Publishing & Production Services
House of ShAkE offers a full range of services from project development, organization and planning, through writing and editing, to layout, design and production. For any project requiring skills we don't have in-house, a network of consultants and experts is just a call away.
Michael R. Caplan is highly regarded not only for his sense of design, but also for his gifts as a writer and editor, and as the facilitator of enjoyable and highly successful client collaborations.
He began experimenting with page layout as a teenager, creating and designing his own science fiction fanzine. He started working professionally in the field in the 1990, designing a catalogue for the special events company where he worked at the time. His subsequent clients included independent artists and arts company, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations and specialist publishing houses Spring Journal & Books, publishers of the longest-running journal of Jungian psychology in the world, and Dance Collection Danse Press/es, a Canadian dance history archive and publisher.
Michael's primary interest is in book design, and House of ShAkE is dedicated to the enduring cultural value of the book. Michael has also created magazines, manuals, policy documents, CD covers, press kits, grant applications and reports, branding and logos, occasional documents for conferences and other events, programs, websites (including this one), and promotional materials such as flyers and ads. The details below are taken from his complete résumé.
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Recommendations
Michael is meticulous. He takes great care with every aspect of the job, is willing to experiment with different concepts, works diligently with colleagues, and truly overextends himself with each individual project. Indeed, we had asked him only to create good looking publications, but as a writer and editor himself, he went so far as to read the all the texts and articles and make intelligent suggestions for possible changes to the writings.
His work is inventive and appealing and he has been able to capture the essence and spirit of each of our varied magazine articles through his design. And the David Earle book is one which continues to receive glowing compliments from readers.
Miriam Adams
Co-founder/Director
Dance Collection Danse
His work is meticulous, well thought out and always delivered in a timely fashion. Michael takes care of the design element as well as the text. He is one of the best writers we have worked with. I am also aware of Michael’s other work, which includes the much praised book on choreographer David Earle. I recommend him highly.
Bill Coleman
As the operator of a small business which manages various government projects, standing out is often difficult with so many big organizations to compete against. From the start up of our organization to the present, we have had a lot of success in our business presentation thanks to Michael and his ideas.
Michael’s company made everything we developed go from good to great. We do a lot of reports, booklets and written documentation, and while our content was always excellent our presentation often did not capture our audience. With Michael’s help we have been able to do that.
Michael is aware that we want to do what we do best – meet the terms of our contracts with our funders – and so he works within budget and within our frame of reference. He creates what we need without requiring huge time commitments. Michael is quick to grasp the concepts we are trying to project, and put them out in a manner that works for our audience. He has been very helpful in writing and or rewriting our documents, and in helping us to craft the right image for our work.
Working with Michael is also easy, as he can handle time crunches and comes across as very relaxed – helpful with a team that sometimes becomes quite anxious.
Susan Hoo
Coordinator, CMAS
You should also know that before the pages were prepared some extra work on the editing was done by Michael Caplan, with the permission of Tom Singer, to make the chapter read more smoothly. He is a very sensitive, intelligent, and aesthetically minded senior editor, who also has attended to the layout and has decided to get the Chinese characters in after all.
Heyong Shen, author of “Heart and Soul in Shanghai” (in Spring's Psyche and the City, ed. Tom Singer)
Michael –
Putting pen to paper to make material my gratitude for the beauty of your work designing the book on my choreographic oeuvre.
People are astonished by it – you have to keep turning the pages – the eye is refreshed every time – It could have been so dry and repetitive in less creative hands.
You can imagine that it is a milestone for my existence – There is a before the book and after.
I feel largely invisible until now – Being somewhat shy – it is an adjustment – still one made gratefully.
Thank you
David Earle, transcription of handwritten letter on the publication of David Earle: A Choreographic Biography (DCD Press/es)