The feedback received for part 5 was very positive. Since receiving my feedback I have made a few amendments to my work following the advice from my tutor, To begin with I decided to bind together the printed work from Exercise 4: Printing, this has created my very first artists book. The binding technique I decided to use is Single Sheet Binding, I found a video on YouTube helping me achieve this (link below)
This technique works really well with the papers I had from this exercise as they had all been printed on A4 papers.
Amendments to Assignment 5 – As my tutor had pointed out, I mistakenly failed to notice a spelling error made on one of my pages in my book. This has shown me the sheer importance of asking for a second pair of eyes to check over work to ensure that everything is up to scratch. My tutor also advised me to neaten up the edging of my printed book. I opted to have my book professionally printed from online printer company Mixam. I’m thrilled with the outcome of my book and seeing it in a professionally printed form is really rewarding!
Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed the final part to this unit I feel that I have learnt a great amount and built up many skills, especially in how to bind books which is something I wouldn’t of learnt else where.
The feedback received for part 4 felt very rewarding! I have put in a lot of time, effort and consideration into each exercise and assignment and feel that it shows in my work, hearing the positive feedback from my tutors helps me notice I am on the right track, which when working remotely is sometimes of a concern.
With the exercises relating to ‘Tango with cows’ I felt worried as personally I have no relationship with poetry and sometimes feel confused by whats being said! however these exercises have taught me to take each line of poetry at a time to gain the understanding of what the poet is trying to communicate. i feel very proud of my sequencing images and feel they make a good narrative to the poem.
Assignment 4 has been my favourite assignment since joining OCA, I loved to be able to work hands on and create artistic pages, the end result of my book is very rewarding and the feedback received from both my tutor and of others has been amazing!
Brief: In this exercise you can use any image created elsewhere in the course, to print onto the paper samples you collected earlier.
Active Experimentation – You are encouraged to be experimental in these exercises; it doesn’t matter if you make a mess or get things wrong in the images you make. It is important to reinforce this message at this point in the creative process, as often people tighten up when they think they are embarking on the final price, and lose some of the fluidity and spontaneity of their original ideas. We want to keep the visual outcome of this exercise fresh and not stultified by perceived conventions of what is ‘right’. When you’re exploring visual ideas and processes, the outcome may not always be what you thought they would be at the outset. You wont always get it right the first time, and this is how it should be. By repeatedly trying out and experimenting with the materials and ideas at hand, you’ll discover new ways of working. Occasionally ‘mistakes’ turn into happy accidents and prompt a way of working, or technique, that you might choose to deliberately recreate and integrate into your next project. For example, one colour may bleed into another, or your coffee cup might leave a stain on your working paper. Instead of throwing these elements away, you could integrate them into your design process.
Organising Images – When you’ve created a set of images, scan or photograph these to create digital files – JPEGS or TIFFs on your computer. Make sure the resolution is set as 300dpi. Having gathered all the images together in one folder, consider how you’re going to print them. What order will the images appear in? At what size? How will the image appear on the page? Which paper will you use for which image? Do you have a particular image in mind for a particular piece of paper? Will you try printing the same image on different sheets of paper? Draw a simple flat plan as a guide to working out how and where the image will be placed on the page, whether you will include any text, and how to explore the idea of ‘narrative’ might work. You might set up you page layout in DTP software, and work with your images digitally in this way, or you may simply print direct from your photo editing software onto the paper samples.
Printing – You may choose to use a desktop printer to output your images, or you may research other print methods such as screen printing or etching. Print at least 16 pages using the images you’ve created on the paper samples you have collected.
Firstly I decided to revisit all the work i have created on the course so far, not only in Creative Book Design but Core Concepts too. I have gathered 16 images which I will work with along with 16 different types of A4 paper.
Paper samples
I have managed to gather a range of different paper samples, some of which I automatically know which designs I would like to print on and others i will decided along the way. The samples I have managed to collect are;
Baking paper
Newspaper
Neon coloured paper
Premium printer paper
Sketchpad paper
Tracing paper
Glossy magazine paper
Lined paper
Cheap coloured paper
Fabric paper
Mirrored card
Handmade paper
Watercolour card
Glitter card
Tissue paper
Kraft paper
Recycled card
Ive sourced a wide range of papers which will allow me to become experimental and push boundaries on my designs! I’m looking forward to see how the designs look once printed, to see which paper beats my expectations and to discover if any ‘happy mistakes’ are made.
Images
The images I have gathered are a mixture of illustrations, typography, sketches and photographs, I wanted to choose a wide diverse selection, the images below show what designs I plan to use;
All the work selected are favourites of mine, they all consist of designs which I have interpreted my style within according to the brief. I think I would like the images to be set in the order in which they were created, this could create an interesting artists book perhaps documenting my work with the designs printed on experimental and suiting paper types to help compliment even more (I hope!). I would like to try avoid duplicating any paper samples however if i feel more than one design would suit the paper sample choice I would consider using the sample more than once.
Organising Images: I have organised each image and place it into a file for this print project. They are all JPEGS files with the resolution set to 300dpi to ensure a good quality of print. I plan on printing these images myself using my HP OfficeJet 3830 printer. Before printing my first page I will ensure ink levels are good and also run a test print to ensure there is no blockages and the ink is fresh and ready to go.
I have made a flat plan as a guide to printing so I can refer back to knowing instantly which design is paired with which paper sample. There is reasoning behind why each design is paired with the particular paper chosen, I hope that they print as imagined. I will explain my reasonings in detail during the reflection and critique stage once’s the printing has started.
After collecting and saving all of my images changing the resolution to 300dpi I was ready to start printing my images onto the chosen paper.
Page 1 – Photomontage of ocean pollution printed on Handmade paper.
I was so pleased to be able to source some handmade paper! This paper is beautiful. I paired this paper with a photomontage image I created during Core Concepts representing the effects of Ocean Pollution, I felt the textures and the natural components of the leaves would add to the impact of the image and it defiantly lived up to my expectations. Im very pleased with how this turned out, I was worried about this running through the printer incase it tore or created a paper jam however it went through perfectly! I decided to place the landscape image central to the portrait page to ensure that the handmade paper was still visible so it complimented the image.
Page 2 – Photomontage of depression printed on mirrored card
I wanted to use this mirrored card for this particular photomontage image created during Core Concepts representing depression as I felt the mirrored card could add effect by seeing your own reflection. I wasn’t sure how the ink would sit on this paper, with the touch of a finger the ink smudges which isnt ideal! The first attempt at printing this the paper became jammed in the printer so this caused my first printing fault, however due to the ink not absorbing into the paper i was able to wipe this clear and start again! I will be very careful with this page however would not recommend printing on in the future. I decided to keep this image small and central with the reflection adding to the image.
Page 3 – Love to sing poster on neon paper
By using neon paper it gave my Love to sing poster an interesting pop of colour to what was a simple black and white design. This turned out exactly how I had planned so I’m pleased with this paper choice, it took slightly longer for the ink to absorb into the paper however this is coloured paper of a better quality (150gsm) than others which i’ve used in the past. I decided to have this image slightly smaller than the page size as initially thought the coloured paper would create a boarder, however now seeing it I think printing this full page would of been better.
Page 4 – Bookworm on Greaseproof paper
I feel that the image blends in too much for my linking on this page, I originally paired them together as I felt the paper would tie in with the image however it’s just made it slightly more difficult to see. I also printed this on the slightly waxyer side which caused a little smudge to happen during print. Perhaps a different design on this paper would work better? I probably wouldn’t use this again.
Page 5 – Zine collage on glossy magazine paper
By printing a zine collage onto magazine paper I thought it would add to the effect of the whole ‘cut and paste’ technique. Im pleased with how this turned out and like the way that the text is shown through the images, also the doodle look as though they have been drawn straight onto the magazine paper, setting the resolution to 300dpi helped achieve this. This page actually contains a happy mistake/chance of luck, the size I had chosen fits perfectly within the magazines grid.
Page 6 – Handmaids tale on fabric paper
I was given this material from a friend, Im not entirely sure what its called however thought it would be perfect to attempt to print on. Again it was something I was concerned about due to how it would feed through the printer but with the help of a sheet of A4 paper behind it fed through the rollers of the printer without any issue. Im surprised at how successful this turned out to be, I really like the effect it gives. I decided to layer two of my designs from the handmaid’s tale exercise as this was an experimental exercise, i simply couldn’t choose a favourite.Im unsure of when I’ll get to use this material again to print with, perhaps it would make interesting end papers in a deluxe book?
Page 7 – Type tracings on scribbled premium paper
Originally I was going to print this image on just plain white paper but thought it would lack interest and there would be no experimental purposes involved. Instead I scribbled coloured pencils, felt tips and wax crayons. This gave life to a boring collection of traced logos, although hard to read this still creates an interesting page. I was unsure of how the ink would sit on top of the wax crayon however there seems to be no issue here.
Page 8 – Experimental typography sketch printed on newspaper
Im slightly in regret of choosing this image for the newspaper as to me it feels like a waste of creativeness, they didn’t compliment each other like I thought they might of or compared to what I think the newspaper and a different design would. However the newspaper was easy to print on, it fed through the printer well (with the help of having a4 pages in the tray to support it as it fed through the rollers to start with.
Page 9 – 20,000 leagues under the sea wave on tissue paper
Because tissue paper is so delicate I was really surprised when this came out all in one piece with no tares or misprints. Although not my first choice of paper to print on, the print was successful. I paired this paper with the design just down to the colour being blue representing water. Upon reflection I think I should of placed the design at the bottom of the page, but im happy with the sizing of it.
Page 10 – 20,000 leagues under the sea squid on coloured paper
I like the effect printing on coloured paper adds to the designs by giving it a bursts of colour, this design originally was just black and white hence why choosing to print onto coloured paper. I placed the design central to the page, I didn’t want to enlarge it too much as I think it gives a better overall effect when the text is smaller. Defiantly a paper type to consider when printing posters etc or something aimed at children, i think it looses slight professionalism to the design as to me I associate coloured paper prints with fast mass printing for event gigs which are stuck on billboards.
Page 11 – 20,000 leagues under the sea printed on lined paper
Because this design is heavily typography based I decided to print this onto lined paper and I quite like the effect its given. It ran through the printer with no issues, due to the size of some of the text I decided to print this at almost a full size to the page.
Page 12 – Concrete poetry printed on recycled card
The first time printing with this card the page became jammed as its so thick, I’m not sure of the exact weight but from guessing I would say 350gsm+ as you can see from the printed design it also struggled the second time with the help of me pushing it through as some of the wording has smudge which due to this being a word based image I’m not too pleased with as its now become illegible in places however this is solely down to the thickness of the card and the printer not being able to cope.
Page 13 – Sequencing image on kraft paper
I really like the effect this paper has given my design, I was surprised at how successful I found the outcome. The only print issue is that my ink levels appear to be low hence the lines visible running through the black blocks. Im pleased with the sizing I set for this design too. I decided to print this on the more course and textured side of the kraft paper so I could see how this would print, because this has a slight ‘fuzzy’ texture to it it made me curious as to wether any colours would bleed however they have kept to their sharp lines which Im pleased about.
Page 14 – Sequencing images on watercoloured paper
I managed to find some watercolour paper which I decided to paint myself rather than leaving it plain white. I like how this printed however I do wish I would of thought about removing the background on the original design for the purpose of it printing seamlessly onto this paper.
Page 15 – Sequencing images on tracing paper
Although I have already experimented with printing on tracing paper during Assignment 4’s work I hadn’t tried it on such a large scale of an image. Printing on tracing paper always gives an interesting effect, especially when you have parts of the image which contain white so this is printed completely transparent. i had a slight smudge on the bottom red strip however overall a successful print.
Page 16 – Sequencing images on glitter card
I paired this design with the glitter card because within this design I had used green glitter for the tears and river below the bridge. The image printed appears very faded although it seems to appear vibrant in the photograph, Im unsure what would of caused this issue which has left me resulting in a bad choice of paper to print on!
Reflection
It was good to experiment and test printing out images onto a vast variety of papers to see which works and which doesn’t, this has taught me the importance of paper quality and how this reflects on the design which is printed on.
AMENDMENTS MADE AFTER TUTORS FEEDBACK
My tutor advised me to bind my pages together in order to create an artists book for myself. After searching for the best binding technique I came across Single Sheet Binding. This involved punching holes in each page and carefully stitching in page by page. This gave my book a really nice effect with the best possible biding suited to the printed pages. I’m really pleased how this has turned out!
The only thing which if I feel could be improved upon would be to use thicker string such as embroidery thread rather than cotton, just so that it fills the punched holes better, however for a first attempt of this technique I’m pleased with the successful outcome.
Begin by reflecting upon the sorts of projects, exercises and assignments you have enjoyed most:
Do you enjoy creative freedom of working with your own text and images from scratch, or do you prefer working with text and images that are provided to you?
Do you prefer working in a hands-on way, physically manipulating paper and materials, or do you prefer working digitally, laying out the pages and page elements on screen? Which of the subjects covered in this unit have interested and engaged you?
Below are some pointers of what has been covered in this unit, as a reminder. They are very broad areas, so as you’re reading through the list, reflect upon the more extensive content of each. Consider what aspects you enjoyed the most (and the least!) and make notes in your learning log.
Contextualisation – Researching designs and designers.
Typography – Principles and experimentation
Colour – Colour management and working with images
Paper – Properties and qualities
Printing and bookbinding – Processes – traditional, digital
Try to identify a specific topic within one of these subject areas that you are interested in and can look in into with more detail. You might know immediately and instinctively what you want to pursue. You may want to know more about traditional methods of bookbinding, for example, or hand-making paper. You may be interested in the mathematical principles underpinning the Golden Mean and Fibonacci series, and how these principles apple to page layout. You may want to design you own typeface. You may want to extend and adapt one of the projects and exercises you’ve already undertaken on the course.
The focus of your interest may be quite specific. Identify it through this exercise by exploring each of your interests in turn and taking note of your resulting thoughts in your learning log.
My Reflection
I have found this unit very informative and interesting, I was a little sceptical about it at first as I was worried because I’m not a book reader that I would find it difficult to connect with the work and what I’m being asked to do, but in fact I have really enjoyed myself and the work I have created. I love the creative freedom of working with my own images and text, the work feels much more personal and rewarding when complete – it also builds my confidence and skills. During a number of exercises and assignments we had been given the opportunity to work on a hands on way which I love doing, I feel myself getting stuck into the work more when I’m able to physically experiment with materials and different techniques – I loved the work produced in assignment 4, I became really experimental with ways of altering my book and completely transformed an ordinary book into a piece of art. Another assignment I enjoyed was assignment 1 when we created our zines, I loved making my elements and transforming them digitally. When working hands on I create many happy accidents, something I have learned to take time with as usually if a mistake was to arise I would discard of the work and start again as there is simply no ‘undo’ button to push! But this unit has taught me that not everything should be perfect and that when a mistake happens become creative and try to work with it.
Contextualisation has been something I have been thorough with during this unit as I’ve been educating myself along the way with different designers and their work, I feel by doing so its help me in the understand of designing and has inspired me and reflected in some of the work I have developed along the way. One of the first covers I found which was influential was ‘A Million Little Pieces’ by Rodrigo Corral this reflected in the work created in Assignment 2 (https://rachaelmayesbook.design.blog/2020/06/17/assignment-2-form-and-function/) I was inspired by how the image of the hand wrapped around the book and created something of a similar style for the Robinson Crusoe Paperback design.
Typography has been something that has always interested me, I particularly enjoyed Assignment 3 (https://rachaelmayesbook.design.blog/2020/08/27/assignment-3-my-little-book-of/ ) where we pushed the boundaries and broke all the rules to create our good and bad books, surprisingly creating bad typography helped reflect on the importance of the good and made me aware of how a simple mistake can sabotage the whole design! Another exercise which I enjoyed was Experimental Typography, this I feel crosses paths with concrete poetry and has been the first time I have experimented with type in this way. I liked how the text also became the imagery becoming part of the composition.
Colour is one of my favourite features to add when designing. It’s important to take into consideration the link between the design and the chosen colour to ensure the correct connection is made. During one of my exercise I decided to stick to a strict colour palette throughout each design following the Russian movement ‘Constructivism Art’ during Exercise 3 Sequencing Images. (https://rachaelmayesbook.design.blog/2020/10/30/exercise-3-sequencing-images/) The use of colour here is minimal yet very apparent and shows close connection between each design.
Paper and print is something I completely underestimated before learning about on this unit, its been very interesting testing out different papers to print on and seeing the results especially in the previous exercise, here I tested out 16 different paper types to see how they printed. This has shown the the importance of paper quality and how it effects the end result of the printed image. I experienced a few printing issues, mainly of the paper not feeding into the rollers however I soon overcome this with assisting the printer myself or placing a regular A4 sheet behind what I was attempting to print onto.
Printing and bookbinding have been very informative and interesting, something which interested me more than I imagined. The skills I have learnt from book binding will stay with me and I will feel confident enough to use these techniques on future projects when appropriate. Exercise 4 Collating and binding ( https://rachaelmayesbook.design.blog/2020/10/30/exercise-4-collating-and-binding/ ) encouraged us to test out different binding techniques, I found all techniques successful and easy to follow with the encouragement of tutorials found online. I’d like to think once lockdown is over I can look and experiment further into different printing techniques such as screen printing, etching, litho etc, however with lack of supplies and equipment available this has proven difficult, but its always something I will consider looking at in the future which could come in very handy for designs in creating different looks when printing.
Looking back and revisiting the work I have created I have been able to see how far I have come and how much I have learnt along the way. I have had some ups and downs with connecting to the work that’s been set however I have eventually found my way and produced work which i feel satisfied about. I have most enjoyed the altering of books and collage tasks (such as zine) within this unit and i believe that shows in my work. I wasn’t too keen on the Golden mean and Fibonacci series, to me this was very difficult to fully understand and get my head around, I would of liked to see more information in our course materials about this but i eventually pushed my way through, it just took me longer than expected. Overall this course has expanded my knowledge and skills and I have enjoyed learning and creating the work set in the briefs! I am very glad to of chosen this unit.
Adrian Pipes’ On Press chapter, from his 2009 production for Graphic Designers manual, provides a thorough overview of the print process, both historically and practically. Exploring paper, the raw materials that make it, recycled, handmade and manufactured paper, and other stocks; various qualities of inks; various printing processes, including emerging technologies; print finishing and binding; and interviews with a number of book designers.
Chapter six – On Press (p.165-219) in Pipes, A. (2009) Production for Graphic Designers, 5th Edition, London: Laurence King Publishing, is available to you as a resource on the OCA Student Website.
Consider which aspect of the print process might feed in you your creative decision making process. Where do the connections between artist and craft person sit within your work? Use your learning log to reflect on this.
Identify your nearest local printer. If possible, introduce yourself with the aim of arranging a short tour of their production process, from computer through to finished article. Seeing the printers at work helps to put the theory into context and can clarify certain parts of the process you may be unsure of. If the printer you find does print books then so much the better, but any medium-sized printers will no doubt print flyers, brochures and similar material.
Alternatively, you may want to concentrate on online options, such as PDFs or print on demand. Investigate these through internet research, documenting your key findings in your learning log.
Production for Graphic Designers Adrian Pipes , 2009
This chapter was very informative and helpful, I managed to make many pages of notes alongside reading. It was interesting to read about the different papers, raw materials, ink and printing techniques, I feel like I’ve taken on board a lot of information here and given myself a better understanding of what happens when documents go to print. I found the printing pros and cons page a useful recap and made notes on this too. I have a lot more understanding towards this area now and hope this new information will help me in the future.
How does the print process feed into my creative decisions making?
So far for this particular unit I have printed all of my work at home using my HP OfficeJet 3831, however in my previous unit I did use external companies to print. I learnt the hard way that it is always important when sending a document for print, especially when wanting the colours to be bright and vibrant that the design software set up should be set to CMYK and not RGB as the colours will not print the same as seen on screen. I also found paper adds to the effect, some papers (usually cheaper low quality or recycled) become too absorbent which reduced the sharpness of the document.
When designing something for print I make sure I also take into consideration the layout, making sure everything will be where it needs and that I take into consideration the margins to ensure nothing gets cut of when printing. Usually only large digital press printers are able to print from edge to edge as typically the standard printer will usually leave 3/16 of an inch blank area on all four sides, however it’s always worth checking the print setup by selecting print edge to edge or reducing the margin size to 0.
For assignment 5 I will need to consider the following print process; Size and format of the book, how the book will be printed, if it will be in colour or black and white, the paper which will be used, how the book is bound.
Local printer – Unfortunately due to the second lockdown I am unable to visit any local printers, however I found a print shop tour on YouTube ( https://yout.ube/HTbQpPOC4U0 ) This video shows a man walking through his print shop and carefully explaining what each piece of equipment does, it was a shame to not see the equipments in use to see how they run and to gain a better understanding of how they work but it was still good to watch, I am shocked at how many different machines serve different purpose, as naively you would just expect a few large industrial printers, but in this particular shop he provides the full works from printing to binding, packaging up, cutting, folding, even placing items in envelopes – there was a machine for it all! After watching this video I checked out other videos on his channel and there are many videos of the machines in use which I found easier to understand and again very interesting.
It was a shame to not attend a print shop in person however I’m great full to of found videos and this is always something I can consider doing once the pandemic eases!
Brief: However you plan to work in the production of your book, spend some time now planning your workflow, using the notes above as a guide. Think about how much flexibility you can allow yourself – don’t put yourself under too much pressure. At the same time, be aware of time constraints that may be outside your control. If you’re using a local printer, for example, make contact as soon as possible. Your printer may have a limited timeframe for doing your job and you’ll need to factor this into your workflow.
Workflow phases;
Phase 1 – Scoping: Timeframe and planning: what needs to be done, how it needs to be done.
Phase 3 – Design: Page set-up, page layout, choosing typeface, inputting and arranging text and image elements.
Phase 4 – Pre-production: Preprinting for print. Saving and storing. Backing up all work. Printing proofs, checking pages, inputting corrections.
Phase 5 – Printing and Production: Instructing, liaising and sending to printer.
The following guide will show how I plan to carry out my workflow for Assignment 5;
Phase 1 – Scoping – 1-2days. I plan to look through each option in assignment 5’s brief thoroughly and choose the best option for me and for which I feel most inspired by. I would also like to revisit the highlighted points I have made throughout part 5’s unit in out course materials. (Currently in the process of highlighting key information which I think I will find helpful for the assignment)
Phase 2 – Creating content – 7days. Here I plan on spending a large chunk of time heavily researching the chosen topic and gaining as much information and inspiration as I need. This is an important first step as it helps set the foundations of the book making process. I will also seek any alternative and inventive ways to research the topic. (Lockdown restrictions could possibly effect this). I will also include mind maps, sketches, mood boards etc (my usual idea generation process) I will also create my flat plan here.
Phase 3 – Design – 14days. One of the more time consuming phases as this will be where the hard work is put into! With the combination of the work made during phase 1 & 2 I plan to start off by experimenting with ideas, choosing which to develop further. I will decide upon the smaller details such as typefaces, colour palettes and to which route I will be taking for imagery wether this be illustration or photography as I would like to create my own imagery to avoid copyright issues. Experiment with layouts and positioning’s – apply a grid?
Phase 4 – Pre-production – 1-3 days. The first thing I will to in this phase is print off sample pages, ensuring everything looks how it should and to eliminate any errors, I find it easier to make notes of improvements and errors then go back and emend. (Self critique! and ask for feedback off family, friends and peers) Once everything’s how it should be I will back the files up and then check that all formats are as should be ( selecting CMYK rather than RGB to ensure the colours will be printed at a higher standard and that any imagery has the resolution of 300dpi, along with checking brightness, contrast and size.
Phase 5 – Printing and Production – 2-3days. I’m giving myself a slightly longer timeframe for this step incase I decide to have my book professionally printed (which I’m swaying towards doing) so I will need to do my research on companies during phase 2 to ensure I give myself enough time for production and delivery of the item (as mentioned in our course guide I will look at blurb.com and see other companies). However if there are restrictions on having my book printed due to the current lockdown I will print myself so I will need to make sure the print set up is correct, the inks are at good levels and running a test print. I will need to print on my desired paper stock and choose my binding method and ensuring that I have all the supplies for this.
Reflection
When I first looked at the brief for assignment 5 I felt a little worried about how I would manage to produce a book however these exercise are very beneficial and will make things easy to follow when referring back to the plans made in both this exercise the last and possibly the next exercise. Knowing I have a plan to follow eases my nerves and builds up my confidence.
Brief: Working with the outlined publishing models, identify the various roles you (and potentially others) will be undertaking for assignment five. For example, you’re likely to be writing your own content, designing your book, editing and reviewing it. You may also be involved in the production, printing and distribution process. Consider each aspect of the book assignment and briefly list what roles you think you’ll be doing, and what these roles entail. Also make notes of the roles of others who might be involved in your assignment and what their contribution is.
To start with I felt it would help to take a look at assignment 5’s brief. In assignment 5 I am asked to produce a book of my choice. This could be a book on influential book designers, typography, found and altered books or a topic of my choice.
I then reminded myself of the publishing models; Model 1: Writer – Publisher – Editor – Designer – Production – Printer – Distribution – Retail. Model 2: Artist/Designer/Author – Publisher – Editor – Production – Printer – Distribution – Retail. Model 1 is the overview of the process in a large publishing house, Model 2 is more closely aligned with artists’ books where the author is the designer.
The following list shows the roles which I will be responsible for during assignment 5;
Designer – I need to ensure that thorough research has been collected to gain inspiration and generate ideas for my book, this will lead to me narrowing down my selection and experimenting with different ideas before choosing one to develop further. I must consider all aspects of the books design with how I envision the audience will engage with my book and to ensure that the chosen design is appropriate for the context of the book and is visually pleasing. Things which are important in this stage are the overall design, layouts and grids, typography, colour palettes, paper and binding methods and wether there will be imagery and if this will be illustrations or photographs.
Editor – I must critically analyse my design throughly, checking for small errors and making sure everything is to what I feel is the highest standard possible. This would be where I print out a mockup to see how everything works well and to see how the book looks – this sometimes is where I make the most changes to help beneficial my work.
Production – During the final stages before print I would again reflect over the points made during the previous two points making sure everything was correct and that I am happy, then prepare for print with all appropriate materials ready to go. I would need to have all files ready for print, preferably saved in a pdf format and to add the final details such as publishing names, barcodes and copyright pages.
Printer – This is where the book will come to life! I will need to decide if I am going to print this myself at home or have it printed professionally. I will need to decide on the finish of the paper and need to take into consideration how colours and images will come out with the print quality. At the final stage I will establish the format, page size, paper stock, binding methods and print finishes.
The last two stages of the publishing model are Distribution and Retail which would need to be carried out by others. Distributors of books pitch and sell books to wholesalers, book stores and libraries etc which is an important step to publishing a successful book, this is closely followed by retail which are those who sell the books to the readers. To reach maximum success within this stage you would also need to think about advertisement for the book in places such as newspapers, magazines and social media platforms. Although it is highly unlikely for my book to personally go down this route its good to follow the publishing models key steps. However the roles of other which I may use in my assignment would be as follows;
Critique – I would ask friends, family and fellow peers for feedback on my design, it’s always refreshing to hear others thoughts wether they are positive or negative as it helps determine the weaker areas which sometimes as the designer you could become slightly biased.
Printing – I may decided to have my work professionally printed, if this is the case then the company will need to be sent pdf files ready for print along with knowing the paper stock and finish desired. It is also important to ensure that the files are comparable with the companies printer settings e.g. the colour settings and format, usually CMYK is preferred and that the files aren’t low resolution and have a bleed.
Throughout this assignment I need to ensure I am well organised and pay excellent attention to detail. Looking at the publishing models and planning out each step will help me stay on track and I will refer back to this exercise as a guide when I start assignment 5.
The list below is showing a range of art book fairs, both independent publishers and independent designers and artists. Research the book fairs online and explore the wide range of books by independent publishers, to gain a better understanding of the variety of books and publishing possibilities. You might want to visit one of the fairs in the future and explore The books.
Offprint London
Unfortunately due to Covid19 and the governments rules Offprint has been placed on hold for this year. However upon research I was able to locate information based on last years offprint hosted at Tate Modern. In May last year Tate Modern hosted to 130 independent and self-publishers from around the world. In the 5 years which Offprint has been running it has grown from strength to strength. Offprint trades in books, zines, magazines, CDs, posters, prints and more. Because of the restrictions at current times I came across on Luma-Arles.org a section of videos/interviews From publishers and artists. One of the videos I watched was ‘Loose Joints Publishing – Living trust by Buck Ellison’ This artist run photography publishing house explores progressive approaches to image making in book form. It was interesting to watch this video to see how these photo book publishers create publications in a very interesting and precise way with the artists in order to recreate and give a visual narrative within these books. Each title is the result of close collaboration with artists from beginning to end from designing, editing, to production, everything is done in house.
Art Book Fair London
London Art Book Fair brings together some of the most innovative art publishers both big and small for all to discover vibrant mixes of art books and magazines from around the world. Looking at the 2015 book fair which is specifically focusing on Scandinavian exhibitors across the region. Although it was slightly challenging seeking information on the Book fair from 2015, I did see that they had a few interesting workshops on at the time including photography, poetry, graphic design & illustration, even a workshop aimed at children.
Small Publishers Fair
The annual gathering of the Small Publishers Fair shows a number of artists, book designers, poets, publishers and writers with their work on exhibition. Although this years fair was cancelled I managed to find information on last years fair. Here I came across the artist ‘Dizzy Pragnell’. I was drawn in by her interesting examples of book art and paper sculptures. It’s clear that Dizzy Pragnells work challenges and explores the boundaries of paper, adding both two and three dimensional forms adding variety to the traditional concept of book art. (Images below show examples of Dizzy Pragnell’s work)
International Contemporary Artists’ Book Fair
The International Contemporary Artisits’ Book Fair is the longest running artists’ book fair outside of London. This book fair has attracted national and international participants and welcomed thousands of visitors across the UK. The book fair offers many interesting workshops and talks. If I personally attended this book fair I would be eager to attend the ‘Shy Bairns: Zine Workshop’. I loved working on my zine as part of assignment 1 and have since taken an interest so would find this workshop very interesting and beneficial to attend.
The Sheffield International Artist Book Prize
A small group of volunteers have been busy looking at ways to resurrect the artist books prize and house the collection of over 800 artists books since the closure of Bank Street Arts in 2017. The last book fair was hosted in 2019 offering exhibitions and workshops. I found it very interesting to discover that during these book fairs, the visitors are all asked and encouraged to vote for their favourite book(s). Following the success of the first Book Prize in 2008, the second instalment in 2009 saw additional prizes to broaden the scale of the prize itself. This of course encouraged more artists to enter their books and also helped draw in more visitors.
Dublin Art Book Fair
Ireland’s only book fair celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The 2020 Book Fair theme is ‘Design as an attitude‘ with guest Alice Rawsthorn. Design with attitude explores how design addresses the major challenges of our time, such as the climate emergency and refugee crisis, the rise of inequality and intolerance, ensuring that accelerating advances in technology will effect us positively rather than negatively and how to rebuild our lives after the devastating Covid-19 crisis.
BABE Bristol Artists’ Book Event
On of the harder Book fairs to research, the only Book fair I could find little information on was 2015’s artists’ book fair. During this years fair 113 artists exhibited their books from places such as Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sicily, Spain, South Korea and the UK, bringing an audience of 7150 visitors.
Your final assignment asks you to draw on all the skills, insights and experience you have gained so far, by designing and producing a book fo your choice.
Use the following options to as a starting point or alternatively identify your own project.
Influential Book Designers: Identify one or more book designers to present through your book. Find ways to develop your own creative responses to their ideas and visual approaches. Delve into their work, find suitable quotations, investigate their influences, and fine ways of communication this material, and your interpretation of it, to an audience through effective use of layout, narrative, and choices of material.
Typography: Extend you exploration of typography by continuing to develop creative approaches to how typography, layout and your material choices can help generate meaning. Develop a book that explores one aspect of typography in more detail, or combines a variety of approaches. Just because your project explores typography it doesn’t mean you can’t also include images, colour or narrative.
Found and Altered Books: Use an existing book as a creative starting point. This could be an extension of exploring altering books in some way, or as a research project into a specific book that will generate content and creative ideas for a new book. Find a physical book to work with or pick one of your influential books from part one.
Research the subject in depth and think about the editorial structure (described in part 3) of your book. What is the flow of the content, would you write articles or create imagery or both? What do you want to tell about the subject and how would you communicate this? And who is your audience? Make a flat plan before you start designing your book, and have a look at other books on the subject to see a different design approach on the subject. You may want to look at the work of designers your inspired by, in order to develop your own design approaches. You may have identified an alternative are you wish to pursue. This is fine as long as you check this out with your tutor first and document the response for your choice. Follow the creative design process in developing your creative thinking and how you will approach the workflow, in terms of content and timescale. Decide on your subject and start researching, creating content, editing content, making decisions about the materials you want to use, and designing your book. Frame this process within an overview of your workflow to help plan the production of your book. Planning he process of generating content, and how this can then be developed, is key to successfully finishing a designed physical book. Keep notes to accompany the process of making of the book in your learning log, and reflect on your design process.
You can use any medium or materials you want to in the production of your book. You may want to research and explore hand-binding, or work digitally with print on demand for production. You may want to combine these approaches and you may want to consider whether you want to produce a one-off copy or a small edition. If you would like to use a particular paper for your book, make print proofs before printing the whole final book. Test the paper, the colours and how your design works on the paper. Explore the materiality of books in more depth by considering the paper, printing and bookbinding of books, both as content and form. Think about how books are help, interacted with, and the associations of the materials you might use. Explore how these choices can start to create meaning within your book.
Reflection: Give yourself a final self assessment cheating against your assessment criteria to see how well you think you’ve done. Use this process to help reflect on your work and your achievements on the course as a while. It will also help to identify to you and your tutor any areas you may need to work on prior to submitting for assessment.
Sharing your work : Digital companies such as blurb.com have an online ‘sharing’ facility – this would be a useful way for your tutor to see the whole work without the need for expensive mail costs. If you decide to send your physical book to your tutor for feedback or to OCA for assessment, for safety, you are strongly advised to send it special delivery.
Analysing the Brief: I have been asked to produce a book of my own choice drawing on the skills and experience gained through this unit. By using one of the topics listed in the brief as a starting point i can either create a book on influential book designers finding ways to develop my own creative responses to their ideas, a book on typography showing and explaining how creative choices can help generate meaning or a book on found and altered books showing
Before decided what my book will be about, I decided to create a small mind map for each topic to see which I felt more inspired and creative by. I felt that the ideas naturally flowed with both typography and the altered book options. My only concern about choosing found & altered books is that I end up repeating and creating something very similar to Assignment 4, so with a long think and a few days break to ensure I’m not rushing my choices I have decided to choose Typography as the topic of my book. (Plus I’m intrigued to see something which I design in book form! I feel this could become very rewarding and something I can keep hold of once printed)
Now that I have decided to choose Typography as my books topic I started to think about the type of book I’d like to produce as this could help influence me into what the contents would contain. As mind maps are the quickest way for me to note down Ideas I have created a larger scale mind map to brainstorm ideas to the contents and which direction I would like to take my book in.
I would to create a book aimed at children ages 7-11 based on typography focusing on the topic of Letterform. I feel that I would be able to interact with the audience by including some sort of ‘do it yourself’ pages encouraging the reader to get involved and gain interest and excitement and to help the process of learning by engaging their brains. By choosing letterforms I would like to cover things such as Typeface design, an explanation, alternative letterforms including logos and letter combinations, perhaps looking at letterforms from different languages along with the reconstruction and deconstruction of the letter. However during the research process new ideas may arise.
Following the advice given in the brief I have made note of the answers to help me distinguish the route I will take for my book;
What is the flow of the content, would you write articles or create imagery or both? – At the moment I plan to produce a book on typography focusing on letterforms, I would like the content to build up the knowledge of the reader so by the end of the book they will feel confident enough at attempting to design their own font. I plan on using short informative articles along with imagery of both illustration and sketch.
What do you want to tell about the subject and how would you communicate this? I plan to explain and encourage people into the world of typography to show more of the artistic side of typography rather than just a ‘bunch of letters on a page’.
Who is your audience? I’m going to create a fun and modern book for beginners from the ages of 8+. At first I wanted to focus on creating more of a children’s book however feel I would hit a larger audience aiming it at beginners, with the use of colour and creativity I hope it would appeal to all ages.
Without covering too much of what has already been covered in previous exercises and assignments which I have created on typography, I would like to including the following;
A very brief introduction of the anatomy of a typeface, this would include and informative illustration selecting and highlighting typographic parts and explaining how letterforms work. (I would need to include information on this as it is a book for beginners, however I don’t want to cover too much of what I already have in past assignments, so will keep it short and sweet). Also another insight into classified type showing examples of serif, sans serif, script etc. I think a page with 6-8 boxes showing a single letter of each typeface would work well as there will be no need going into a huge amount of detail.
Getting more into the creative side I would like to include pages encouraging the reader to deconstruct text and enhance them in whichever way they’d like, here I can add in a step by step example? or include blank pages for designs to be drawn straight into, this way the book would be less likely to be discarded after use and kept for remembrance of their work.
I like the thought of scanning in different paper samples and using these as elements within my book, a similar style to the my zine booklet part of assignment 1 which express well, my style! This would add a personal touch to the book and also would create something different to other books which are on the market in this genre.
Research
I thought it would be best to focus on researching for the contents of my book first, this way I will be able to work out my flat plan and decide how many pages my book will contain and what the main topics will be. As I felt it would be appropriate to include a brief run over for the anatomy of a typeface and classifying type in my book as the target audience will be for beginners, I don’t feel the need to research these subjects as I feel pretty confident in these areas.
Font personalities – A font can convey mood, attitude, and tone with a personality perceived from the font’s features. Serif are seen as traditional, stable, practical, serious, mature & formal. Slab Serif are more modern, bold, masculine, harsh & assertive. Sans Serif are contemporary, and sometimes sleek and elegant. Script ranges from casual to formal, sleek, elegant & sophisticated. Display typefaces have the most diverse and outspoken personalities.
Im considering creating some sort of infographic similar to the image to the right, when information is displayed in this way it seems less text heavy but still conveys the information present.
Font parings – When pairing fonts together it is crucial that the correct selection is made, you want your pairings to work and complement one another not to sit together fighting for attention. One important word comes to mind when pairing and that is Contrast, as the name implies, it is about finding totally different – but still complementary – typefaces that are each fit for their intended application. Traditionally, this involves pairing a serif with a sans serif. Serif fonts pair well with Sans serif, Script an Display. Sans-serif fonts pair well with Serif, Script and Slab Serif. Script/Display fonts pairs well with Serif and Sans-serif.
Deconstruction of letters – Typefaces are made up by the elements explained in anatomy of a typeface which commonly are serifs, strokes and bowls. By looking at these elements on their own we are able to understand the construction of the letter, The easiest way to to this is by tracing parts of the letters.
Reconstruction – By deconstructing and reconstructing letterforms it gives us a better understanding of what makes up the letters for that particular typeface. During the reconstruction it also gives us the opportunity to manipulate the designs to create our own.
The deconstruction/reconstruction has reminded me of an exercise in part 4 of Core Concepts. We were asked to complete a typographic jigsaw puzzle. I really enjoyed this and it really helped me understand how the letters of the typeface ‘Baskerville’ are constructed. This could be something I could include on one of my DIY pages to help the reader understand more this topic, just like I did.
Combining Letterforms – The letterforms of the most frequently used words have been combined and reduced to a single ligature, take ae for example along with the ‘&’ and the ‘@’ sign, or letters that regularly appear together. Combining letterforms can create new original icons and your own unique typographic monogram. When combining two letterforms you need to ensure that both characters are still recognisable when considering composition. Another creative way to combine letterforms is with the use of negative and positive space, I really like the look of these and will consider creating my own as examples to use on this page within my book.
With the idea of building the reader up to creating their own typeface I thought I would look into Hand drawn type, I found an interesting section in one of the typography book I own, ‘The Complete Typographer by Will Hill’. Graphic design in the 21st century has seen a very noticeable increase in the use of hand-rendered lettering across a range of commercial graphic applications. This may indicate a reaction to the lack of physicality or tactile value in digital type, reflecting a need to imbue letters with human material characteristics.
Reaction against the precepts of modernist design in the 1980s frequently involved handmade lettering, or physical interventions designed to disrupt the formal order of type. Prior to the digital age, it had been possible to maintain clear distinctions between type design and lettering. Type was by definition a set of fixed and standardised letters, whereas lettering was a fluid and adaptable medium in which a designer could respond to the relationships of particular letter and word combinations, and could distort, modify, shade and dimensionalise. These latter characteristics entered the field of set type with the development of photo setting, and were developed to a much fuller extent with the advent of digital media. Now, the profiles of pre-existing type can be digitally crafted into customised forms, while vector drawing programs allow for an increasingly direct engagement between the hand-skills of the lettering artist and the digital environment. This provides scope both for the integration of type and custom lettering within digital artwork, and for the ready translation of the hand drawn letter into the context of the digital font. The relative economy of digital production and storage allow for a typeface to be designed for a specific and quite limited use. Faces can be readily generated from scans of hand-rendered letters, and used to produce compositions that might appear to be wholly handmade.
The renewed interest in making letters by hand in the 21st century can be seen both in unique custom designs and in the creation of fonts that have a distinctly gestural, manual quality reflecting the characteristics of brush or pen. Contemporary hand-rendered lettering often reflects an enthusiasm for the decorative and the ornamental. This frequently involves elaboration and embellishment, the decoration of letters with abstract decorative forms, or the manual distortion of existing letterforms.
My first typeface created (Core Concepts Assignment 4)
To gain a better understanding of what I am asking my readers to do I myself would like to create some typefaces to use as examples within my book as samples. I would like to go more in depth of creating a typeface. I created my own typeface as part of Assignment 4 in Core Concepts and really enjoyed doing so, so I am looking forward to learning more about this process.
Although it may sound daunting to design a typeface from scratch as a beginner (and trust me I am being the guinea pig to my own book so all information will be trialed and tested) I want my book to be the first stepping stone into the right direction for the reader who may have an interest in this area. I want it to be fun and light heartened yet informal and encouraging.
Exploring further into this I came across the video below, which will be the video I will follow during my typeface progress. Working with my iPad I plan to digitally sketch and convert into vectors which can be used within my book.
There are three main steps when creating a typeface; Research, sketching/designing and creating digitally. When I come round to creating my own I would like to create around 5 different typefaces, with the majority being hand-rendered as this would make it easier for the reader to follow.
Handwriting fonts are favoured by designers because of their texture and beauty. The use of different fonts can be tricky. Often, each design requires its own font which, whether it’s thicker, thinner, curvier, or individual in some way, can express a feeling about your design and give it its own identity. And when it comes to digital design, fonts can play an even more crucial role in a typography design.
Book layout
One of the first books I purchased when starting my design journey was ‘Make your own luck by Kate Moross’, I love the layout of this book and would like to follow a similar style in my own by using large imagery with minimal, but informative text. I also love Kate’s style and take inspiration from her work which may show in the typefaces which I create.
I’m really drawn to Moross’ doodle like typography with use of bright and vibrant colours, it makes her work iconic and eye catching. I love her style!
Book Inspiration – I came across this book ‘Theory of type design by Gerard Unger’ online, I like the layout of the pages with it being more example based which is what I am aiming to do, along with the double page typographic art which breaks up the book giving inspiration and additional interest to the reader.
The contents to my book will be as follows;
Introduction to Typefaces and Understanding Letterforms – Here I will give a brief run over of what a typeface is with a diagram of the anatomy of a typeface, including a description of the structure of letterforms. (strokes, bowls, serifs etc).
Classifying Type – Without going into too much detail here I will show examples of single letterforms to a selection of typefaces. I will also talk and show examples of font pairings
Type Personality – Looking at how the anatomy of a letter form can convey mood and meaning and how it can be radically altered. Also possibly the mention of colour and how that can effect the way we see/read things
Trace & Change – This will be the first section which will include a DIY page. With the explanation of how to deconstruct letterforms, I will explain how during reconstruction it gives us the opportunity to manipulate the structures, warming the reader up for attempting to create their own sketches.
Combinations – Another fun exercise to encourage the reader to combine different letters, prompting them to start with their initials, this will include examples of my own combinations.
Quote/design pages – I’d like to create inspiring quote pages to scatter throughout the book, these could be places at the beginning or end of a chapter?
Type & Colour – Show the pros and cons to working with colour, explain how bad colour choices effect readability and how some font and colours harmonise together
Effects of print – Explanation of how the paper and materials we use can effect the overall result of the design with photographed/scanned imagery. This will include different papers, tools, materials etc.
Type Sample – a selection of my typefaces created, with font details, what it could be used for and what other typefaces it would pair well with.
DIY Pages – Thinking of scanning in graph paper so the reader can draw straight into the book. I’m Currently unsure if I’m going to place these one after another during the type sample pages or to include a section at the back of the book? This will be something I decide on during my flat plan.
Digitalising – Explain how to upload font onto the computer for the final step.
Following the topics above I have written out some notes whilst the research has been fresh in my mind, I will use these as a guide when it comes to writing up the text for my book.
Developing Ideas
I’m keen on the idea of having a theme throughout my book, It would be fun if it was presented in the style of a notebook/journal, with lined paper backgrounds and doodles/sketches of typefaces. I could add in scanned elements similar to those used in my zine for assignment 1 of different papers and post it notes. This would give my book more of a creative and unique feel compared to others available on the market offering something similar on the chosen topic.
Above is an example of the elements used during assignment 1. I particularly liked the effect the crumpled paper gave, I could include important tips or key information on these in my book, or use these on the opening chapter pages. As mentioned above, I like the idea of using lined or graph paper with perhaps the cover being printed on kraft/recycled paper. The materials which I choose to use will be decided further down the line, but its defiantly the direction I would like my books style to take.
Typeface – Before I start thinking about anything else I feel it would be a good stage to start the development of my typefaces as i can base the information featured in my book around my experience, also I may decide to use my font on the cover so this could alter the design of the cover.
I started off sketching out some type designs, Im aiming at creating more of a decorative typeface to begin with as it seems slightly less ‘precise’ and more relaxed. I am also going to have a go at doodling on my iPad using Procreate to see what effects I can achieve with the different brushes available.
Design Process Part 1
Having decided the title to my book I feel I can move onto the designing process; The title I have chosen is ‘Have fun with typography’ with sub title to be decided between ‘Create your own’, ‘Let your typography speak for itself’, or possibly ‘Learn with lettering’.
I started off by creating my flat plan along with creating a basic mockup to aid me in paring the correct correct pages together as they would be printed. I have a total of 60 pages for my book which was more than I imagined I would be creating! But after all, it is a book – not a leaflet!
I have gathered all my notes and written up all which will be included in my book, I had to do this first to determine how many pages would be included. I am now ready to start sketching up some design ideas ready to start the process of my book. I would like to use a continuous layout on each page to ensure the correct consistency is created to give a professional feel.
To make use of the paper I folded during the mockup to help with my flat plan I have decided to use this to create rough sketches deciding were things will be placed and the layout I will create. This way I will be able to see what works and what doesn’t within the format of my book. This is going to be incredibly useful during the designing and create stage knowing which pages marry up with each other.
Materials – As mentioned previously I’d like to scan in my own elements to scatter throughout my book to give it a ‘doodled’ notebook feel as after all the purpose of my book is an encouraging interactive DIY book. I have gathered some different paper samples to include in my book, these range from textured paper for effect and graph/lined paper for interaction.
Book format – I plan to create an interactive and informal book on typography focusing mainly on encouraging the reader to create a typeface. My book will be aimed at beginners who have an interest in the topic or are starting their journey into the designing world. My book will be 8 x 10 inches (254 x 203mm) which is the standard workbook size, enabling enough space for readers to add their own sketches etc. It lends itself to a 2-column text layout which is an efficient use of space. I will use the Perfect bound technique for my book with the pages equally divided into 3 signatures with the cover overlapping.
Design Process Part 2
I created my typefaces ready to include in my book, I created these using my iPad on procreate and using the website https://www.calligraphr.com/ to create these into glyphs. It was an incredibly easy and enjoyable task, defiantly something I will remember for future, now these aren’t perfect but are ideal for me and what I have planned for them.
Following my sketches I am able to start the process of creating my book. I have scanned onto my computer all elements that I wish to use along with narrowing down my selection for my main typefaces to feature within my book.
Layout – I have decided to apply the golden section, although initially I did struggle with the understanding of this in a previous research task, it helps create perfect harmony within the pages which is an important fundament when creating a successful book.
Copying up my notes and working with my layout I was able to successfully complete all 60 pages for my book, I am really pleased with how this is looking, I have reminded myself to trust the process as from afar it looks a little mix-matchy and messy however once placed together each page will work in harmony and completely fit my expectations and goal for my book.
With the help of my flat plan I was able to quickly match each page in the correct format ready for print as seen above. As mentioned above I would like my book to be 8×10″ however due to the current restrictions and Christmas period I would not be able to print my book efficiently with the correct papers/binding techniques I would of liked, but for the purpose of seeing my book in life I will print a smaller A5 size at home, this way I like to give my final evaluations and reflections.
Printed Mock-up
Mistakenly I started to print my book without its planned signatures, I didn’t like the way the book format was turning out (even though this was a mock-up for me to see how everything looked in printed form) whilst these pages were printing and placed together the book block began to have a stepped effect from where the volume was gathering at the spine. I quickly aborted the print and divided my book into the correct signatures and relabelled the correct page numbers ready to alter the page layouts.
Re-designed print preview:
You can clearly see the difference in quality between a cheap printer paper of 70gsm (top) and a premium paper of 90gsm (bottom). The colour is more washed out on the cheaper paper and is incredibly see through which ruins the effects of the pages, not only does it effect the way its printed it effects the way its handled. The premium paper is much more sturdy and comfortable to hold and turn pages, it doesn’t feel like it could tear as easily. This obviously wouldn’t be my first choice of paper (ideally would like my pages printed on 100gsm) however because I am printing from home the size and paper aren’t to how I would of liked – but I desperately wanted to see my book in a life form, and for doing this I am extremely pleased and confident with my end result of book!
Binding – I decided to do the perfect binding technique. I started off by saddle stitching my signatures together and proceeded to glue the spine together using pva glue. This took a few layers to fully secure it all together but worked successfully.
The link above shows my book in an interactive form which allows you to turn page by page in your own time. Seeing it digitally is very rewarding!
Printed mock-up
Self-critique – I feel that I have created a fun and informative book aimed at beginners who enjoy getting hands on with work and learning, the relaxed handmade feel takes the pressure off and distracts the reader from what can be a ‘scary and overwhelming’ area. My only concern is that my book may come across too handmade and perhaps ‘under qualified’ as it is very zine style. I would have loved to of seen my book professionally printed and printed to true size however this could be something I do at a later date when there aren’t so many restrictions.
Overall I feel this book would be idea for any beginners. I created something which I would of enjoyed owning when stepping into the world of typography for the first time, and feels like it successfully briefly touches bases on all avenues for basic typography.
During my paper mock-up I mistakenly printed my cover on regular paper rather than card! I feel this did impact the overall look slightly however other than that I am pleased with how the binding worked along with the overall look of it in my hands.
Reflection
At the start of this assignment I really struggled knowing which direction to take my book and actually had to have a short break whilst i figured it out. I felt most comfortable with creating a book about Typography but didn’t know what I could do which differs to anything else I have created so far. To begin with I considered creating a book for children on typography but as my ideas progressed I decided to create a book aimed at beginners of any age who had an interest in typography and type in general.
The theme of my book is an easy going DIY style book focusing on building up the readers confidence to create their own typeface, I wanted it to be fun and informative rather than overwhelmingly full of text, and feel that I have achieved just that. I also taught myself things along the way such as creating my own typefaces, I felt by doing this I would be able to give truthful advise and helpful tips. As you may have noticed I took inspiration in my book from my zine created in Assignment 1, I loved the cut and paste look and felt it was very fitting with the style of book created. (Plus I really enjoy the process of getting hands on and creating elements along with drawn imagery used within the book!)
I felt this assignment has been the icing on the cake for this unit – I have surprised myself with how much I have enjoyed and learnt from this unit and feel that I have come a long way in my work!
AMENDMENTS FROM TUTORS FEEDBACK
After receiving my tutors feedback I realised that I had a typo on one of my pages within my book. This has taught me the importance of checking over work and asking for a second pair of eyes to proof read over things. Below is the amended design, I have also updated the above slideshows but have shown below the before and after.
As you can see, I made a very embarrassing misspelling however was easily able to amend this. It’s really proven the importance of triple checking work!
My tutor also pointed that my binding could of been neater for my book. I have since been able to have my book professionally printed which has made such a difference and given me such a rewarding feeling seeing my work in a professionally made book form! I had my book printed with http://www.mixam.co.uk. The book is 204x254mm printed on 120gsm uncoated paper (suitable for user to draw and erase on pages) with the cover 350gsm gloss paper with perfect binding.
Having my book professionally printed has given me the greatest reward! I am so pleased with he work I have produced and hope the others think so too!
I’m very pleased with my tutors feedback for part 3, there was a mistake when publishing the research tasks For part 3, they ended up in places which they shouldn’t of been causing my tutor to miss these research tasks. I notified my tutor as soon as she pointed this out that I had placed them in the correct place.
Hearing the positive comments in my tutors feedback fills me with confidence and helps encourage me to push myself further and become more experimental as the assignments come on. One thing I did address my tutor with was she meant by conducting independent drawing, this is something I would like to work on, although I am drawing an end to the course I would like to work on this alongside my next assignment.
I have really enjoyed working on part 3, as I have mentioned before I’ve surprised myself with how well I am working to the briefs on all exercises and assignments and have discovered a hidden passion for book design and how they are constructed etc. Looking forward to see what else the course has to bring!
rachaelmayesbook.design.blog 