Design principles brief (OUGD404)

For this brief I have decided to write myself a more direct brief outlining the things that individualise my project/book from others.

Studio brief

Produce a set of 10 double page spreads, bound appropriately to express the message and content within the book. Consider how the book also needs to show form, function and construction of a book throughout.

Include a contents page and introduction to the content.

The content is conspiracy theories, consider how this could inform design decisions (legibility, grid, type). 

Background/considerations

The purpose of the brief is to show understanding of book production and use of layout and typesetting. Each decision must be well informed by content and research to prove understanding of these things.

Consider the nature of the content material and how this creates an effect.

My Proposal

Content- The content of my book is conspiracy theories, I have sourced all my information and body copy content online in articles stating facts about each conspiracy that give evidence they could be true. 

Printing- I will use glow in the dark screen printing, white ink screen printing, embossing and possibly black ink screen printing or ink jet printing.

Binding- I will use open spine stitch binding to ensure the book opens flat therefore the braille is easily read and the open spine represents 'exposing truths'. If possible I will combine this with a concertina fold so my braille spreads can be double sided.

Stock- I will use bright white stock as I want my book to look pretty much white all the way through even with the ink on top. I'm unsure of the gsm as I don't know if open stitch and concertina can be combined. For the last chapter I want to use acetate but i'm currently unsure if you can fold this stock and if not I need to find out if you can open spine bind single sheets.  

Format- A5, I think a smaller publication seems more secretive and can be hidden away.

Time management- week 1- Find out if my book is possible (printing & binding) then book production slots where necessary 

week 2- Begin to design the InDesign file for my book 

week 3- Finish InDesign file and buy stock

week 4- Emboss and screen print book 

week 5- Ink jet the black finishing touches onto the book

week 6- Bind book

week 7- Finish everything off (design boards etc.)

Book cover designs - studio brief 2 (OUGD406)

These designs were created around the idea of creating abstract patterns from type. I used the letters L & M for the last names of the authors as a homage to them as in current day they are extremely well known in graphic design and writing. 

This design was using the letter L to create a repeat pattern. I decided to use the type box from the modernist type design I previously did as I think the professional and clean look was really effective in showing the formality of the books content but it needed some background imagery to make it more interesting looking.

Next pattern was using the letter M, I do like the pattern created but it looks a little cramped and overfull and pulls the eye away from the information too much.

Next I decided to create a circular pattern instead of repeat. I think so far this is the most attractive design as theres lots of white space so its not over cramped and your eye is still drawn to the key information. The type in the middle is most abstract and the letters become more readable towards the outside, this could represent the idea of this book opening up your mind to new graphic design inspiration and your understanding of things becoming more clear.

My next design was inspired by Jessica Hische's drop cap designs as I have created my capitals cut out from one of my patterns.

I also experimented with composition but I preferred the type at the bottom as it makes the drop caps stand out more than the other information.

These are a variation of the drop cap design but with the pattern as a background, I don't think these are effective as the pattern is too busy and in your face.

This is a minimal design using lots of white space and one of the none phonetic symbols included in the book. I really like this design as minimal is quite appealing to me but I think a different design could take advantage of the interesting effects screen printing creates better.

I did this variation of the design where I could overlay two colours and take advantage of the screen printing outcome better.

This next one is using a different non phonetic symbol from the book with a different layout. I changed the tracking on each word to span the page and look really bold. 

This next one was informed by the original design where the writing doesn't read in the right order, I think this relates to the idea they wanted to break rules on the cover to make it different and possibly more appealing to post-modern designers. I tried to make this more effective by splitting it into two colours. Also once again taking advantage of overlapping screens.

http://weavesilk.com/

These designs were created using an online radial pattern creator, I liked this because the designs looked like brain scans/brain waves which is quite relevant to the books content. I added type that interacted with the pattern. I think this is really relevant design idea as it looks like an informational book but still interesting. Unfortunately i'm unsure about how such a detailed image would screen print.

This next design is a variation of the previous type pattern but I made it out of outlined type to make the design more intricate and look like brain waves slightly which I think is pretty effective, I can then overlay the other information.

The idea behind this design was that it looks like smudged biro ink, which is related to the essay writing theme.

This next design was taking the title of the book quite literally by using an image of a hand writing. I looked at my research and I loved the idea of using halftone to create tone in the image and really take advantage of the screen printing effects. I prefer the top design as the hand on its side is less unclear of what's actually going on in the image. I stayed with the modernist style type style as its academic and used Helvetica as its comfortable and appropriate for a book about graphic design.

These 3 designs were my favourites so I decided to do an online crit to get the class' opinions on which was the best.

The majority liked the orange design most, I have to agree as its the most informed design and the thin lines and contrasting colour is really effective. One comment said it could be improved by having the inside of the writing completely white rather than being able to see the pattern to increase legibility which I agree is a good idea.

In preparation for screen printing the design I split the colours and made negatives for each part.  

The other requirement of this brief was to design and digitally print a dust cover for the book. I created a box similar to the one on the front and left aligned the books description. I set the type using modernist design principles and went through each paragraph moving words down to create a clean and neat rag and avoiding orphans.

Studio brief 2 - Individual practice - Leeds library book cover (OUGD406)

I started my research by looking at Jessica Hische, starting with her work on the Penguin drop cap series. For this she created an individual drop cap design for each of the authors last names, I like the idea of ignoring the content of a book when designing for it and instead paying homage to legendary writers. Its putting in use the 'don't judge a book by its cover' saying as you can't actually judge its content by the design at all, but because of the high quality and detailed beauty of the cover you know it must be good. I think this is something I could try adapt into some of my ideas. 

This series also demonstrates an effective way of designing with only 2 colours plus stock. Hische has used bold and detailed imagery and bright contrasting colours that instantly grab your eye. My careful use of colour need to be considered well for this brief as I want to attract people without giving off any other negative connotations.

Next I looked at a series of type based illustrations by Hannah Bain. http://hannahbain.com/ABC-print The main part of my chosen book that interested me was on non-phonetic symbols and adapting this idea of creating image from type but using the symbols explained in the book could be really interesting. I could even combine Jessica Hische inspired drop caps with this idea which would be really interesting and full of detail.

Looking more at this range of illustrations shows the huge range of completely original illustrations that can be created using this style/media.

http://nikiblack.co.uk/?portfolio=6

Looking further at using type as image/pattern I looked at this book called Type patterns by Niki Black. He uses Baskerville to create repeat patterns, some are more abstract than others but all are incredibly interesting and mesmerizing. Looking at this book gave me the idea that the symbols or type I use to create image doesn't have to create something that creates an actual image and can purely be pattern. I could reserve a part of the cover for the title and have the rest engulfed in typographical pattern.

This next design is by Peter Mendelsund, he has really simply repeated the title and authors names over and over, I think this suggest a pretty text heavy book and tells the reader this book will be helpful if they need to intake a lot of helpful information possibly in preparation for writing an essay. I like the white space and minimal aesthetic also is creates a professional and serious look, I feel like the design makes you feel you can trust the information within to be true and reliable. 

This is another Peter Mendelsund cover design. This design inspired an idea that I could create a home made cut and stick look to the cover representing the idea the book takes you through graphic design history improving your design practice. I love the sheer simplicity of this design and complete obviousness. It could be interesting toying with the idea of using imagery of a pen and paper & other design equipment as an obvious depiction of the book title.

I watched the videos creative review recorded with Shirley Tucker about her cover work for Faber and Faber. This cover for Sylvia Plath's, The bell jar is a particular favourite of mine. The illusion design draws you into the book and suggests a dark and deep theme to the book. It is relatable to the book and the troubles the author was undertaking personally when writing it. All the books i've found most appealing so far have included strong, bold patterns to draw in the reader and left the information to talk for itself from there on in, I really like this approach especially since the use of symbols in a pattern would be really relevant to my books content.

http://jamierickett.tumblr.com/ I found this designer who's work I find really inspiring called Jamie Rickett. The example shows how 2 colour screen printing creates some interesting effects. Where the blue overlays the red it creates a whole new colour, this can be a positive thing as its a sneaky way of getting around the restrictions of just using 2 colours. It could also be a negative thing as without experimentation theres no way of knowing what shade this third colour will be.

This next example of 2 colour screen printing shows how you can use halftone to create tone within the limited colour palette and take advantage of the colour changes when they are overlayed.

I really like this minimalist style cover design for the book 1984. It portrays the overall message of the book in just a few really simple symbols. Seen as a large proportion of the book is about symbols I could simply choose an interesting one and have it as a stand alone graphic on the cover.

Book cover analysis - study task 3 (OUGD406)

Study task 3 was a crit with other people on the book covers. The opinions were...

• Shows breaking design rules
• The design on the back is more effective
• No relevance to writing - looks more like a photography book, does not relate to the content
• Scary looking 
• Looks like a book on Ted Bundy
• Making essay writing look less mundane would be good
• Does not represent the book as a whole
• Looks like a print mistake as the type does not read in the right order
• Yellow and black does not work, looks like a crime and danger book
• Uncomfortable feeling, uninformed and would expect a more crisp look

Words people used to describe the design were

• Thoughtless
• Irrelevant
• Thoughtless
• Tasteless
• Uninformed
• Lazy
• Eye Saw
• Uncomfortable 

The next part of this task was to subvert the negative words, choose a typeface thats relevant to the book, decide on a hierarchy of information then create a black and white typographic treatment from this information.

The subverts of my words were

• Well thought out
• Relevant
• Informed
• Comfortable

From these I decided possible typefaces could be

• Helvetica
• Futura 
• Universal typeface

These typefaces are much more relevant to the content of the book and are comfortably recognisable in the design world and highly appreciated.

This is my first idea sketch for the typographic treatment. I wanted to create a modernist design that practiced having no emotional attachment in the design and just portrayed the information in a simple and legible way. I decided on the pt sizes and to use Helvetica regular and bold.

This next design idea was also pretty simple but I made the title really bold to stand out more, once again using Helvetica to keep the design comfortable and not portraying connotations through the font.

My last design was less of a modernist design as I wanted the type to spread across the whole cover using the same pt size but editing the tracking. I think this could be interesting as the book isn't just about modernism.

In the end I went with the first idea. I used Helvetica bold for the title, regular for the subtitle and bold for the authors. I decided on this hierarchy because the title is the most important piece of information, next I decided the subtitle and authors names would be the same pt size but the names be bold. I decided this because the authors are really well known and would definitely give design students the incentive to read the book so its important information. Now to see if the design treatment successfully portrayed more positive words than the original design we did a mini crit where people wrote down what they thought. The opinions given were...

• Very bold- Looks like a similar font to the original.
• Modern
• Ordered
• Consistent
• Straight to the point
• Readable
• Legible
• Simple
• Obvious
• Contemporary
• Use of size and weight = eye catching, simple and clear
• Academic 
• Focused

I was really happy with this feedback as this design was clearly a success. I think the fact people said it was academic is really good as the book is essentially an aim for writing essays.