Daniel Benneworth-Gray on the joy of collage

Our design correspondent, Daniel Benneworth-Gray, has rediscovered a love of the printed page via his own bookshelves and quickly finds himself cutting and pasting for real

Illustration: Daniel Benneworth-Gray

I’ve spent an unsavoury chunk of this year unable to loiter in the bookshops and charity shops of York, my eyes and fingers starved of the vital printed inspiration that feeds my own work. Frustrated, I’ve redirected this attention towards my own bookshelves, revisiting a personal library too often taken for granted. Unfortunately, reading and looking isn’t enough for all that pent-up, poring-over energy. No, I’ve taken to cutting things up.

Restlessly keen to pounce on any passing creative bandwagon, I’ve found myself working the recent resurgence of collage into my book design. I’ve been cutting and pasting for real for a change, and it’s incredibly satisfying – if a little destructive.