Author Archives: rachaelmayes

Brief: Identify a range of books that have fundamentally different functions in terms of how these books are engaged with – how they’re held, where they’re read, by whom, and for what purpose. Try to look at least six books, but you can extend this if you want to. The differences between these books mightContinue reading “Exercise 1: The Function of Books”

Brief: Based on your work from the previous exercises, think about how your designs within the context of the book. For example, visually explore how your artwork sits within the format of your A5 pamphlet – how the page might frame the artwork, how different pages sit together or how you might begin to developContinue reading “Exercise 7: Visualising, editing and critiquing”

Brief: There are two elements to this exercise – thinking about how you produce your publication, and making a smaller scaled down version as a mock up. Creating a small mock up: Printers use large sheets of paper to print multiple pages, which are then cut and folded. You’re going to use a simple A4Continue reading “Exercise 6: Folding and mocking up your book”

Brief: Firstly, review your visual ideas based on from the previous exercise through a process or critical evaluation. Which ideas are you drawn to? Which ideas have ‘legs’ – possible interesting outcomes which are worth pursuing? Often the ideas which are the strongest are those which have depth, or many layers of association. Perhaps youContinue reading “Exercise 5: Research & Development”

Brief: Use one or more of the following book related sayings as a starting point to generate visual ideas and responses: Bookworms A closed/open book The oldest trick in the book You can’t judge a book by its cover In someone’s good/bad books By the book During this early formative stage, aim to be asContinue reading “Exercise 4: Generating Ideas”

Brief: Using your research into artists’ books and fanzines as a starting point, think about their physical or design qualities, and creatively apply some of these approaches to your own designs. For example, there’s a distinctive visual quality to many fanzines which comes from a ‘cut and paste’ approach to designing and through the useContinue reading “Exercise 3: Alternative publications”

Brief: Given the current development of the book from printed to digital technologies, what do you see as the future of the book, for readers, and book designers? Where do you see the book heading? Show and tell. Try and summarise your thinking into a series of short statements, quotations, images (collage) or ideas. BeContinue reading “Exercise 2: The Future of the Book”