Class CraftedStudent-run bookbindery begins production.

Tucked away in a garage at Snell Hall, a student-staffed book press has quietly begun turning out carefully crafted photobooks. Composit Press, which launched last year, offers hands-on experience designing, pitching and producing books using industrial-grade equipment. The studio’s first project was Within the Bittersweet by Allison Grant, artist and professor of photography at the University of Alabama. Grant selected a design by Holly Thompson, ’25, then a senior majoring in graphic design, featuring vines and forest overgrowth from Grant’s photos.

“There’s something that happens when you know what you’re making is ‘real’ and will be out in the world,” said Evan Baden, senior instructor of photography in the School of Visual, Performing and Design Arts. “I saw the students’ deep investment in their designs.” Proceeds will go both to the artist and to support the press. Composit also accepts commission-based projects, which students produce for independent study.