and typeset books for small independent trade publishers as well as international publishing companies such as Yale University Press. I have specialized in exhibition catalogs for art museums, artist monographs for university presses, books on natural history, photography, cookbooks, children’s illustrated books, and literary titles.It has been my pleasure to work with a wide range of clients, including authors, artists, collectors, museum curators, and directors and I love them all, even the challenging ones. Having flexibility, a sense of calm, and thorough understanding of the process goes a long way in making people confident they will get the end result they want. My approach to working with authors is pretty straightforward. It starts with a conversation or interview, where we get to know each other. I ask a series of questions to get a sense of their creative vision and taste in design. Of course, having at least a portion of the manuscript, edited or not, is extremely helpful in developing a concept, particularly for the cover. The conversation hits on many topics including content and intended audience, the books organization, basic design interests, typography, color, and so on. Once we get started, the communication continues through design reviews and revision. In the end, my goal is for the author to be happy, me to be happy, and for the book to sell successfully. Michelle Komie Publisher, Art and Architecture at PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS July 9, 2019, Michelle was a client of Jeff’s I've worked with Jeff for over a decade now, first at Lucia Marquand and then as a freelance designer. He's one of the most flexible and skillful freelance designers I know, and has designed major books on everything from mid-century modern architecture (Lambert / Building Seagram) to Asian decorative arts (Pate / Kanban) to 19th-century French art (Crow / Restoration). He is a outstanding collaborator--highly professional, excellent communication, gorgeous typographic sense, creative, great ideas, production minded, and budget-conscious. I would wish any author or publisher the pleasure of working with him. Susan M. Neider Publisher at Rainstone Press Exceptionally talented, artistically versatile, sensitive to the huge impact of tiny typographic detail, professional, communicative, articulate, prompt, and affordable are all words that come to mind when thinking of Jeff Wincapaw's outstanding qualities. Fuse them together and you have the ultimate book designer, one who can transform your formative thoughts and ideas into a polished and perfect work of art. There is no reason to look further than Jeff if you are searching for an experienced book designer who can do it all.
Services
Non-Fiction
Architecture
Art
Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits
History
Nature
Photography
Awards
- Ippy
- Designers & Books: Design book of the Year
- Association of American University Presses
- American Alliance of Museums
- Graphis
Work experience
Modernist Cuisine
Sep, 2016 —
Jul, 2019
(almost 3 years)
Manage design and photography teams. Art direct photo shoots. Design and layout complex cookbooks.
Self-employed
Jun, 2012 —
Present
Art director for Modernist Cuisine
Designer and Art director for Marquand Books in Seattle
Portfolio
Sometime in the early fourth century BC, an unknown Egyptian master carved an exquisite portrait in dark-green stone. The statue that included this head of a priest, likely a citizen of ancient Memphis, may have been damaged when the Persians conquered Egypt i... read more
"What are the best places in Yellowstone?""What should I see to make my trip memorable?"Essential Yellowstone answers those questions with a simple alphabetical list showcasing a dramatic collection of modern and vintage photographs of 50 Unforgettable Places ... read more
Revealing the power of color as physical medium, a key to interpretation, and a mediator of social and political change This expansive study of color illuminates the substance, context, and meaning of five centuries of European painting. Between the mid-15th a... read more
An authoritative and elegant study of the theme of repetition in early modern painting Today serial imagery dominates all forms of visual media, from advertising to conceptual sculpture. In this innovative project, the authors show that the phenomenon of repet... read more
A fascinating account of how the railway influenced more than a century of art in Europe and America Steam locomotives gripped the imagination when they first appeared in 19th-century Europe and America. Aboard these great machines, passengers traveled at fast... read more
An important new look at Cold War art on both sides of the Atlantic In October 1962, a set of blurred surveillance photographs brought the world to the brink of nuclear apocalypse during the Cuban missile crisis. The pictures themselves demonstrated little, an... read more
A beautifully illustrated look at the vogue for night landscapes amid the social, political, and technological changes of modern America The turn of the 20th century witnessed a surge in the creation and popularity of nocturnes and night landscapes in American... read more
This stunning collection of photographic portraits traces US history through the lives of well-known abolitionists, artists, scientists, writers, statesman, entertainers, and sports figures. Drawing on the photographic collections of the National Portrait Gall... read more
Artists have utilized walking as an autonomous form of art, a subject in their work, and as social practice since the early 20th century. Today walking continues to offer a salient means for artists to challenge social, political, and economic orders through a... read more
How leading American artists reflected on the fate of humanity in the nuclear era through monumental sculptureIn the wake of the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945, artists in the United States began to question what it meant to create a work of art in a world w... read more
A sweeping history of Los Angeles told through the lens of the many marginalized groups—from hobos to taggers—that have used the city’s walls as a channel for communication Graffiti written in storm drain tunnels, on neighborhood walls, and under bridges tells... read more
How social upheavals after the collapse of the French Empire shaped the lives and work of artists in early nineteenth-century EuropeAs the French Empire collapsed between 1812 and 1815, artists throughout Europe were left uncertain and adrift. The final abdica... read more
A revealing look at the irrevocable change in art during the 1960s and its relationship to the modern culture of fact This refreshing and erudite book offers a new understanding of the transformation of photography and the visual arts around 1968. Author Joshu... read more
A glimpse into the markets, crafts, and signage of early modern JapanKanban are the traditional signs Japanese merchants displayed on the street to advertise their presence, represent the products and services to be found inside their shops, and lend a sense o... read more
"Undoing is just as much a democratic right as doing."---Gordon Matta-Clark This revealing book looks at the groundbreaking work of Gordon Matta-Clark (1943–1978), whose socially conscious practice blurred the boundaries between contemporary art and architectu... read more
