Liam McEvoy

A Book Called OUT!

OUT! is a book showcasing LGBTQ+ thoughts and work of talented creatives in the design and tech industry. The book contains 25 interviews with leading figures from the LGBTQ+ community aiming to bring greater representation by talking to these amazing people working within the industry.

The book has a feeling of quality, something that will be treasured. OUT! is a beautifully designed publication and will be produced as a 210mm square book with approximately 72 pages and matte laminated case bound cover.

OUT! was launched on Kickstarter on May 1st 2020 and was fully funded with 17 days remaining. Now after running a successful campaign it will be sent to the printers and then I will be sending it all around the world.

During my time at university I have found it difficult to find LGBTQ+ representation and I know this would be a struggle for some design students and it would be very difficult to find resources to find inspiration and positive role models.

I feel that this book would be able to solve this problem, I have interviewed over 25 leading figures in the industry to help gain an insight not only on their life but their thoughts and work and we speak about if we think that being in the LGBTQ+ community had an impact on their careers.

I hope through this book many more people will see design and tech as an industry they will feel welcome in.

The Process

I believe there is something in this book for everyone - it will be an important resource for individuals who are struggling to find LGBTQ+ recognition within the industry. I know if I had this book while studying at univeristy it would have been a brilliant resource to find representation and also positive role models who I could look up to. This book would also be a great resource for those who are looking to find out more about the industry or those who are passionate about design and tech.

The main challenge I had when I started this project was that I had never created a book before and using InDesign was a completely new software to me. I wanted to learn how to use this software as I never had the opportunity until doing this book. Now from using this software to complete this project I have gained new skills to enhance my current skill set.

I requested to the librarian on the campus if it would be possible to buy a book in for me called "Queer X Design" by Andy Campbell as I really thought it would have been useful for my research and to find inspiration for my book. During my Kickstarter campaign Andy followed my promotional instagram account for the book and he supported the campaign and pledged to get a copy!

The Outcome

I had made a stratgic plan to promote my Kickstarter by creating multiple social media platforms to promote the book on which I would regulary upload impressive visuals of the book. I am also a member in a couple of slack groups that are LGBT related to design and tech where I also recieved a lot of support from. I have also been featured on Quarantine Book Club and also on OUT Podcast which has helped me gain addittional support to the campaign.

This is my first time experiencing my own Kickstarter launch, it has been exciting, but it has also involved a lot of hard work! The Kickstarter was fully funded within 13 days out of the 30 days the campaign was set to run for. This project could not have happened without the amazing support of so many people – friends, family, lecturers, contributors to the book and lots of people who I have never even met, from all around the world.

I am really happy that I had the opportunity to create this book and growing my skill sets through completing this course. The book has received a lot of attention online since launching it on Kickstarter, many people have reached out to me to be in it although the book is done it has made me want to do a second edition. Check out the book here: abookcalledout.com