Publishing Design - Project 2

02/10/20 - 30/10/20 (Week 6 - Week 10)

Atiqah Farzana Binti Syalleh Karimyee (0336740)

Publishing Design

Project 2 - Book Design

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LECTURE NOTES

Click here for the lectures.

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INSTRUCTIONS

Module Information Booklet:

PROJECT

Book Design

02/10/20 - 30/10/20 (Week 6 - Week 10)

Before starting our book design, we had to find layout references that we wanted to use for our book. I found quite a few different layout choices which are shown below.

Layout references:

Fig. 1.1 Layout References

The next step was to try out 3 different grid layouts for our book and choose the one which would work best for my book as the final book design.

Determined grids:

Fig. 1.2 Determined Grids

Grid options:

Fig. 1.3 Grid Options

Final chosen grid system:

Fig. 1.4 Chosen Grid

Typeset:

After deciding on the grid layout, we then had to create a type specimen sheet to find the most suitable typepace for our book.

Type specimen sheet:

Fig. 1.5 Type Specimen Sheet

Final Typeset:

Heading: ITC New Baskerville Bold All Caps, 20pt

Body text: ITC New Baskerville Roman, 9pt
Subtext: ITC New Baskerville Roman, 7pt
Pull Quote: ITC New Baskerville Roman/Bold, 24pt

Layout design:

Attempt 1:

Fig. 1.6 Layout Attempt 1

Fig. 1.7 Layout Attempt 1, with grids

Attempt 2:

Fig. 1.8 Layout Attempt 2

Fig. 1.9 Layout Attempt 2, with grids

Cover design:

Attempt 1:

Fig. 1.10 Cover Design Attempt 1

Final Attempt:

Fig. 1.11 Cover Design Final Attempt 

Fig. 1.12 Cover Design Final Attempt PDF

Final Book Layout Design:

Fig. 1.13 Final Book Design Cover

Fig. 1.14 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.15 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.16 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.17 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.18 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.19 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.20 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.21 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.22 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.23 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.24 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.25 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.26 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.27 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.28 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.29 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.30 Final Book Design Spread

Fig. 1.31 Final Book Design Spread

Final Book Design Thumbnail:

Fig. 1.32 Final Book Design Thumbnails PDF

Final Book PDF:

Fig. 1.33 Final Book Design PDF

Final Book Link:

https://online.fliphtml5.com/kyzjs/aamx/#p=1

Fig. 1.34 Final FlipBook Design 

Final book mockup:

Fig. 1.35 Final Book Mockup 1

Fig. 1.36 Final Book Mockup 2

Fig. 1.37 Final Book Mockup 3

 

Fig. 1.38 Final Book Mockup 4

Fig. 1.39 Final Book Mockup 5

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FEEDBACK

Week 6:

General feedback: Try finding references that have many spreads of the same book so you can see the consistency, style and layout of the whole book. 

Specific feedback: My first layout reference looks good because it suits the illustration style of the book, but it might not suit my book because of my art style. I should try to find other layout references that would be better for my book. For my book layout, I initially wanted my body text to be placed in the centre of the page but I figured that it would look like a poem. Mr. Vinod said its good I didn't do that because it wouldn't work out. He helped fix up my layout and placement of text and illustrations, and that I should try a more experimental approach with the book because we could have fun with it.

Week 7:

General feedback: There is no need to add both copyright word and symbol, can just choose either one. Body text should be 8-12pts and our leading should be 2.5-3 points from point size. Subtexts are usually 7pt and pullquotes should be bigger than the body text.

Specific feedback: Mr. Vinod said the layout looks alright and I can carry on with the next chapter. He suggested to be more experimental with the layout and placement of illustrations can be more playful.

Week 8: 

General feedback: Independent learning week.

Specific feedback: Independent learning week.

Week 9: 

General feedback: Mr. Vinod decided to scrap out the animation of the visuals so that we could have more time for our BCI project.

Specific feedback: Everything looks good so far and I'm almost close to finishing it. Just add a neutral colour for some pages, fix up the ragging/orphans/widows, add the reference page, and lastly the cover.

Week 10: 

General feedback: The barcode should just be really small with a 2-3mm white space around it.

Specific feedback: Add a white border around my barcode, and I can also put in the price of the book with the barcode. I used a light pink as my neutral shade in some pages of my book but Mr. Vinod said it could work but wasn't really suitable.

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REFLECTION

Experience: Week 6 (02/10/20); Finding layout references was a bit difficult because there wouldnt always be more than one page spread of a book. Week 7 (09/10/20); Placing all the text and illustrations requires a lot of thought and planning. Week 8 (16/10/20); Independent learning week. Week 9 (23/10/20); We're almost done with the book design! Week 10 (30/10/20); After finishing the book, I keep noticing small errors or places that could use more adjustments which is quite annoying so I just leave it be. 

Observation: Week 6 (02/10/20); I'm still getting used to InDesign so its a bit tricky especially working with so many elements. Week 7 (09/10/20); Trying to make the layout look more playful and surprising was more difficult than if we were to make it simple or minimalistic. Week 8 (16/10/20); Independent learning week. Week 9 (23/10/20); I noticed that once I got started on the book design and layout it was quite easy to continue onto the other chapters. Week 10 (30/10/20); I noticed that everyone's book is different which makes it all unique and cool to see each persons style. 

Findings: Week 6 (02/10/20); I found that looking at layout designs is different from actually making the layout because what you see wont always turn out how you want it to. Week 7 (09/10/20); A good book design should be consistent not only in the style but also the little details like point sizes, leading, alignment etc. Week 8 (16/10/20); Independent learning week. Week 9 (23/10/20); We didn't have to include all 16 visuals in our book but I managed to. Week 10 (30/10/20); My take from this project is that designing a book is far different from designing a poster or anything that I've done before, but it was quite an interesting experience.

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FURTHER READING

The art of book cover design by Penguin Random House UK

Week 6 - Week 7 (02/10/20 - 09/10/20)

The popular publishing company, Penguin, made this video to show the art of book cover design.  This video is a one of the many videos in their series 'Work in Publishing' where they take you to each aspect of what goes behind publishing a book such as marketing, printing, distribution, etc. 

In the video, the designer explains that a book cover is acts as a first impression to the reader, so it should hook them into picking up the book and reading it. A book cover is a form of visual storytelling and there are many ways to create the perfect cover.

Different designers have different ways of working. A good way to know the book is to actually read it and understand the tone, story, and how it can be portrayed visually. The target audience should also be considered, as well as the deeper meaning or concept behind the design and how it correlates back to the story.

What Makes for a Brilliant Book Cover? A Master Explains by Wired

Week 8 - Week 10 (16/10/20 - 30/10/20)

This article revolves around designer Peter Mendelsund who has made over 600 book covers in his lifetime, with big-name contemporary releases like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. He was deemed the best book designer of his generation, despite not having any design experience whatsoever. Mendelsund said that he prefers an ugly cover to a cliche one, which reflects in his own work. His style is never the same. Sometimes his covers are bold, abstract and unexpected, while other times they are utterly simple, cryptic yet clever. One thing is his designs are never familiar. 

A good book cover is one that captures the book inside it in some fundamental and perhaps unforeseen way. Mendelsund describes his job as 'finding that unique textual detail that...can support the metaphoric weight of the entire book." This of course is done by actually reading the manuscript to understand the story, the details and further meaning of it.