~ book production - type in context ~

In terms of stock most art and photography books use matte due to the texture appeal to the audience, matte stock allows you to handle and appreciate a publication without leaving marks/fingerprints.

But traditionally photographs are printed on gloss stock to create full clarity and colour contrast, it makes the photos look more high quality and sharp.

A way my publication could combine both matte stock and gloss images is through the use of UV spot varnish. This technique would be used to create this effect if the book was being produced commercially. But due to my publication being a one off prototype rather than mass produced I can recreate this effect using gloss screen printing on top of a matte stock. This is the technique I will use for my large format section of the publication.

For my insert I want the stock to contrast the minimal white stock I want to use for the main body. Using coloured stock will be effective as all the content within the insert is type and monochrome photography. The image above shows a book of gradients this inspired the possible of using multiple shades of a coloured stock throughout the book. The colour most appropriate to this publication is blue due to the city of Hull being known for its docks and coastline, but this colour choice could differ in each publication for different cities.

G.F.Smiths colour plan range provides a large selection of variations of blue all available in different stock finishes and gsm. I plan to select a few different shades to experiment with depending on availability. This range of paper is widely available in commercial printers also so if the book was being produced commercially this stock could be used.

I've observed that a lot of art and photography books take on a magazine like aesthetic when it comes to binding and choose to use perfect binding methods. This looks tidy and clean but isn't the most appropriate to my publication due to the photographs spanning the spreads perfect binding would warp the images and parts would become less visible.

Another possible binding technique is saddle stitching using either staples or string. This method affects the pagination of the book but is relatively easy to achieve due to automatic pagination tools on InDesign. This method of binding allows you to open a publication to lay much flatter than perfect bound books perfect for images that span across spreads.

I'm proposing that for my publication I use string saddle stitching as my binding method. The use of string rather than staples is more appealing to a creative target audience, it suggests a more hand crafted element appreciated more by the audience. This binding method is available also in commercial printers using binding and stitching machines.

Summary

To summarise I will be using both a white and experiment with multiple shades of blue stock. I will then screen print a gloss finish onto the images within the publication. To finish the book I will saddle stitch the book together using string.

~ layout design - type in context ~

The initial format of the insert was uninformed by the layout and format of the main publication.

This image shows where the original formated insert would lie within the book. Each photo would be positioned within the layout so the main letter of interest is on the left hand side and isn't split by the fold. 

For a more effective layout that follows the grid guidelines I created the insert thickness has been changed to align with the edge of the photo. Thickening the insert also means the margins between type can be thicker so losing edges of type when the book is bound wont be an issue.

According to the new format of the insert I experimented with the use of negative space and the text layout.

 This layout with wider columns is more effective; it allows each sentence to average about  7/8 words per line which is proven to be more easily legible than the previous layouts 5/6 words per line. This layout also allows the image to be larger so the reader can navigate the city easier creating the concept of it being a guide a lot more successfully.

When bound this is the layout the publication will have, the blue box representative of the insert. The green box represents the margin size used on the insert which i've kept consistent on the introduction and summary pages within the larger format pages.

Each page of the insert features the information about each letter on the front (left) then the right image is information about an artist's attraction in Hull to be printed on the reverse side of the stock. All the type is left flushed and typeset to keep it as legible as possible.

~ Responsive - initial ideas ~

For this brief we need to enter competitions as an individual, we need to choose one competition to be our main priority then other smaller briefs to do alongside this.

For the main priority competition I will choose to do either D&AD or YCN awards because of their value in the design world and connection opportunities they provide depending on the briefs they choose to pitch this year. (I will still do both but just focus on one).

Possibilities for the other smaller entries include...

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=tokyo-2020-emblems-design-competition - designing the 2020 Tokyo olympics logo

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=international-reggae-poster-contest-2015 - international reggae poster competition 

http://www.sky.com/tv/show/stings/article/enter-competition - Sky art stings, this is an animation competition but I could still exercise my current graphic design skills whilst learning new talents in animation and broadening my skill set

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=chicago-latino-film-festival-poster-contest - Latino film festival competition

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=penguin-random-house-design-award-2016 - Book cover designs; choice of, Clockwork Orange, How to be a Woman & Amil and the detectives

~ Responsive - main brief - secret 7 ~

For this module we need to complete a range of competition briefs one of them being a larger undertaking than the rest. I have decided to choose Secret 7 as my main brief for this module; my decision to do so is due to the fact it allows me to produce a large range of outcomes. I want this brief to give me the opportunity to explore a large range of styles and techniques of design for album artwork.

Brief breakdown - 

For this brief I need to design 7 cover art designs for 7 songs selected by the competition. Each final piece has to take form in the deliverable of either a physically printed/produced design using the submission packs they place in various record stores or digitally as a 7 inch by 7 inch 300dpi image. The songs I need to produce designs for are...

- Chvrches - Clearest Blue
- Etta James - At last
- Jack Garratt - Worry
- The Jam - Art school
- John Lennon - Imagine
- Max Richter - Dream 3 
- Tame Impala - The less I know the better

Creating work for all 7 songs will allow me to analyse how the difference in musical style and era directly affects the appropriation and style of design best for each individual song. I want each sleeve to execute different styles rather than them all being designed in conjunction and consideration of each other; this means the final outcome should be varied. I feel this gives the judges a chance to choose a particular style they have preference over giving me more of a chance of exhibiting and it lets me know what they think my strengths within this type of design are.

~ type in context - layout design 2 ~

 Due to a large amount of the photographic content being hand drawn type and the book's purpose partly being to capture the artistic developments of the city before 2017 (city of culture). 

The illustrations/patterns experiment mainly using a blue Copic marker due to the textural effects it creates. I experimented both with tracing over the letters in the photographs and with creating expressive patterns to represent brush strokes and the look of water.

2

Certain illustrations were more effective than others such as number 2. When the illustrations overlay the photographs they distract too much from the content and become quite confusing. But when integrated into the layout they give the impression of both water and expressive illustration. 

As part of producing a publication budget needs to be considered. One way of reducing the price of printing (freeing up money for finishes such as UV spot printing) is to use monotone and duotone images so rather than using CMYK only 1 or two inks are needed.

Example of a duotone image using the orange and blue iconic colours. Although these considerations in terms of commercial printing would be important currently my budget is completely open so choosing to keep full colour images so the audience can fully appreciate them (but if it was a commercially printed book id consider further using duotone). 

~ canons of page construction - type in context ~

Golden ratio

Golden ratio = 1 to 1.618 which equates to 100cm = 38.3cm + 61.8cm

This can be applied to graphic design via page layout (web and printed media) by creating columns and rows you can use to asymmetrically and appealingly place image and type.

Hand drawn examples of the golden ratio in practice to create grids.

It can also be used to decide a harmonious combination of pt sizes, choose the body copy pt size then times that by 1.618. 

Van De Graaf

Van De Graaf's canon determines the margins of the page according to the page and spread dimensions. 

This shows how diagonally dissecting the pages and spreads it determines the place text and image can be effectively placed.

Muller-Brockmann grid - grid fields 

Brockmann says you should separate columns by the header type size used, this is a modernist approach to page construction.

Applying canons to my design

Inspired by both the golden ratio and Van De Graaf's canon I created a hybrid of the two.

This hybrid graph then can be applied to my publication design in a multitude of ways. The Van De Graaf canon was partly thought to be successful due to the large space at the bottom of the spread allowing you to hold the book without your hands covering the content. For this reason the image placement above is the most effective of the 3. Although the photo doesn't follow golden ratio itself the overall layout and page format uses its principles for a mutually appealing layout design.