Design Principles - What is a Book - Final Critique

Design Principles

What is a book? 
Final Critique

For the final critique I was asked to identify a range of questions that I wanted to find out about my final resolution.  I firstly asked if the book appealed to students as they were the target audience, I received very positive comments that embodied my concept and design direction well for example;

‘The cover works well with the dark aesthetic and the off white stock really complements it, love the spacious layout’ 

'Yes - really works, it's got quite a dark aesthetic with the black thread bind, relation to death which is mentioned in your title - the screen print and embossing is ambiguous and effective' 

'yes i like the size the most. A big book on type would be not be fun at all but this works. very professional, it would make me trust the content. 

This shows that some of my main concepts such as a minimal design and sinister concept are coming through to my target audience with no prior explanation which is extremely encouraging that I have portrayed this message through visual communication. I feel this shows I have been successful as it greatly appealed to my target audience. 

I then asked if before submission I should glue the first and last pages to the covers as I felt this could make it look more professional however 58% of the responses said they liked the pages unglued, reasoning behind this included; 

‘No, the gap nicely emphasises the amount of white space in the book’

‘No. I think it may ruin it’ 

'Yes, it will tidy the book up nicely'

I ultimately decided not to glue the covers based on target audience feedback I was also apprehensive of ruining the design and did not want to use adhesive as I have had a number of bad experiences with it. 

Finally I asked if they felt the book was educational to evaluate its purpose, I also asked if students could see themselves using it to learn/refresh their memory of type? students reacted positively saying; 

‘Yes! the definitions are easy to find so it would good quick reminder when working’ 

'more content would have been nice’

‘I think examples within the actual content would make the definitions easier’ 


I feel my target audience reacted extremely positively to my final resolution making it a successful outcome as it is aesthetically pleasing and fits its purpose well. I think the content is simple and direct however would consider including examples if I were to undertake the project again. 

I feel my final outcome was largely successful as demonstrated by the positive feedback I received from my final critique. I feel this was largely to my constant feedback and referral to students which informed my design decisions. I was initially disappointed that I couldn't use my initial stock selection however feel that the print room alternative worked equally well as it made the images more vibrant and as commented in the final critique complemented the cover well. I am extremely happy with the final design direction of my publication I feel the aesthetic is simple and contemporary which appeals to my target audience  I like the sinister juxtaposition between the typographic definition and illustration as I feel this makes the content more engaging. This is reinforced though feedback from the final critique which demonstrates how the design is appropriate for the target audience. 

I feel the overall brief was successful as I  followed a clear design process that worked well for me to  collate research and gain a range of inspiration. I kept to my rough time plan well which ensured sufficient time for designing and the production of my resolution. This was an initial concern for me as due to the extended timeframe of the brief.