Design Principles
What is a book?
Session 2 - Book analysis
Following on from my investigation into what is a book we were tasked to bring in a range of example of publications what we felt classed as books, when these were brought into the studio there was a large collection of publications that all varied in size shape theme and content. We were split onto groups and asked to analyse a sample of these books to understand the diversity of what is a book, we were asked to look at the production method, content, and overall impact of each publication. I found this task worthwhile as it showed me that vast range of book styles from typical story books to recipe books and instruction manuals, these are all vastly different in terms of content however still conform to a basic principle that is a book.
THE HUNGOVER COOKBOOK
Written my Martin Crawford this recipe book was fun and engaging with simple illustrations to create an inviting publication. I determined this book to be case bound with a hardback canvas cover that I feel adds an element of luxury to the book probably to justify its price. We found that this book experiments with type and uses playful illustrations to create a high quality finish that doesn't look amateur or poorly designed.
Session 2 - Book analysis
Following on from my investigation into what is a book we were tasked to bring in a range of example of publications what we felt classed as books, when these were brought into the studio there was a large collection of publications that all varied in size shape theme and content. We were split onto groups and asked to analyse a sample of these books to understand the diversity of what is a book, we were asked to look at the production method, content, and overall impact of each publication. I found this task worthwhile as it showed me that vast range of book styles from typical story books to recipe books and instruction manuals, these are all vastly different in terms of content however still conform to a basic principle that is a book.
THE HUNGOVER COOKBOOK
Written my Martin Crawford this recipe book was fun and engaging with simple illustrations to create an inviting publication. I determined this book to be case bound with a hardback canvas cover that I feel adds an element of luxury to the book probably to justify its price. We found that this book experiments with type and uses playful illustrations to create a high quality finish that doesn't look amateur or poorly designed.
COLOUR ME IN RYAN GOSLING
This simple colouring book has been designed predominantly for a target audience of teenage girls, the publication has a quirky edge as the simple illustrations are more typical of the popular child's colour me in books however this satires these books with a playful cheek to appeal to target audience. We established this book would mainly be purchased as a gift which works well given its relatively low price point. The book is staple bound and uses thick matt stock which fits the purpose well as this will cause less bleed to the other pages when the images are coloured in.
ELLE MAGAZINE
This popular magazine is target at a target audience of women from 18 - 50. This publication has an aesthetic similar to most magazines, it is perfect bound with full bleed imagery, bold typography and clashing colour to draw the audiences attention. Within the magazine there is bold use of colour and columns to format the body copy this is typical of most magazines. The stock looked fairly cheap as the magazine is printed in high volume and and needs to be relatively cheap as a weekly magazine. The glossy pages works well with the full bleed images that are printed in high resolution to accentuate the colours within the spreads.
40 DAYS OF DATING
As a group this was our overall favourite of the books that we had analysed, this non-fiction book was full of innovative features that kept the reader engaged throughout. The book had a great aesthetic with innovative layouts such as it reads in landscape we felt this was because the book was written by designers with a target audience of designers. We were undecided as a group whether it was OTA bound or flexi-bound however we thought this type of binding worked well regardless of its name.
From this investigation I now have a better understanding of how the content can inform the production method of the publication for example certain genres have particular features that are often adhered too (magazines often use cheap stock and full bleed imagery) I have also learnt that is is important to consider the target audience and the cost of the publication and tailor the design decisions to best suit these limitations. I feel I have a better understanding of the vast range of books that are available and feel this will help me when designing my own publication.
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