Bulletin de la Société belge de géologie, de paléontologie et d'hydrologie 1887

Curator: Here we have "Bulletin de la Société belge de géologie, de paléontologie et d'hydrologie", a print dating back to 1887 by Polleunis et Ceuterick. My initial thought is, 'elegance'. A restrained, balanced design. Editor: My immediate reaction is a bit different. It looks aged, almost brittle. The materiality of the paper jumps out, its potential for decay. And, considering it’s a geological society bulletin, the labor involved in its creation interests me - the paper production, printing, and distribution within that specific scientific community. Curator: True, the physical properties do speak to age, but observe how the typography anchors the composition. The varying font sizes create a hierarchy, drawing your eye from "BULLETIN" to the society's name. It’s about guiding the reader visually. Editor: For me, it's equally about the unseen labor, how information circulated at the time, who had access to this bulletin and knowledge. It represents a stage in the production and consumption of scientific discourse, its design and distribution a testament to particular material conditions. I think how the geological information here helped shape our perception of Earth, which further facilitated natural resource exploitation. Curator: That's a very materialist perspective. I still find the use of varied typesetting to add depth and articulation. The way they break up the sections by font and font sizes draws the reader in effectively. Editor: And this careful organization allows for its findings to become available for a more consumerist scientific appetite. It has moved knowledge production, and labor further and further apart. It allows people at higher levels to profit. This division has a political nature. Curator: I think its visual choices represent this search of objectivity that science in the 19th century was trying to pursue. This separation through visual communication is more efficient. Editor: Indeed. We are on the precipice of the birth of corporate logos and identity packages that will control labor and branding in a total way. I find it is interesting to think that a Geology publication might show this tendency and be the starting point of design. Curator: Ultimately, both the form and the potential social impacts you’ve addressed show the thought and expertise, the beauty and efficiency of graphic works like this. Editor: I agree. Looking beyond aesthetic considerations reveals complex webs of production, labor, and historical scientific progress.