“Whenever I hear the word ‘reader’, I reach for my mobile device. Today’s ‘reader’ is as likely to be a digital apparatus or software interface as a living person leafing through the pages of a book. Countless hardware and software products are designed to display, filter, push, and aggregate published matter. Screen readers turn text into speech, creating accessible material for sight-impaired users. News readers digest blogs and news posts, feeding them back to users in quick-view formats stripped of context, while digital readers serve up books and magazines for instant consumption.” Ellen Lupton, Graphic Design: Now in production, 2014. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Given the current development of the book from printed to digital technologies, what do you see as the future of the book, for readers, and book designers? Where do you see the book heading? Show and tell. Try and summarise your thinking into a series of short statements, quotations, images (collage) or ideas. Be creative in how you approach this. Use your learning log to reflect on the essay and your own thoughts and visual ideas about the future of book design. This research will feed into part of your first assignment.
It’s interesting that the technology is growing very fast, however, we still can see printed books everywhere. I personally prefer a paper book than the electronic one. It gives me a nice feeling to touch a book while I’m reading it. So, I think for quite a while we’re going to have paper books with us. It probably would be more recycled material to make books in the future to preserve the natural resources.
On the other hand, the electronic books, such as Amazon’s kindle and different apps on phones and tablets have their own advantages, which is being accessible and easy to use everywhere. The new generation are more attached to their phones, however, because of the side effects of using screens, many people are trying to cut out their screen time.
I think in the future, we will see more upgraded to the existing electronic books. They’re becoming more interactive, images and pages will pop up on the screen quicker and easier.
Some specialised robots might be invented to provide and read books for us.
Virtual reality is one of the technologies that growing very fast. You might be able to have a headset and be able to access lots of information as well as the huge library of different books.
It might be some technology to have contact lenses instead of current digital books. And they can be programmed for different information such as different books. These kind of contact lenses can replaced the current digital screens.
Or maybe some holographic books, will be available for people to read, and you just need to have the code for that.
All these kind of new technologies need new type of designs. Probably, the book designers in the past didn’t think that one day they need to design for a digital book. It’s the same about designing in the future. It’s going to be different with the design for a printed book, but has got the same aim, which is interacting more readers.
Reflection
Future was always a mystery for all the generations, however with an emerging technologies, it is not very far to see some ideas that I had about the future books. I still believe that despite all the changes, we are going to see printed books around us but probably with more sustainable materials.
Consider the importance of books to you both personally and within a broader global sense. First of all, think back to the earliest books you came across as a child, through your teenage years and early adulthood to where you are now. There may be half a dozen books which stick in your memory or are important to you in some way. There may be many more than that. It may be an early reading book, a particular image or short rhyme which helped you recognise letterforms. It may be the distressed metallic silver cover of a Salinger novel you read as a teenager, or the book you bought on impulse after work one day, seduced by the tactile quality of the cover. Identify these books in your learning log, use photographs and annotation to create an illustrated list documenting the books that are important to you, for whatever reason. Now, connect your influential books to those with a more global reach. Identify seminal works that have informed or challenged some of the areas you have identified. These may be scientific, artistic, historical, political, geographic, fictional, poetic or religious texts. For example, a book from your childhood could connect to other seminal children’s books by association, such as Heinrich Hoffmann’s Der Struwwelpeter / Shockheaded Peter (1845) or Charles Perrault or the Brothers Grimm. Likewise a book featuring dinosaurs might connect to Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species. When we appreciate the breadth and influence of books, we begin to appreciate the extent of a book’s potential impact. Books carry and communicate ideas; powerful messages can be contained within seemingly innocuous bound paper pages. In your learning log, create another list of books, with accompanying images and annotations, which you believe to be more globally important, but connect to your first list in some way.
Earliest books I came across as a child:
Daddy long legs
“Daddy long legs” tells the story of a young girl, Jerusha Abbott, who has been raised in an orphanage. Being the oldest of the pupils, she has to work hard for her pension, helping to take care of the other kids. Despite the sad and boring life she leads, she is a cheerful and creative person and has a talent for writing.
One day, one of the trustees of the orphanage reads one of the essays she has written for school, talking about her life as an orphan child, and it impresses him so favorably that he decides to pay for her to go to college, believing that she has potential to become a writer. But he sets a strange condition: Jerusha must write a letter to him every month, telling him about her life and her studies, but she must never expect any letters from him in return.
Jerusha has only had the chance to see this mysterious man once from the back, and the only thing she knows for sure about him is that he is very tall. With just that fact (And the powerful imagination that characterizes her) she creates her own image of her benefactor, as well as an affectionate nickname to address him: Daddy long legs.
This “Daddy long legs” becomes the confidant of Jerusha’s joys and sorrows, and an implicit help to fight against “the petty hazards of the day”, as she calls them. Daddy long legs is never seen by his protegee, he never writes her back, but he finds a way to be present every time she needs him.
Of course, in the end, Jerusha manages to meet her Daddy long legs. And she gets a big surprise!
Little women
“Little women,” tells the story of four young sisters during the years of the American Civil War. Their father is serving as a chaplain for the Union Army, far from home, while the girls stay at home with their mother.
The sisters are quite different from one another:
Margaret “Meg”, the older sister, wants to make a good marriage so she can live without worries, preoccupied only for enjoying herself. She is the most beautiful of the sisters and works as a governess for a rich family, a job she does not like. When the story starts she is seventeen.
Josephine “Jo”, of fifteen, dreams to be a great writer and travel around the world to have adventures. She is a tomboy and does not take great care on her aspect or manners, but she has a big heart and a cheerful disposition. Not remotely interested in anything that can be considered “ladylike”, Jo’s sharp tongue and short temper usually get her into trouble. She assists her old and grumpy great-aunt March to help her family financially.
Elizabeth, also called “Beth” or “Little tranquility” by her father is a shy girl of thirteen. Too timid to go to school, Beth stays at home and is taught by her father, and after he is gone to war, she tries to teach herself as well as she can. She is in charge of many housework activities but loves to play the piano more than anything else. Unlike her sisters, all who have dreams and plans for the future, Beth only wishes to stay at home and help to take care of the family.
Amy is only twelve, but very conscious of her own importance. She wants to be an artist when she grows up and is very good at drawing. Amy gives very much importance to her aspect and her biggest trial in life is her nose, which she does not consider pretty enough. Her manners and little airs can be petulant at times (Much to Jo’s irritation) so her mother and sisters try their best help her to correct herself.
Accompanying the March sisters’ adventures we found characters as endearing as their neighbor, rich Mr.Lawrence, his grandchild Laurie, Mr.Brooke, Laurie’s tutor, and of course, the beloved “Marmee” always willing to give help and advise to the ones who need it.
The novel centers in the troubles, dreams, and aspirations of the girls. The first part of the story shows their pass from childhood to adulthood, while the second, published sometimes under the title “Good Wives” allows us to see each one of them trying to cope with the responsibilities and desitions of the adult world and find their way in life.
Michel Strogoff
Michael Strogoff, a 30-year-old native of Omsk, is a courier for Tsar Alexander II of Russia. The Tartar Khan (prince), Feofar Khan, incites a rebellion and separates the Russian Far Eastfrom the mainland, severing telegraph lines. Rebels encircle Irkutsk, where the local governor, a brother of the Tsar, is making a last stand. Strogoff is sent to Irkutsk to warn the governor about the traitor Ivan Ogareff, a former colonel, who was once demoted and exiled by this brother of the Tsar. He now seeks revenge: he intends to gain the governor’s trust and then betray him and Irkutsk to the Tartar hordes.
On his way to Irkutsk, Strogoff meets Nadia Fedor, daughter of an exiled political prisoner, Basil Fedor, who has been granted permission to join her father at his exile in Irkutsk; the English war correspondent Harry Blount of the Daily Telegraph; and Alcide Jolivet, a Frenchman reporting for his ‘cousin Madeleine’. Blount and Jolivet tend to follow the same route as Michael, separating and meeting again all the way through Siberia. He is supposed to travel under a false identity, posing as the pacific merchant Nicolas Korpanoff, but he is discovered by the Tartars when he meets his mother in their home city of Omsk.
Michael, his mother and Nadia are eventually captured by the Tartar forces, along with thousands of other Russians, during the storming of a city in the Ob basin. The Tartars do not know Strogoff by sight, but Ogareff is aware of the courier’s mission and when he is told that Strogoff’s mother spotted her son in the crowd and called his name, but received no reply, he understands that Strogoff is among the captured and devises a scheme to force the mother to indicate him. Strogoff is indeed caught and handed over to the Tartars, and Ogareff alleges that Michael is a spy, hoping to have him put to death in some cruel way. After opening the Koran at random, Feofar decides that Michael will be blinded as punishment in the Tartar fashion, with a glowing hot blade. For several chapters the reader is led to believe that Michael was indeed blinded, but it transpires in fact that he was saved from this fate (his tears at his mother evaporated and saved his corneas) and was only pretending.
Eventually, Michael and Nadia escape, and travel to Irkutsk with a friendly peasant, Nicolas Pigassof. They are recaptured by the Tartars; Nicolas witnesses Nadia cruelly insulted by a Tartar soldier and murders Nadia’s assaulter. The Tartars then abandon Nadia and Michael and carry Nicolas away, reserving him for a greater punishment. Nadia and Michael later discover him buried up to his neck in the ground; after he dies they bury him hastely and continue onwards with great difficulty. However, they eventually reach Irkutsk, and warn the Tsar’s brother in time of Ivan Ogareff. Nadia’s father has been appointed commander of a suicide battalion of exiles, who are all pardoned; he joins Nadia and Michael; some days later they are married.
The influence
I should say that l’m not a professional reader. After getting married and having children, the most book I read was about parenting and recently I am reading more books about Graphic Design.
However when l read My Own Story by Emmeline Pankhurst, which was about the Suffragette movement, It reminded me of little women. Reading the little women as a child gave me the encouragement and hope as a woman that I can be whoever I want.
All those three books that I read as a child and a teenager was all about being strong and following your dreams and being determine about your aims and ambitions. They really helped me to improve my ability to control my life and follow my dreams.
Overall Feedback Part five of this course has focused on layout through the design of leaflets, flyers, posters, and books. For the assignment you chose ‘book design’ brief which was a surprise following the success of the two logo/branding projects. Much of the same comment regarding research applies here too; in many respects your submission suggests you recognise what you need to do, and maybe have done so but not necessarily evidenced. The book solutions are innovative, work well as a series, and would visually appeal to target audience. The design layout and style of the spreads work well with the cover design. Refer to feedback regarding typographic detailing to help you refine the solutions. Overall your response has been very good, well done.
My respond to the feedback
Pleased to hear that I had a good response to this part. I really enjoyed working on the exercises and final assignment especially the two logo design exercises.
Feedback based on Learning Outcomes develop your creative and visual abilities in your practice as a graphic designer The first exercise ‘magazine layouts’ evidences you are developing a sound understanding of page layout, grid structures, hierarchy of information within text, and balance of text to image. Although you do not evidence analysis of Infographic examples, they have informed your understanding of this brief as shown in your design solution; a clear presentation of the data that requires no explanation. Consider adding date to situate travel data in context, for example pre-Covid 2009 to 2019. Develop your ‘birthday list’ idea as the style of illustration and concept are promising. Focus on the frames, could they have photo of whose birthday? Refine your typographic detailing. Again some promising work for you poster design but use research to inform your typographic detailing, in particular focus on hierarchy of text, layout and composition to help the reader navigate the information as your design has 7 text areas that require visual connection. You seem to have really resolved your creative process working through the ‘Chance Housing’ and ‘French Hen’ briefs, logo/branding design is where your strength in design is, excellent well done. use creative problem solving and research to generate visual ideas Good research and analysis of layout and grid structure for first exercise. This set you up well for the following briefs. Some sound book cover research but be more explicit about what information it provided to inform your creative process. Although you evidence a range of infographic examples they are all from Pinterest rather than reliable sources as previously suggested, also you appear not to have analysed, therefore it is not clear how this particular research informed your ideas generation? Research point ’posters’ some sound research but ensure notation is in your own words and when citing examples show images. Did you access any previously recommended resources for this research point? The following music poster research, it appears you did not analyse examples in same way as you did magazine spreads? Again how did this research inform your ideas generation? demonstrate your use of design and technical skills for graphic design Overall work submitted shows your have acquired a confident command of digital software, in particular using InDesign for the iteration of some graphic design solutions. articulate an understanding of the contexts of graphic design practices and reflect on your own learning It is evident in your work how some (not all) research has informed your practice and therefore developed your understanding of the contexts of graphic design. What you did do well was to research different types of infographics to broaden your understanding of this area of graphic design. Your idea for the ‘birthday list’ is promising, but you say you struggled with idea, this is because your research should have followed on from the Infographic exercise rather than looking at ‘birthday list’ examples that have limited design credibility. Action points based on Learning Outcomes develop your creative and visual abilities in your practice as a graphic designer Generally words per line between 7 to 12 (depending on design style); if text creates very ragged line endings choose smaller point size or a font that is more oval than round; compare and contrast Times as it was designed for short measures in newsprint to Baskerville designed for longer measures in books; experiment with slightly closing character spacing (tracking) on short measures; ensure you use paragraph breaks either as line ident or line space; avoid widows at end of paragraphs. When setting text to a shape you will need to manually adjust tracking and sometimes edit text to avoid rivers and uneven word spacing running through text. demonstrate your use of design and technical skills for graphic design You used Photoshop to iterate the book cover solution? Create images and drawn type in Photoshop, Illustrator or Procreate and import to InDesign, then use grid structure for layout design and iteration of solution. Using type fonts in Photoshop will be ‘soft’ and using grids for layout design is problematic . use creative problem solving and research to generate visual ideas Really analyse typographic detailing in research examples selected for magazines and books. How might visual research for a mood-board about the narrative of Handmaid’s Tale have helped ideas generation? Visual research may have informed to a grater extent the style of script font, handwritten style using pen/ink/nib, which may have been used by the women? Pinterest should only be used if you can verify examples are from a reliable source. When Harvard Referencing web-links you must state date accessed. articulate an understanding of the contexts of graphic design practices and reflect on your own learning Many resources have been recommended throughout the course, but it is unclear what you have accessed in this part of the course. Much of your reference is Pinterest images, which will limit your understanding of the contexts of graphic design. Generally you need to evaluate your graphic design solutions in context to professional practitioners, compare and contrast your solutions with selected research examples, write up in more detail your self reflection of learning.
Things to be considered
Using creative problem solving and research to generate visual ideas
Using more reliable sources than Pinterest
Analysing the research
Using Times as it was designed for short measures in newsprint instead of Baskerville, when there is a limited space
Writing my self reflection of learning in more details
Overall Comments The first part of the course focuses on getting started by introducing you to the subject and exploring a brief history of graphic design. You have produced a set of four postcards that visually say a something about yourself that is important to you. Your overall presentation is very well considered and executed, so by addressing the points made in your feedback I have no doubt you will produce some exciting work. Develop your design skills through the next part of the course; most importantly enjoy the process of learning.
My respond to the feedback
Very happy with the overall feedback from my tutor. I enjoyed working on this exercise, since it was all about what I like in my life.
Exercise: Sending and Receiving Understanding how visual communication works is crucial to graphic design, your first exercise asked you to explore this through playing visual charades. This exercise was not submitted for feedback. When starting a project it is good to practise new methods and apply when exploring and developing ideas, this will help you to generate a wide range of creative innovative ideas that you would not necessarily have otherwise considered. This exercise is not about quality of visuals made, its about a method of how to record ideas without overthinking. Use this method alongside mind-mapping and mood-boards in the future. Next time ensure you work through exercises before final assignment, as they are part of independent learning and are designed to develop your creative approaches to problem solving (save as evidence).
My respond to the feedback
I’ve uploaded my exercise on my blog and since I have sent my blog link at the beginning of the course to my tutor, I thought that should be enough and didn’t send my blog link again along with my assignment.
Feedback on assignment one: Introducing Yourself Assignment one asked you to design a series of postcards that say something about yourself and your interests as a way of introducing yourself. It was good to see you started this assignment by producing a mood-board to consider and select key aspects of you and your life to focus on for the card designs. Next time use the exercises to help you develop a more thorough creative process when working through an assignment, such as mind-mapping your ideas, showing through research what styles of graphic design / illustration that inspires you. Your notation is very clear in rationalising ideas for each postcard developed, next time show how your arrived at your finished designs such as layout, composition, text font, colour content variations. You acknowledge you should have done this here, so I trust you understand the value of showing your complete process; for example, you may have thumbnail sketches of ideas dismissed that a tutor may see merit in developing. In addition its good to show that you can produce a broad range of ideas, especially as a client will always expect to see more than one. Did you research postcard designs, styles, history? What size will you cards reproduce? Did you consider a design to work across all 4 postcards for example; all landscape or all portrait; white boarder on one card should it be applied to all? the last design works really well, so could they have all followed same layout ass a set? You make an interesting point about typeface chosen for Yoga card as being ‘informal’ yet sans serif is considered very formal, however its good to read that type and typography is an area you’re looking forward to investigating.
My respond to the feedback
What I need to do next time:
mind-mapping my ideas
showing through research what styles of graphic design / illustration that inspires me
Sketchbooks Keeping sketchbooks and a learning log is an integral part of this and every other OCA course, not only because they constitute 20% of your marks if you choose to have your work formally assessed but they are also an excellent way to document and reflect on your development. Use a sketch book to document your whole creative process. Research and critically analyse examples of professional designers/illustrators work stating how, what, why and how research has informed your own practice; consider materials, techniques, processes, colour, line, tone, content, layout, composition, hierarchy of examples you are analysing. A good way to do this is to trace key elements: positive and negative space within format; choice of font/s, size and scale; relationship between headline text and copy text, positioning; layout and composition; relationship between image and text, what leads; colour palette. Use your research to inform ideas generation shown through doodles, mind- maps, thumbnail sketches; next plan, making mood-boards and develop ideas; screen shot digital experiments to show process and refinement of outcomes; notation throughout should reflect on your learning that’s taken place.
Learning Logs or Blogs / Critical essays Your learning log/blog is a good start to evidencing the approach taken so far for the assignment. Research professional designers, starting with those who inspire you. Use reliable resources such as journals and magazines Eye or Computer Arts or Wired; museums can be accessed online if not visited. Engage with research to learn about a broad range of graphic design disciplines. When analysing examples of others’ work consider and notate: what area of design for example print (book/ magazine), film titles, advertising (products/services/information), posters (events), packaging, games, digital media; what materials and processes were used in the original making, craft and technology; reproduction of work into multiples; who commissioned the work; who is the audience; function/purpose; what’s being communicated; social, political time-fame work was made and what impact this may have had; is there a particular style associated with country of origin; what do you think the brief was? Always say what, why, how, for whom, and when. Visual research should either be printed and/or add appropriate Web-links. Harvard Reference all examples shown (guide on OCA learning resources), ensure you use reliable sources. Start to build your bibliography. It would be a good idea to have a blog as it is a way of connecting with your peers on the course and getting your work seen in a professional context. Moving forward decide if you would prefer your blog to be all of your work or a summary, from Part 2 please send full body of your actual work to me so I can view alongside your blog.
Suggested viewing/reading It would be advantageous to read books to help you further develop understanding of the process of graphic communication. Preferably see if you can access the following through library or online. Have a look at Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Greatest Graphic Designers by Steven Heller because this book will not only help you become familiar with graphic design practitioners but will also give you an insight into how they work; Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methodologies in Graphic Design by Ian Noble and Russell Bestley is a great book that will help you develop your methodology and one you will refer to throughout your studies; Design Diaries: Creative Process in Graphic Design by Lucienne Roberts for case studies. Also refer to suggested reading in your student handbook.
My respond to the feedback
Things to be done:
Sketch book
Research and critically analyse examples of professional designers/illustrators work, consider materials, techniques, processes, colour, line, tone, content, layout, composition, hierarchy of examples you are analysing.
Mind mapping
Thumbnails
Doodles
Reading magazines
Visiting museums
Always say what, why, how, for whom, and when
Look WeAreOCA blog
Introduction to studying HE course (read already)
Books to read:
Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Greatest Graphic Designers by Steven Heller
Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methodologies in Graphic Design by Ian Noble and Russell Bestley
Design Diaries: Creative Process in Graphic Design by Lucienne Roberts
Penguin Books have asked you to design a new house style for a collection of books on design for children and young people. They are starting with three titles: Colour, Typography and Photographs. You will need to produce three covers (front, back and spine). The designs will need to be recognised by readers as a series and at the same time be appreciated on their individual merits. The book dimensions are 190mm wide by 225mm high. In addition they have asked you to produce the one on typography called A is for… It doesn’t have to be a conventional text book. Create an introductory chapter of at least 4 pages that is visually interesting and will entice young people into wanting to buy the book and read more about the fascinating world of typography.
Analysing the brief
Key words:
Children’s book
Book cover (front, back, spine)
Series: typography, colour, photographs
Penguin Random House
190mm x 225mm
4 pages
A is for …
Visually interesting
“WH” Questions:
Who is the audience? Young People
Who is the publisher? Penguin Random House
What media should be used? Illustration/ photo/ type
What colour should be used? Vibrant
What fonts should be used? TBC
Where will the design be displayed? Bookshelves
How to make it interesting? Colour/ typeface/ image
Research – Children’s book design
TOP FIVE TIPS FOR CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK COVER DESIGN:
1.) Rule of Thirds
There’s nothing wrong with a basic front-and-center composition and it does have value, however, one of the easiest ways to elevate your artwork is to apply the Rule of Thirds, an off-center composition, to make your artwork more appealing and give it more structure. The idea behind this principle is that you can divide your artwork into thirds, rather than in half, and place important elements along the guidelines and at the intersection points that the one-third sections create. If you’re drawing a landscape, an easy way to apply Rule of Thirds is to place the horizon along one of the horizontal guidelines. It doesn’t have to be measured out exactly.
Take a look at my illustration below to see how I drew the horizon near the lower horizontal guideline. Had I placed the horizon along the middle of the page or even along the upper horizontal guideline, it would have really taken away from the feeling and focus of how majestic and grand a sky with northern lights can be. I wanted the sky to really grab your attention here. You could even say that the sky itself was also split into a second Rule of Thirds grid and the lights were drawn in such a way as to utilize the nine equal portions within the sky giving the artwork continued structure and balance.
Part of learning about different composition tools is figuring out when it’s beneficial to apply a rule and when it isn’t. There are times when an off-center composition, like the Rule of Thirds, is not beneficial. For example, you do not want to cut off important details just to put an object in this position.
Here’s another example. Take a look at the cover I did for Monty the Manatee. This book cover received a book cover design award from Kids Shelf Books in 2018. If you split the artwork up into thirds creating nine equal spaces, you can see that the title of the book falls along the top horizontal guideline and the two “M’s” fall near the upper left intersection point. Monty, the main character, is then placed near the lower right intersection point with his body along the right vertical and lower horizontal guidelines, facing upwards and onto the page and not away.
2.) Preferred Diagonal Scan
For native speakers of Western languages, where we read top to bottom and left to right, we have been conditioned to feel most comfortable when our eyes can move diagonally across artwork from the upper left to the lower right. We will even subconsciously dismiss designs that makes our eyes move opposite to this. Simply put, it strains your eyes and makes it more difficult for your brain to process what it’s seeing.
There are several layout options that take Preferred Diagonal Scan into account. The two that I use the most in children’s book illustrations are the Gutenberg Diagram Layout and Z (or Reverse S) Layout.
GUTENBERG DIAGRAM
When applying the Gutenberg Diagram, your layout is divided into four equal quadrants, with the top left and lower right areas receiving primary and terminal attention. Our eyes tend to sweep across and down the page in a series of horizontal movements. Each sweep starts a little further from the left edge. This is why the lower left quadrant is the weakest area. This sweeping motion is called Reading Gravity. You can use this layout for both typographical elements and illustrated elements, but it’s especially useful with multiple blocks of text. For example, a title, a subtitle or series name, and author/illustrator names. You would probably not want to put important text, like the title, in the lower left quadrant.
Z – LAYOUT (sometimes called The Reverse S Layout)
Z-Layout is similar to the Gutenberg Layout in that your eyes will start and end in the same places. However, with Z-Layout, you bring the eyes down to the weak fallow area in the lower left quadrant before one final sweep to the terminal optical area. Z-Layout is especially useful with multiple illustrated elements.
Below you will see diagrams for both the Gutenberg Layout and the Z-Layout and how I applied them to my work. The pink arrows are where most people’s eyes will want to move. You do not need to bring out your ruler and utilize these diagrams to exact precision. You don’t want your artwork to feel stiff. But it is very important to keep in mind how a Western reader’s eyes will naturally want to move around and through an image. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at amateur or DIY book cover designs and my eyes are moving all over the place and not in a way that is natural or comfortable. It completely turns me off wanting to purchase the book.
3.) Focal Point
Another important aspect for a good book cover design is to create a focal point. Here are a few of basic principles you can use to easily create primary and secondary points of interest.
SIZE
Larger elements will command more attention over small elements. Elements that are equal in size might compete with each other. When creating your book cover, decide if you want the title or the main character to be the primary focal point and make it larger.
ISOLATION
Surrounding an element with white space helps it to stand out. If there is too much clutter around a main element, it will be harder to focus your attention on it.
CENTERING
Elements that are placed front-and-center of a design will grab more attention than elements placed along the edge or sides of the artwork. This is one of the simplest and most commonly used principles in book cover design.
CONTRAST
Contrast is most easily created by using color. A brighter object will pop out at you when surrounded by duller colors. A darker element will command more attention on a lighter background. A complimentary color will stand out more when it’s placed next to it’s opposite color [on the color wheel]. I will explain more in detail about the use of color later in this post.
POSITIONING OR DIRECTION OF A CHARACTER’S GAZE
In most cases you want to have any character looking into the page and not off the page. This will help to bring a reader into the artwork and not turn them away. Look at the cover for Monty the Manatee above again. He is facing inwards and up towards the title. A gaze can also be used to create really good preferred diagonal scan as well.
In this book cover I did for Scruffy the Scruffiest Puppy, I did a few things to create my focal points. The title is the largest element overall, placed directly in the center, and I made sure to isolate it in the sky, giving it plenty of breathing room and “white” space around it. Had the sky been full of texture and details, it would be less likely to stand out. The title is also a very dark color on a very light background to bring it forward. All of these principles were also applied to the puppy too. I increased his size to be larger than real-life compared to the size of landscape elements in the foreground. He is also placed front and center and fairly isolated and alone in the grass. But this is where it gets a bit more complex and when a more experienced designer is important. Although the title is larger than the puppy, by using a less bold font, I’ve drawn the viewer’s attention down to the Puppy, so they can make a connection with him as the main character. You might be asking yourself right about now, doesn’t having a primary focal point in the lower half of the illustration defy the principle of Preferred Diagonal Scan? Keep in mind that you do not need to use every single tip I’m writing about here every single time in every single piece of art. Close your eyes and open them again. Where do your eyes travel next? Although you might look at the puppy first, your eyes will likely immediately move upwards and reading gravity will then bring you from the title, down to the puppy again, and finally end at the lower right corner. Some viewers might look at the title first anyway, which is just fine too.
4.) Typography
Unless you are an experienced designer and know a lot about pairing various typefaces, lettering, and applying font cases and weights, my best advice is to limit the typefaces that you use on the cover (and on the interior pages) to one or two. If using more than one typeface, only one of them should be decorative or styled in nature. In the same way, be careful of mixing too many bold, underlined, and italicized versions of the same font or mixing cases. You also need to be aware of the kerning (space between letters) and the leading (space between lines of text). Adjust these to make a word more legible as needed.
Take a look at the book cover mock up I did below. The book title is in a hand-lettered trendy typeface. If I were to use another overly styled font for the author name, it would compete with or distract from the title. Also keep in mind sizing of letters and text. Apply the principles of size found in my focal point section above. In both “right” examples below, I increased the kerning, or the space between letters, to make the author name more legible instead of increasing the size of the font. As much as we all love attention on our own name and proud of the accomplishment of publishing a book, this is not where you want a focal point. When in doubt use a classic or simple serif or sans-serif font for your secondary font on the cover and use this same font for the interior pages within the book. Keep it simple and you can’t go wrong! Too many times, I see too many font pairings or stylizations that have no business being next to each other, or the author’s name is huge, and it’s a dead giveaway that the book was self-published less than professionally. And just because two fonts are hand-lettered or two fonts are script fonts, doesn’t mean that they match!
You can also apply for the basic color principles mentioned below for your typography as well. If your illustration is in a dull earthy color palette, don’t necessarily put the title in bright primary orange. This will attract attention in a negative way. Either use black, white or pull out a complimentary color that is part of your artwork for the title, like I did below using the red from the sweater for the title. A turquoise title on a blue background would have just gotten lost and a white title would have made the composition off balance.
5.) Colour
Colour Psychology is a very extensive topic. I’m working on another blog post just about color! There is so much that goes into it and it is one of the things that most people are least aware of how important it is. It’s often one of the most overlooked elements that separates bad book covers from good book covers. Did you know that green children’s book covers are statistically sold less than other colors? Who knew, right? That doesn’t mean you can never include green in your book cover, if it’s appropriate to the mood, feeling or environment you’re trying to portay.
Different colours convey different emotions and moods. I’ll get into this more in detail in my upcoming blog post, but you can easily research color psychology online in the meantime. To get you started, there are two easy things to remember . Opposite colours (on the colour wheel) are called complimentary colours. Red compliments green. Blue compliments orange. Yellow compliments purple. Using complimentary colors will create contrast and can really make an element pop. On the other hand, analogous colors, which are next to each other on the colour wheel, can create a more relaxed, tranquil and harmonious feeling. Examples of analogous color pairings are blue and green, yellow and orange, red and purple, and so on.
Pinterestboards
I collected some boards from Pinterest about the children’s book covers and some boards about the typography books examples.
Mind mapping
Thumbnails
Designs
I made some search about the Penguin Random House style, but couldn’t find any information for the designers.
I started my design by making some silhouette of children on Procreate. Exported them as PSD file, then move them to Illustrator to complete my design.
For my four pages book design, I used Indesign. Made a five pages document to be able to have two spreads. The page size was 190mm x 225mm. The margin was set to 12mm all around the pages and 2.54mm for the bleed.
The font for the front cover is Lust slim, then created an outline to be able to manipulate the text. The font for the authors on the spine is Futura Medium (12 pt). The text on the back cover is Futura Medium (11 pt) and Futura Light (11 pt). For the inside pages, the font for the heading is LuckiestGuy Regular (50 pt), subheading is Futura Bold (12 pt) and Futura Medium (12pt) for the body text.
First, I started my design in Black & White, but decided to add colour to it and I found it more eye catching. So I used the three primary colours.
For this assignment, we had three choices, which I decided to go for a book design. I thought because this is going to be design for the young people, I have this opportunity to make a fun and playful design. I should say it wasn’t as easy as I thought, the feedbacks were good but the problem is I still not sure about the reaction of the main audiences, who are children.
It wasn’t the first book cover design in this module but this time I was feeling more confident with the design process. I tried to use my knowledge about typography, hierarchy, contrast, colour, alignment and consistency throughout my work.
I just used the author’s name on the spine. I thought when the subject of the book is more important than the author’s name it should be fine, but still not quite sure about it.
This was the last assignment in Core Concept module. I have learnt a lot through this module and hope to be able to continue improving my knowledge and skills in the future modules.
Newton and Ridley, the brewers best known for their pub, The Rovers Return, are opening a cafe/wine bar nearer the city centre. The bar is designed to appeal to younger women and sophisticated young men. The brewery has identified a gap in the market and wants to provide a ’sophisticated and relaxed’ venue for the ‘discerning’ drinker. This bar is to be called the French Hen and will be in direct competition with the cheap ‘binge drinking’ venues on the same street. The brewery is also trying to enhance its own image as a ‘respectable’ alcohol vendor. They want you to develop some ideas for a logo, to be used: • on covers for the food and cocktail menus • in colour on the signage outside, and as a cutout for a window detail • on T-shirts for the staff and paper napkins • for one side of a beermat, the other will carry advice on sensible drinking. There are many conventions that have been developed around the marketing of both bars and products to this age range. You need to be conscious the whole time of avoiding clichés and stereotyping. Draw up at least three ideas to start with. Be critical of your work. Check it against the information you have here. Will it do what the client wants – and how will you know? When you have decided which one you are happiest with, mock up the menu covers, the outside sign, the window detail, a T-shirt, paper napkin and beermat. Does it all still work?
Pinterest boards
I collected some boards on Pinterest about french hen and wine bar logos inspiration:
Mind mapping
Thumbnails
I sketched some thumbnails on Procreate and have chosen three of my favourites to illustrate on Illustrator.
To adjust the colours, I have used Photoshop.
Final Designs
I rendered my three favourite designs. For each design, I made three different colour version: white, champagne colour with watercolour effect and champagne colour with gold effect.
Fonts: Garamond, Azo SansFonts: Baskerville, Azo SansFonts: Baskerville, Azo sans
Mockups
Self reflection
I really liked the first design, but it didn’t go well on the mockups due to the thinness of the lines.
Overall, I think the second design met the brief much better. The second logo more stands out from distance. I think the champagne colour with gold glitter is very elegant and shows the high quality of the place. Now by looking at the design again, I think the words, WINE & FOOD could be lower case and a bit smaller to help the FRENCH HEN stands out more.
The Chance Housing Association has been set up to try and help first time buyers get onto the housing ladder and they want you to develop a brand image for their stationery. It is important to them that the Association is seen as being different from the other local housing associations – more modern, more helpful and definitely welcoming to young people wanting to buy a house. They want to use their logo on their letterheads and office stationery and it will also be used somewhere on the sheets that hold the property details. It also needs to be reproducible in the local newspaper and professional trade magazines. What to do • Research other housing associations’ and estate agents’ styles. Look at other publications designed for a similar audience. This information should help you identify as much what you don’t want to do as what you do. • If this was a real job you would need to visit the housing association’s offices and website, if it has one, to see how many decisions they have already made – for example they may have painted their sign silver and dark blue and used a particular font. As the designer you may want to continue with and develop those decisions or change them. • Using just typography sketch up some designs. You want to come up with at least three initial ideas to show the client. In this instance you can decide which one you think works best to further develop. • Mock up a letterhead and business card using the logo and house brand. Look in you local newspaper and mock up an advertisement to fit in the paper. Measure the space carefully remembering to leave sufficient margins so your text isn’t cramped. Photocopy in black and white onto cheap paper – does your logo still work? Have any fine lines got lost? Are the differences between colours still discernable? • Show your designs to your friends and family. What is their feedback? • If you need to, go back and adjust your artwork. If all is well make up a presentation pack to show the client – in this instance your tutor. Keep all your work and record the process in your learning log.
Research
A logo is a sign, symbol, trademark or badge that conveys the identity or ownership of a product, company, campaign or concept in as memorable a way as possible.
How are logos used?
A logo can be used in many different forms, sizes and contexts. For example, the logo for a hotel could be printed on a letterhead or menu, embroidered onto a napkin or jacket, embossed on metal cutlery or illuminated as a huge neon sign on the side of the building.
What are the basic qualities of a good logo?
A logo should be simple so that it retains its clarity of design in different contexts. If it is too complicated, its details may be lost when it is reduced in scale. Also, a simple logo design is faster to read, easier to remember and consequently more instantly identifiable. The ‘I Love New York’ logo by Milton Glaser, one of the most reproduced logos ever, illustrates most of these basic qualities.
What is the main function of a logo?
A logo should convey an immediate and memorable identity and must connect with its target audience in a positive manner.
How have logos evolved?
Logos have been around in one form or another for several thousand years. The Ancient Egyptians are known to have branded domestic animals with hieroglyphs to mark their ownership. The Ancient Romans and Greeks marked their pottery to identify the manufacturer. The great faiths of the world have all adopted symbols for ease of recognition.
From the 12th century onwards through medieval times, heraldic designs (coats of arms) were used to identify the status and property of the nobility.
The heraldic tradition continues to this day in logo design. The Alfa Romeo logo is the official branding of A.L.F.A (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) which is designed to represent the family coat of arms of the Visconti, one of the most influential and respected families of Milan.
In general, the most common early logos were trademarks signifying the origin or quality of a craftsman’s product. Hallmarks, which testify to the quality of precious metals, are a good example of this practice. The leopard’s head has been the hallmark of the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office since 1300.
Unlike today, there was no concept of targeted advertising and designers freely used all these symbols to advertise any product. Cigarettes for example, before we understood their association with lung disease and cancer, used the full symbolic vocabulary to make their merchandise more ‘appealing’.
Over the last century, our lifestyles gradually became more complex. Conversely, the design of logos became simpler for ease and speed of recognition in a faster world. The evolution of the Shell Logo throughout the 20th century clearly demonstrates this effect. The 1971 version, which was designed by Raymond Loewy and is still in use, has dropped its brand name as ‘shell’ is an English word that gets lost in translation in an international market. In short, the art of logo design illustrates the design concept “Less is More” better than any other graphic form.
Logos, as we know them today, are intelligent graphic images that are carefully designed to impart their concepts, both consciously and sub-consciously, for immediate recognition by a specific target audience.
I read this book and was very helpful regarding to the visual identity and branding.
Mind mapping
Pinterest boards
Based on what I have found on these Pinterest boards, what’s included on real estate’s logos is mostly the whole or part of a house. There are some example of keys or key holes but not as much houses.
The colour pallets are different shades of blue, orange, gray and green.
Thumbnails
I made some sketches and found four of them more interesting. So made a cleaner sketches to transfer them to Illustrator.
I illustrated four logos and asked my family about their opinion. Then made my final design based on their feedback.
The colour pallet, I have chosen is gray and yellow. Grey is a colour for stability, security, strength of character, authority and maturity. Yellow represents optimism, clarity and warmth. I think the combination of gray and yellow works well together in terms of both authenticity and colour psychology for this purpose.
Mockups
Self-reflection
This was an interesting exercise, since I really like the logo designing process. I made some logos in the past for some friends and family. For the colour pallet, I wanted to choose something sophisticated to make the company look more trustworthy. I am happy with the outcome and received positive feedbacks from my family. My only concern is that one person read it hance instead of Chance at the first glance. But when I mentioned that it’s Chance, it became obvious.
This exercise is about how you deal with two different spaces to work in. You have been asked to design an A3 poster and an accompanying double sided A6 flyer to promote a singing course run by an organisation called SingOut (all one word). They have very little money so want to print these posters on their black and white photocopier. You can use a colour paper if you want. You may want to include an image such as a drawing or photograph, but be very careful with photos as they tend not to reproduce well on a photocopier particularly if they are colour photos. You will need to check by printing off your design and/or photocopying it. The information they want to give is: • Do you love to sing? • Join us for an exciting opportunity during the day with a professional vocal coach. Learn to sing different types of music, vocal techniques, meet new people and have fun! • 10.30 to 12.00 every Tuesday from 11 March • The Community Centre, Charlotte Church Road • £60 for the course • No experience needed/no requirement to read music • For more information call 011779 8765432 http://www.singout.com The first thing you need to do is work out if you have all the information you need to fulfill the brief. If not what is missing? Work out the hierarchy of the information. How will you divide your information up to fit on both sides of your flyer? How will you link the design for the poster with that of the flyer? How can you make the poster eyecatching and effective with such a limited palette? Which typeface or faces will you use and why have you made that decision? When you have finished pin your poster up and critique your work. What do you think? Keep notes and sketches in your learning log.
Research
I made some research about singing poster design as well as black and white poster design on Pinterest. It gives me some idea about what goes well on the singing poster. There are images of singers, microphones and abstract design.
Mind mapping
Thumbnails
Based on my research on Pinterest, I feel that having an image on the poster is more interesting. So I am going to use an image, but would like to draw myself and use it as a silhouette. The singer needs to have a microphone to show exactly what is the purpose of the poster.
Design process
I used the Procreate to draw an image of a singer and painted black to represent a silhouette of her.
Then used the image on Photoshop to complete my design. For the typefaces, I wanted to have an eye catching font, so I chose Broadway Regular for the heading and paired it with Open sans (Bold and Regular) for the rest of the texts. To add more interest to the design and filling some white spaces, I added two circles in two different tones and transparencies, which could represent lights as well.
For the flyer, since it’s black and white. I wanted something to draw the attentions. So I considered it as a whole and added the silhouette to both front and back in an actual size on the poster. Then played with the texts to find the best place for them.
Final Design
Mock upPhysical version
Self reflection
This was a challenging exercise, since I had a limited colour pallet. I used a silhouette in my design, which is black so tried to add more tones of grey to make more colour variation on my design. Overall, I am happy with the outcome. I received good feedback on the flyer. Using the same size of the image on the flyer as well as consider the front and the back as a whole, made it more appealing.
Posters have a long and rich history documenting everything from boxing matches to Bollywood films, the Soviet Revolution to punk, encouraging young men to join the army to persuading women to buy bras. There are many collections in books in museums and galleries and on the internet. Find out more about your own particular areas of interest. Make notes in your learning log.
Pinterestboards
WHAT IS VINTAGE POSTER ART?
Vintage – it’s a word we usually associate with the world of winemaking. Just as vintage wine refers to the grapes harvested from a specific year, so too do vintage posters hail back to long-lost times. Vintage posters evoke the sense of our forgotten past with images that we can clearly associate with certain eras.
Vintage poster art is a hugely popular art style, yet few people understand just quite what it is. We are all familiar with the general look: swishing skirts, elegant but thirsty femmes fatales, and large, bright brand names. Vintage posters have classy and stylistic images with advertorial content that summons nostalgia in all of us today.
But vintage art is far more than that. Vintage posters represent a shift in marketing attitudes and in social trends of the times in which they were made. When vintage posters were popularized, they plastered the walls of European cities, were sold to the public and changed the way we view advertising today. Vintage art is a surprisingly important piece in the history of art.
VINTAGE ART: AN OVERVIEW
Born in Paris, vintage art is generally commercial artwork created from the late 1800s until the mid 1900s. It is, in essence, print advertising made possible with the advent of mass printing, thanks to the lithography technique.
Parisian artist Jules Cheret, dubbed “The Father of the Poster”, perfected the art of colour lithography, a technique that allowed printers to print ink flatly onto paper, rather than with raised edges as happened before. This facilitated the quick and cheap production of images with good quality colour and texture. Cheret himself designed over 1,000 posters during his working life.
The posters, which often featured what were at the time risqué subjects such as women chugging alcohol, spoke to a large audience that in turn led to increasing popularity. By the 1890s, cities across Europe – and eventually also in the United States – were plastered with attractive posters.
Common subjects for vintage poster art were body soaps, coffees, detergents, sporting events, night venues, plus alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Pears Soap, Campari, the Moulin Rouge, and Coca-Cola are among the brands whose advertising became almost synonymous with the vintage poster movement.
So popular were vintage posters that the originals quickly became highly collectible forms of art. There were poster shows and exhibitions attended by thousands. Poster-collecting clubs, societies and publications were founded. Between 1895 and 1900, Jules Cheret directed the Maîtres de l’Affiches series of portfolios featuring four posters apiece. These miniature masterworks were issued monthly for roughly two and a half francs per issue.
Today, vintage artworks can be found in the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Some of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters sold recently for over $200,000.
VINTAGE POSTER ARTISTS
The most celebrated vintage poster artists are commonly French and Swiss, not surprising given that vintage poster art arose in France. Swiss Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, who created the renowned Chat Noir poster, was one such artist. He was joined by Georges de Feure, Pierre Bonnard, Adolphe Willette, Jean-Louis Forain, and the famous Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.
Another artist, Italian Leonetto Cappiello, simplified his poster designs using bold colours commonly with black backgrounds. His style was so influential he became known as the “Father of Modern Advertising”.
Vintage art influenced a number of other styles. Art Nouveau, made popular by Alphonse Mucha, considered “The Father of Art Nouveau”, and Eugene Grasset, were two such spin-offs. Later, Art Deco was established with a sleeker, more linear finish to its images. A.M. Cassandre’s futuristic images led the movement.
There is more to vintage art than you may at first be aware. It has been so influential that the ripples of the earlier movement can still be seen in modern advertising today.
I had a look at some different poster styles on Pinterest. The style that catches my eye most was the vintage style. I liked the illustrations, colour pallet and composition. Then I read about the history of the vintage poster art, which made more interested in this style.
For this exercise you are going to make up a poster list for yourself. It is intended that you keep it pinned to a noticeboard or wall to remind you of the dates and, as it will be there a long time, it needs to look good. Start by collecting all the birthdays of your friends and family. You’ll need their name and birth date, to decide whether or not you buy them presents or just send a card, text message or email. When you have all this design a page to include all this information for example:
Now you design your own ordering the information that best suits you and including as much additional information as you would find useful.
I just keep a simple list for the birthdays that I need to remember. So first I decided to have a look at Pinterest for some inspirations.
Pinterest boards
Most of the birthday trackers are tables. One table for each month. The gifts, balloons and cupcakes to decorate the list.
I wanted to make something different, decided to use a tree as a base for my design.
I had a look at my birthday list, I have less that 20 people on my list. So I don’t need a huge space for the names.
Sketches
My first idea was to have a tree and each branch to represent a month of the year. Then add the gift, card and text icons to each branch and write the name of the person inside it.
My second idea was to have a tree and main branches to represent a month of the year. Then add three small branches to represent present, text and card. The name would be on a leaf with the date for their birthdays.
Then I had a look at some image stock online and was able to find a tree that matches my design on freepik.
I liked my second design, but noticed it’s going to me very busy. So I decided to make some changes.
I put the information on the photo frames. I think it’s cleaner and less busy. I used Illustrator for my design.
Final design
Self reflection
It was a difficult exercise to come up with a new idea for a birthday tracker. I like nature and thought tree could be a good choice in this case.
Compare to the boards, I found on Pinterest, I think my design is different. Not quite sure about it’s practicality, I think time will tell.
I asked my family for feedback on my design. They said it’s colourful, cheerful and different.
Maryam: OCA Graphic Design 