2025, The Year of Topsy
Marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of an elephant
As a graphic designer, particularly one focused on communication, there are many dimensions to my role. I don’t just create appealing visual solutions, I’m here to solve complex problems that cover layout, structure, coherence and visual language. Crafting typography that supports the written word and images that contribute meaning and context. Even the physical feel of a publication is part of the experience of the work. As a designer, my role is to support the project, not overwhelm it with visual baggage. To interpret what it needs to connect and communicate with the desired audience and make it 'shine'. I am always at my best when working with my clients, when I understand what they need and can help inform and support their brief, whatever that might be. This is the principle I’ve always applied to my work across many sectors over the years.
I’ve worked with the author, scholar and curator Kim Stallwood for several years now on a variety of projects, most importantly, providing design support as he researches and develops The Topsy Project, an important work researching and writing the definitive biography of Topsy, a female Asian elephant who was born 150 years ago in Southeast Asia, captured and trafficked across Europe to America, where she spent nearly 30 years as a circus elephant before her cruel public execution by electrocution at the Luna Park complex, Coney Island, in 1903.
The Topsy story is not just about one elephant, but a wider story of the animal trade and the global trafficking and exploitation of elephants, the circus world, its personalities, the traders, trainers and agents, and ultimatly her connection to the Edison company. It tries to understand and decode her reputation as a bad, 'unmanagable' elephant and even the involvement of the science community and animal rights movement - all seen through the lens of the contemporary records and newspapers, and the infamous short film made to promote the Edison company that scholars consider a pivitol moment in media history. The story also touches on the lives of many other elephants, the campaigners and the public figures who exploited Topsy for their own aims.
Throughout this working process, we’ve already produced a number of books and pamphlets to help promote the campaign, elevate Topsy's profile and raise funding to support Kim in his research and as he works towards agent representation and publication. As a designer, my role has been to craft a visual language to support Kim with creative visual material, artwork, publishing and digital media support. Most of our work has been geared towards social media, where Kim can connect with a global audience and build a dialogue with his audience supporters through Substack, Patreon, etc, and I’ve been able to channel my work towards building a visual landscape and creating publications that honour both Topsy and the work Kim has undertaken. This is a long-term project that will take several years and the need to raise appropriate funding is inevitable. Everything we do within The Topsy Project needs to be accessible and attractive to an audience, economic and achievable, and play a part in raising funds and awareness.
We’ve just released a new publication, 2025, The Year Of Topsy, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Topsy’s birth - a benchmark publication that covers everything Kim has done so far, explains how he works, his history and qualifications to undertake this project. We examine the Topsy legacy, the key figures that appear in her story and compare and contrast with many other elephant biographies from across the last 150 years. We also take a deeper look into the process of writing a biography of this kind, anthromorphism, understanding the history of writing about animals, and our written relationship with them.
2025, The Year Of Topsy, is a carefully designed and crafted 140-page book, printed on high-quality 130 gsm paper in full colour, and in a special, limited edition of just 50 copies, each with a signed and numbered edition card. The layout of the book itself was designed to reference contemporary posters and newspapers, and other ephemera familiar to the Topsy story. The funds raised will be used to support Kim as he moves into the final stage of writing the book. It’s available directly from Kim via the Topsy website, or through my own online shop - there is also a digital version available to download from Amazon, along with a selection of Kim's other books and publications that support the Topsy Project.
2025, The Year Of Topsy is an important, standalone publication in its own right, with many rare photographs, contemporary ephemera and a carefully chosen selection of other elephants' lives, which will itself form an introduction to a much larger, more evolved study late this year.
By buying this book, you’ll not only be supporting Kim but also gain a greater understanding of this world and where we are now in our relationship with elephants.
My own experience of the project as a designer has been incredibly rewarding and enriching, both creatively, professionally and as a supporter of animal rights and welfare.
