OUGD404 | WHAT IS A BOOK? | FINISHED SPREADS

 

 Stuck to a simple front cover as the content of the book is quite full on and busy. The 'V' stands for vegetarian or vegan and represents living a cruelty-free lifestyle. I decided to use the yellow/green colour to represent nature, growth and being conscious of the environment. 

I decided to use 3 different fonts for their different purposes in this book. I will be using Letter Gothic STD, Futura and Helvetica Thin.

The contents page immediately includes an image of a cow looking quite forlorn. I made sure that there was eye contact to allow the audience to feel engaged with the animal. I thought adding a quote on this page would also be effective with the overall tone. I did some research and found this quote by Albert Einstein who is literally known for being intelligent and making sense. I chose this because I was under the impression that the target audience would trust someone so iconic. I made the background of the quote white and covered the left eye of the cow so that there is just one eye showing for dramatic effect.

As for the contents page, I chose to have the list of pages dropping down from the 'o' in contents. I decided to do this because the letter O is circular, rounded and symbolises the Earth we live on. Having the information dropping down from this particular letter made sense to me the most and looked appealing. 

 Introduction page containing a small explanation for the aims of the book. I did not want to come across as mild, rather, I wanted my book to be preachy and blunt and to the point. I centered the text and put it into a black box, diverting all the attention to it. I chose to use a full bleed image so it consumed the whole of the background, it's quite plain as it is just hay, relating obviously to animals and farms.

On the page across from this I decided that I needed a short, snappy phrase to start the content. 'Open your eyes' went well with the content of the introductory text. I chose to have each word on it's own line in a large size. The reason I chose to leave a section of the page white was to incorporate negative space, almost representing silence, as animals cannot speak or defend themselves.

The next spread is simply type. I wanted to introduce the pages about meat. Here I have used the directive, "meet your meat", which is effective because it successfully utilises assonance. I chose to spread this out on the full spread in Futura, so it is bold and communicates a strong message. I chose to use caps as I wanted to convey volume, as this book is quite 'preachy'. The red symbolizes blood and looks quite sinister with the black semi-colon, as black could even represent death.

First page about beef/cows. There was a lot of information so I have used 4 columns on one page. Large title matching the contents page title. Semi colon is mainly for decoration and to incorporate colour, not for grammatical purposes. High impact large black & white image to enhance the dramatic effect of the information on the opposite page.

 Page starts with a quite graphic image for impact. Consistent title with the previous page. This time since there is less information I used two central columns and positioned the large page number to the side.

Used 3 columns on this page as it also fit with the page number. I wanted each page to look a little different but still look consistent, so I haven't been especially strict with a grid system, however I have used the same size columns for each page. Large image on the second page taking up around three quarters of the page, but left some space for the title as it got too easily blended into the image of the fish. If I could do this page again I would make the text in the box a lot easier to read...

This section had the largest amount of information so I used 4 columns which also corresponds with the page number. Kept with the same layout of image as the previous page and made the image more interesting with colour. The red reflects the way that chicken's heads are severed during the process. 

As there wasn't that much information left, I wanted to use a huge image taking up most of the spread. The black and white effect and messing with the exposure and contrast makes the conditions that the birds live in look very grim. Subtle colour added onto the side of the page in red to resemble blood. Again, the text on the image should have been easier to read.

I had used a lot of imagery throughout the book so on this spread I decided to allow for a little breathing space. Since the section about organic isn't about a specific type of meat I just used one block of text.

Two columns as there is not as much information as other pages. Large image bleeding onto the page in the same way as other pages. Kept a white background to contrast with the image.

Image takes up all the room on this page. I added a half tone effect that looks like a tv, representing the idea that these animals are only there for the entertainment of the human, and are solely there to be observed.

 Used a different grid to the other columns and used 3 wider, more square shaped ones. Made the page quite dark as the information is saddening. The contrast of the silhouettes of the people works well with the dark background.

 This page was designed to look different than the others, inducing a happier tone with the use of the lime/yellow. I used an image of a cow looking much happier and 'free' than the one on the contents page, kind of a comparison. I think the text on that page would be better with a white background but I chose to overlap it. The quote on the right is also similar to the text on the introduction page however I used Future to make it more distinctive. It stands out with the black background.

 

I used this picture of a baby lamb because a lot of people always say "oh I couldn't eat a lamb!" yet they'll eat other animals without a second thought. The audience will probably attach a more compassionate bond with a baby animal and so I thought it would be effective to use at the end of the book. 

 EXAMPES OF GRIDS IN USE

OUGD404 | STUDIO BRIEF 2 | STOCK CHOICE

Since my book will be about vegetarianism/veganism, usually this lifestyle corresponds with an awareness for environmental issues also. I decided that my book should reflect this, and be printed on thinner, more cost efficient stock.

I went to the library to see if I could find any examples of the type of stock I'm aiming to use. I came across a thick book titled Frost* (Sorry Trees), which is printed on a very thin matte paper. The book is filled with different examples of Vince Frost's design and photography work. I like the concept of the title as it is a thick book but the thinness of the stock makes it appear more organic and less expensive.

 The barcode on the back also depicts a falling tree which I thought was pretty clever.

I also saw the use of large numbers to label pages which I thought looked appealing and modern, it's something I'd like to include in my own book if it looks appropriate.

The stock choice makes the images have a really nice 'faded' quality since it's matte.

When I went to view the stock they had in the library I found that the off white sugar paper had the same texture and colour as the pages in this book, so I thought this would be a good choice for my own publication, hopefully the inks will come out in a similar way to this book, although it would be useful to do a mock up. The stock was also very cheap, which is suitable for my audience.

HUNGRY SANDWICH CLUB BRIEF

In our session today the Hungry Sandwich club gave us a brief which is to design a map for the North Leeds Cycling Trail. One will be picked from the submissions and will be included in the Leeds Indie Food Festival extended program. Our name will be included alongside email, so everyone knows who designed it. This is a great opportunity to begin to get your name out there in the city.

In my group we began by making a mindmap:

We discussed colour choices, illustrations, typefaces and patterns to use on our design. A strength of mine is hand rendered elements so I was eager to do some sort of hand rendered type or illustration that could be used.

I came up with the main title and subtitles for the different locations on the map, using quite a thick, tall and capitalised hand rendered type:

Becky also came up with different style ampersands and some illustrations in a similar style so they matched the text:

And finally we came up with this design:

We created the path using the different shapes, and the text was all hand rendered in my hand writing. James added little illustrations of buildings in the same style so it all looked consistent. Becky organised the information and layout.

It was brilliant to find out that our group actually won this brief and the map will be featured in the Leeds Indie Food Festival program!

OUGD404 | STUDIO BRIEF 2 | IDEA GENERATION

I started to do some simple sketches to determine a feel of the types of layouts that will be included in my book. 

 I'm aiming for narrow columns from 2 columns to 4, I want my book to look a little spontaneous, not monotonous, but keep to a consistent theme in other aspects. The narrow columns will allow my book to have a 'magazine' feel to it, and I feel it would be the most appropriate choice. The source I am taking my information from is the Peta vegetarian/vegan starter pack, which I only have a digital copy of; however, it's physical form is a magazine, so this is what I'm aiming to produce in my own style. 

I also want to experiment with one area of text along with the columns to have a variety, but I will see how that looks when I'm creating my book as it may look too out of place.

Since I am using narrow columns and taking a lot of information from a different source the text is going to have to look neat and be typeset accordingly, avoiding orphans and widows. 

As for the cover I am pretty set on just having one letter, V, on the front to simply represent vegetarianism and veganism, remaining minimal and vague, perhaps drawing the audience in. Even people who aren't aware of the animal industry I would hope would pick it up to find out what the name is all about. Interjecting some form of relevant colour choice such as green would further secure the concept. 

OUGD404 | STUDIO BRIEF 2 | WHAT IS A BOOK | RESEARCH

I signed up for a vegan/veggie starter pack from Peta, which contained a bunch of information on how different animals are killed. I thought that the information was really detailed but the way the book was designed could be improved. I decided it would be good to take the information for my own book from Peta's vegan starter pack and design it in a different way than they chose to.

 The narrow columns appeal give the effect of a magazine, which I guess is what I'm aiming for. I'd like to include a lot of narrow columns in my own book. However, the overall colour choices just don't look appealing. The whole publication looks quite dated. My aim would be to make this look more modern so even people who aren't as interested in animal rights as say someone who would read this would be, would pick it up and have a look at it.

I then began to gather some inspiration on general page layout. It's hard to find a book dedicated to informing people on the industry without getting it from a website such as peta. 

Finding this publication helped inform my colour scheme. The black/white/green colour compliments each other exceptionally well. Green would be an obvious choice for my book as it represents nature, fields and trees which is linked to animals and our Earth. I think this would be the best option. Dark colours would reflect the grim secrets of the animal industry and also look clean and minimal.

As for numbering pages, I like the idea of large numbers, simply because of how it looks visually. This is something I want to try in my own work.

I like the colours and black and white photography used in this book. Black and white photos would be a good choice for me as they can either look elegant or have a more dark concept. I will be using black and white photography in my own book to communicate a sinister tone, using quite graphic images of animals. The use of geometric shapes to interject colour is also very effective in this publication.

I simply like the way the image bleeds onto the opposite page, leaving room for a narrow section of text. I'd like to include large images to create a big impact on the audience.

As for the binding method I didn't really feel like anything fancy would work. I want my book to look 'organic', affordable and environmentally friendly. I feel like a simple stitch would be the most appropriate for the concept of my book and the content. 
 

Something like a pamphlet stitch would be suitable for the nature of my book. 











The orientation of my book is something I was particularly debating. I wanted to experiment with a landscape spread instead of portrait. I feel this will make my book look a lot more like a pamphlet which is kind of what I'm aiming for. I feel a perfect bound portrait book wouldn't suit the content. 

For example this book is landscape and this is what I'm aiming to do myself.

OUGD404 | STUDIO BRIEF 2 | WHAT IS A BOOK? | BRIEF & INITIAL RESEARCH

BRIEF:
Produce a set of 10 Double page layouts that explore the form, function and construction of a book.
Your ongoing visual investigation of content should demonstrate a growing understanding of the fundamental principles of type, grid, layout and format that will (and have) been introduced during studio sessions and workshops. Use these as a staring point to develop a set series or sequence of page layouts  that effectively communicates your chosen content.
Your 10 layouts should include a contents page and introduction to the content.

RESEARCH:

I decided to think of topics for this brief that would contain a substantial amount of information.
I initially thought about things I am passionate about and my immediate thought was feminism. I decided against this as I wasn't sure this would work for the brief and I have already produced something similar (a feminist zine), so I would rather design something new. A passion of mine is vegetarianism/veganism and the animal industry; to me this is a good choice for this brief as I will be able to include a load of information that I have previously looked into beforehand. There will be a lot of imagery that I can also use for layouts. My aim for this brief is to fulfill the objectives whilst also educating people and informing them on what really goes on behind the factory farm's doors.

I began my research by re-watching a documentary called 'Earthlings' which covers every angle of the exploitation of animals. There is valuable information that people may not previously know about as a lot of the details and ins-and-outs of the animal industry are pretty hidden and kept away from the public; because if it's in your face, you might not turn such a blind eye to it.

From watching this I gained a lot of ideas for the content, planning to focus firstly on the meat industry as it is such a colossal part of people's lives. I will be doing separate spreads on the different categories of meat; beef, pork, poultry and fish. It would be too condensed just to do one spread on meat in general, and the brief states we must do a minimum of 10 double page spreads. I would also like to have pages about entertainment for example bull fighting festivals and SeaWorld as they are critical parts of the everyday exploitation of animals.

OUGD406 | STUDIO BRIEF 3 | BRIEF

OUGD406 | DESIGN BOARDS

 

 

 Brief 2

Brief 3

Brief 4