Category: Book Design

Overall feedback

Your work in this part of the course continues to show a good level of engagement with different exercises along with a developing technical ability in both handmade and digital drawing. As you move forward, it would be great to see you drawing inspiration from and reflecting more critically on a wider range of inspiration in your research in order to consider more creative and communicative approaches to working with imagery and texture. Some of your digital experiments and hand drawings are beginning to show an interesting use of texture and mark making and it would be great to see you developing this through allowing this to shine through in finished digital works and through reflecting on how your creative choices can impact the communication within your illustrations.

My response to the feedback

Glad to see that my tutor mentioned about my developing technical ability, which is something that I really try to improve. Based on my tutor feedback, I need to practice drawing inspiration from and reflecting more critically on a wider range of inspiration in my research in order to consider more creative and communicative approaches to working with imagery and texture.

Action points

• Taking the research from a wider range of inspiration sources, e.g. from different styles, themes or disciplines.
• Developing methods of gaining broader research inspiration and observe, compare and reflect on what methods different designers use and how this impacts the feeling or messaging in their work.
• Allowing time for developing expressive illustration styles through experimentation and engaging with exercises
• Challenging myself to bring this into digitally finished works and avoid over finishing works unless I am intentionally aiming for a ‘hyper real’ feel.
• Considering the balance between the digital and handmade and what can be achieved through using both together.

Further research

• Illustrators who work with the handmade illustration

As a student on this course you have access to Bridgeman and Oxford Art Online image libraries, which are a wonderful resource. If you haven’t already done so, spend some time finding your way around the Bridgeman Art Library and Oxford Art Online. You can access these through your OCA/UCA library access via the OCA student website.

Bridgerman is the world’s leading specialists in licensing fine art, cultural and historical media for reproduction.

Oxford Art Online offers access to the most authoritative, inclusive, and easily searchable online art resources available today. Through a single gateway, users can access and cross-search Oxford’s acclaimed, regularly updated art reference works.

Key features of Oxford Art Online include:

• Unified access to Oxford’s leading art reference sources
• Authoritative, peer-reviewed articles with rich supporting materials including bibliographies, media, and links to related resources
• Powerful search engine with sophisticated filtering options to refine by source, type, subject, and availability
• Intuitive navigation and options to save, print, or share articles
• OpenURL compliance to allow users to query their library catalogue and external resources with bibliographic information
• Learning resources including subject guides, timelines, and resources for educators

These two online libraries are very good resources if you’re not have access to a physical library with lots of images.

• https://www.bridgmanlibrary.com
• https://www.oxfordartonline.com

“Typeface choices might be influenced by what is legible, what is available on a computer and by the nature of the text. Typefaces can also be chosen for historical reasons. While a novel set in Renaissance Italy or eighteenth-century Britain may benefit from the use of Bembo or Baskerville respectively, it is not a necessity. What matters is that the text is readable and attractive to its intended audience today.”
Phil Baines & Andrew Haslam, Type & Typography, 2005. London: Laurence King Publishing.
In Exercise 3, you have to choose a typeface for the text, but how do you choose a typeface? In Notes on Book Design, Derek Birdsall describes clearly how you can choose a typeface that is appropriate for your text. Read the section ‘o n choosing a typeface’ in the book, N otes on Book Design, and use this as an approach in Exercise 3.

Overall Comments

Part Four focused on the physical form of the book, and how design choices around materials can help to construct meanings for the reader.
Overall your response has been very thorough and the practical work you are producing is of a high standard. You are conducting quality research, and it is evident that you are channelling this research into your practical work effectively.

Feedback on Assignment Four: Altered book
The brief: Using a found book, significantly alter the appearance of the pages to create a new volume that is personal to you. This can be any kind of book that is of interest to you. For example, a fiction book, a non-fiction book, a picture book or a photo book.
This assignment essentially forced you to respond to a readymade object, the physicality of it, as well as its content. Your approach has shown determination and a willingness to take creative risks in achieving an engaging result, as well as a sensitivity to the story content in the development and integration of your imagery, as well as influencing the nature of your interventions with the body of the book. It is great to see you tackling an analogue approach with the same careful consideration that you have displayed in your digital artwork. Great work.

My respond to the feedback

I’m very happy with the comments and feedback. I really enjoyed working on this part. I spent a lot of time specially on exercise 3, sequencing images and enjoyed a lot working on makings images and putting them together to make a book.

Things that need to be considered:

1. Take a look at Printed Matter. https://www.printedmatter.org/

2. Reflect on this feedback in my learning log

In this exercise you can use any images 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 piece, 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 outcomes may not always be what you thought they would be at the outset. You won’t 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 at 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 flatplan as a guide to working out how and where the image will be placed on the page, whether you will include any text, and to explore how the idea of ‘narrative’ might work. You might set up your 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.

Design process

For this exercise, I thought I can use the images that I made so for in my course. I chose 16 images and 8 different papers, some from G.F SMITH and the rest from the papers that I had at home. As some papers are coloured, I decided to make them all B & W to be able to compare them based on the type of the papers.

For the layout, I made it landscape but then change the layout as I thought it would work better with my printer.

First flat plan

Second flat plan

Working on Indesign

I made a document with 8 pages in Indesign and put 2 images in one page. Then make them all B & W.

JPEG images

Print

Results

G.F SMITH – Cranes Crest, fluorescent white

This paper is very similar to the normal A4 copy paper with a bit more texture and a bit heavier. It came out of the printer easily. Considering the type of the printer, which is a very basic home printer the images are quite sharp.

G.F SMITH – Sketch natural, ivory

This paper has a hairy like texture and it’s 120 GSM. Came out of the printer easily. It’s smoother than the previous paper so the images are sharper.

G.F SMITH – Neenah Environment, desert storm

This paper is a recycled paper, it’s 90 GMS and got some texture but has got a smooth surface. I personally like the colour and it’s earthy feeling. It might not be a good choice for an elegant result but it is an environmental friendly.

G.F SMITH – Colorplan, rust

This paper is 135 GSM and has a Fabric finish. I really like the texture and colour. It’s very vibrant and the texture is very interesting. I think It’s a good choice for some modern brochures.

G.F SMITH – Wild, Clay

This paper is quite thick, 150GSM and I was worried that my printer couldn’t handle it. However, it came out fine. The texture is quite strong so the images are not very sharp.

Cartridges paper

This paper is whiter and much heavier that normal A4 copy paper. It is very smooth so the images are quite sharp.

Sugar paper, yellow

This paper is very light with lots of texture. It’s a recycled paper so it’s got a rough surface and not very strong for hard use. The quality of the images are very low.

Sugar paper, pink

This paper is the as the previous one but different colour. It’s nice to see that just by changing the colour how the effect will change. Although it is a recycled paper, it’s not very practical for everyday use.

Self – reflection

That was an interesting exercise to see how the effect and quality of the print with the same default would change with different kind of papers. The printer that I used was a very basic home printer, I assuming that the result would depend on the printing process. Obviously, there are a massive range of papers available with different finishes so the end results would be very interesting

Begin by reflecting upon the sorts of projects, exercises and assignments you
have enjoyed most:
● Do you enjoy the 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 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 apply to page layout. You may want to design your 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.

Reflection on previous assignments

Based on my previous exercises and assignments, I enjoy working both digitally and hands-on way. I personally prefer to work with text and images from scratch so I have more flexibility on my design.

I enjoyed working on each previous exercise and assignment. I’ve learnt a lot through each of them, however my best favourite ones are:

Part 1: Your zine

The first assignment was my first zine and I used both physical a hands-on approach. Overall, I was pleased with the final design.

Part 2: Designing a cover

It was interesting that by keeping one element, same colour palette and typeface how many different designs with different layouts can be made. I really enjoyed this exercise as it was a way to experiment with different compositions and layouts.

Part 3: Experimental typography

This exercise really helped me to think about typography as an illustration. I decided to keep the design black and white and just concentrate on typography.

Part 4: Collating and binding

This exercise was one of my favourite exercises, since first I needed to design digitally then bind it myself. In this exercise, I thought about print process and binding in more depth.

Overall in this unit, I’ve learnt a lot about layout and print. I needed to do research for each exercise and assignment. I believe at this stage, I have a better understanding about typography, colour, different types of papers and print process. Hopefully, I would be able to use my knowledge in my last assignment.

Adrian Pipes’ O n Press chapter, from his 2009 P roduction 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) P roduction for Graphic Designers, 5th Edition, London: Laurence King Publishing, is available to you as a resource on the OCA student site.
“There is a long-standing misconception to to learn the craft part of any profession can be a chore. The temptation is to jump right in there and get on with the creative stuff. Print production, in particular, with its many different stages and processes, can seem dull… [however] Graphic designers are both artists and craftspeople… And when you have learnt all about print production, the creativity will be able to come shining through.”
Alan Pipes, P roduction for Graphic Designers (5th Edition), 2009. London: Laurence King Publishing. Page 11
Consider which aspects of the print process might feed into your creative decision making process. Where do the connections between artist and craftsperson 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. They will certainly have machines for reproduction, printing, folding and binding, which would be relevant to your research into printing books. Don’t be shy about getting in touch. When you explain you’re a student, printers often enjoy taking time out of their regular schedule to show people ‘round the works’ – but be aware that they do have busy schedules, so take advantage of any time they offer you! Take your camera and ask permission to photograph the machinery and production line, as an aide-memoire. Similarly, take your notebook and document the visit – you can incorporate this research later into your learning log.
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.
Any visit may provide valuable research material for you, and of course the printer may prove a good contact for you in the future.

Design process

The five major printing processes are distinguished by the method of image transfer and by the general type of image carrier employed. Depending upon the process, the printed image is transferred to the substrate either directly or indirectly.

In direct printing the image is transferred directly from the image carrier to the substrate, examples of direct printing are gravure, flexography, screen printing and letterpress printing processes.

In indirect, or offset, printing, the image is first transferred from the image carrier to the blanket cylinder and then to the substrate. Lithography, currently the dominant printing technology, is an indirect (offset) process.

Creation process

• Size of the book
• Font selection
• Colour palette
• digital or physical
• Paper stock
• Finishing
• Bounding
• production

Blurb

In 2005, Blurb founder Eileen Gittins wanted to do something she thought would be relatively simple: Make a book of her own photography. The “make a book” part was possible, sure, but the costs were prohibitive. And the “simple” part? Not so much. “Why,” she thought, “should anyone have to take out a second mortgage and hire a small army just to publish a few copies of their own book?”

…there was an idea.

One year later, in 2006, Eileen launched Blurb, the world’s first platform for creating, printing, and publishing independent books. The democratization of illustrated publishing had arrived. But these weren’t just any books. They were beautiful, bookshop-quality books on premium paper stock with archival-quality binding. And anyone could make one. Literally, just one. Or two. Or ten thousand. Blurb was one of those amazing big-picture ideas made real: A mash-up of creative freedom with print-on-demand technology. It was groundbreaking. It was liberating and empowering and thrilling. And people like Eileen started making the books they’d always dreamed of, but never thought they could make.

As it turned out, the idea was a popular one

Fast forward to today. To date, Blurb authors have created more than two million books since the company started, with a new book created every minute. The books are as amazing and varied as the people making them. Photo books, cookbooks, travel books, children’s books, graphic novels, not-so-graphic novels…the list is endless. “If you build it, they will come” has never been more true than at Blurb. The question we’ve always asked our customers has been, “What will your book be?” Now we browse our online bookstore and wonder “What can’t a book be?” Because every day Blurb book-makers continue to astound us with unique takes on what constitutes a book.

Mixam

Our advanced online technology makes ordering your print simple and puts you firmly in control.

Simply choose your desired item from one of our product tabs and enter your details for an instant quote. No lists, no grids, no forms to fill in.

Toggle options to see different prices to suit your budget; there’s no need to start again.

Our user-friendly system even let’s you manipulate your uploaded files. Once your file is uploaded to our servers you can view your proof, change page sequence, add blank pages, rename files, or delete entire pages altogether.

The Mixam way:

• Advanced and user-friendly ordering system
• Instant prices
• Online proof
• Email your quotes
• Create an account and archive orders
• Ability to manipulate files after upload

I knew Blurb before and had some experience ordering from them. I’ve just had some research about Mixam printing. I’ve ordered a sample book from Mixam. Hopefully after seeing their sample books and comparing the prices, I would be able to decide which online printer, I am going to choose.

Resources

• Blurb. At: https://www.blurb.co.uk/about-blurb (Accessed: 10/10/2022)
• Guides library Illinois. Printing process. At: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/litho-topic-hub/background/printing-process (Accessed: 10/10/2022)
• Mixam. At: https://mixam.co.uk/ (Accessed: 10/10/2022)
• The glow studio. The print design. At: https://theglowstudio.com/the-print-design-process/ (Accessed: 10/10/2022)

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.

Scoping

This part is really depends on whether to use online or physical printer. What size would be and how much would it cost. I probably would be starting doing some research about online printing, so I guess this step can be done in 1 week.

Research and development

Before starting, I need to do some research about online and physical printing, similar books. I need to decide about the software I’m going to use and the format that the printer needs. Also, I need to make a mind map and a mood board based on my research. This probably takes 1 week.

Creating text and images

First, I need to decide how I want my art work to be displayed. I need to design page layout, cover and flat plan. The size is another aspect that needs to be confirmed as it can affect the whole layout. Then collecting or creating images for my book. I’ve already got some ideas about my book so for this stage, I think 1 week would be enough.

Sample page

Making thumbnails and sketches, on paper and digitally. I need to make a sample book, a small and basic version of my final book. To make sure overall design works well. In this stage, I need to decide about typeface and final images. (2-3 days)

proofing

I need to make sure that everything is ready for the print. I will use my desktop printer to examine all the details and make correction as needed. It can be done at the same time as sampling pages.

Print preparation

All the files needed to be checked and make sure they’re ready to be sent to the printer. As I needed to do my research about the printer and the timeline, hopefully this stage will be straight forward and without any issue.

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.

Artist/Designer/Author

Designers are responsible for how a book looks and feels, ensuring maximum impact and readability. Some publishing companies have in-house design teams, but many now use freelance designers. Working closely with the production department, designers usually work on every aspect of a book, from the cover design to the size and typeface. Depending on the publisher, there may be specialist roles for picture researchers and text designers.

Publisher

The role of Publisher requires knowledge and experience of editorial content, sales, market trends, finance and strategy. Alongside meeting with potential new sales partners at trade fairs, it is their responsibility to monitor trends and curate books to put together a publishing programme that appeals to all the markets and territories the company is present in. They manage the company’s wider budgets, P&Ls and finances and work collaboratively with all the other departments.

This would be me. It will be any research, writing or any art work to include.

Editor

Editors are usually involved in every aspect of publishing a book: coming up with an idea, commissioning an author to write it, liaising with other departments to come up with design and marketing ideas, and even writing the copy on the book jacket.

I will edit my own work, also using some feedback from friends and family.

Production

Production departments take the manuscript and design elements and transform them into a finished book. Production teams take on project management roles and can get involved with anything from ordering paper to getting quotes and negotiating prices on typesetting, printing and binding. Shops will be expecting the book at a certain time, so it’s crucial that the production runs to schedule.

In this case, some part will be my responsibility, like thinking about the materials, typesetting and maybe printing/ binding. Print and binding might be with an external company.

Printer

The printer would most likely be an external company which would need to be researched and a relationship cultivated with to achieve the best results when producing a book.

It will be an external company, if I want to have the best result. I need some research to find the best place for my need, online or physical publisher.

Distribution

Distribution departments operate at some publishers, although some use a third party. A large warehouse may have up to 20,000 titles and must send books across the world. There are many challenges involved in stocking and distributing books: some have a quick turnover, while others sell slowly, but in regular quantities. Sophisticated stock management systems have been developed in order to deal with this efficiently.

As it’s not going to go into the full production, this role will not be needed.

Retail

Retailers sell books to consumers. Typical book retailers include online bookstores like Amazon.com, retail (physical) bookstores, chain stores, and specialty stores. Some retailers do advertising, usually for bestsellers and books from big-name authors, but the author and publisher bear most of the responsibility for generating demand from consumers.

This job will not be needed in this case.

Sources

• Stephanie Barko. The role of retailers distributors and wholesalers. At: https://stephaniebarko.com/guest-blog-the-role-of-retailers-distributors-and-wholesalers-in-the-book-trade/. (Accessed: 03/10/2022)
• Sweet cherry Publishing. The different roles and responsibilities in book publishing. At: https://sweetcherrypublishing.com/jobs-in-books-the-different-roles-and-responsibilities-in-book-publishing/. (Accessed: 03/10/2022)
• Target jobs. Career advice, book publishing. At: https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/creative-arts-media-and-design/job-roles-and-types-employers-book-publishing. (Accessed: 03/10/2022)