OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Initial Ideas: Paper Sketches

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Initial Ideas: Paper Sketches


From the research collated into page layout and from Village book shop I started to create a range of sample page layouts, this was a quick exercise to document thoughts regarding the publication thus far. I created quick layout sketches of potential design layouts for my publication, these layouts followed contemporary design conventions as well as taking influence from popular layouts found in the village book store.  I felt it was important to document this early stage of my idea generation to demonstrate clear development through my design process. I will develop the strongest concepts digitally to gain a better understanding of how this would look in practise. 

OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Research: Canons of Page Construction workshop

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Research: Canons of Page Construction workshop

Following my research of grid systems I understand the importance of using grids to create consistently within a publication and the benefits of using a grid within my design development. This lead perfectly into a studio workshop analysing different canons of page construction, this allowed the physical trailing of canons and discussing their viability within the context of the brief with other students. I felt this was a worthwhile task adding to my knowledge of god systems and exploring historical examples that could be incorporated into my publication to ensure a styled continuity that will appeal to my target audience. 

The Golden Ratio

The golden ratio is a mathematical ratio that is often found in nature however can be applied to a range of creative processes such as sculpting painting and more relevantly; graphic design to create naturally pleasing designs. The Golden Ratio describes the relationship between two proportions and is uses the fibonacci sequence of a 1:1.61 ratio e.g: 

a to b = 1:1.618

a+b to a = 1:1.618

Creating the golden ratio proved difficult in practice due to small divisions, talking within a group we summarised that that the golden ration is good for keeping a strict order and can be applied effectively to web design however we felt the process was outdated and tedious and actually restricts the designer due to the control the grid places on the design. It was agreed that well-balanced effective deign can be created without the use of this system and felt it wasn't essential to our practice. 

Van De Graaf Canon

Researching alternative page canons I was introduced to the Van De Graaf canon  also known as the "secret canon". The Van de Graaf canon which is used in book design to divide a page in aesthetically engaging proportions that are said to be harmonious. The page proportions are commonly a  2:3 ratio which is most effective. In this canon the text area and page size are of same proportions, and the height of the text area equals the page width.

In practice I found this canon much more linear and logical creating a grid system that I could see myself using in the future. Talking to other students we felt that this grid system was far more engaging as a designer as it is not as strict as the golden ration and still allows for a creative response while remaining consistent within the grid.

OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Research: Target Audience

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Research: Target Audience 

As this brief targets a specialist publication it fits a niche and has a specific target audience. From research thus far I can state the target audience for this type of publication would be men and women predominantly working within the creative industry. As this is generally classed as a middle class profession it would be fair to say the target audience would have a reasonably high disposable income to spend on luxury items such as specialist publications. 

The target audience will predominantly be involved with the creative sector and would target a fairly large age range from around 18-40 as these will be the key demographic that will have the highest disposable income to spend on niche books. The target audience will be interested in a well designed publication and will often have existing knowledge of grid systems, photography and art direction dependant on their individual occupations and have knowledge of current design trends, this determines that my publication will have to use a creative concept and have an engaging aesthetic to appeal to the tastes of this specific target audience. 

Having visited specialist bookshops such as Village and Colours May Vary frequently during my first year in Leeds, I can support these generalisations regarding target audience as the people I have seen to and spoken to during exhibitions and in store experiences seem to conform to this target audience of creatives. I can now design specifically for this target audience to ensure my resolution is successful. 

OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Research: Print Finishes

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Research: Print Finishes

The selection and inclusion of print finishes can elevate your design aesthetically and improve its potential for retention. However, the selection must be appropriate for the concept and content of the design.

Varnish:

Paper varnishes can be applied to paper stock to give the page a smooth  texture as well as

sealing the printed material to help better preserve it. It is commonly featured in high

quality books and magazines 

Fine varnish can be sprayed on to the surface of card. When dry this gives a gloss finish and helps protect the printing underneath. The printing and colour work must be completed before this process takes place. Also, folding a package takes place after the varnish has been applied.

Lamination:

Lamination adds a layer of protective coating (usually some type of plastic), often glossy or matte, to the printed surface while also improving its sturdiness and water resistance. Lamination also has the added benefits of improving the tactile feel of the of the printed surface, lending it a smooth finish.

The process involves an adhesive that applied to the less absorbent substrate web, after which the second web is pressed against it to produce a laminate.

Spot Varnish:

Spot UV varnishes are paper varnishes applied to the printing surface and is cured or hardened by UV light during the printing process. This results in a glossy coating on the surface of your print, UV varnishes are usually used as a spot application where only specific parts of the page get a UV varnish.

UV varnish is applied with a separate varnishing machine or in a screen printing press and this varnish can be applied either on the image alone or the whole sheet surface. It is then finished under UV to complete the process. 

Foiling:

Foil stamping is the use of a malleable metallic material applied to the print surface by using heat and pressure. Foil stamping adds reflective properties to various elements of the design and can serve to add a bit of luxury to your project. Typically, it is used on text and the logo on the page or when certain elements call for it. 

In principle, hot foil stamping is the process of using heat and pressure to apply metallic foil or holograms to materials such as light papers, carton board, laminated board, plastics and corrugated board. 

Embossing: 

Embossing refers to raising parts of the page for emphasis and texture. This print finish adds physical depth to the embossed elements and thus, shadows and highlights are also produced in the design. Embossing also adds a tactile dimension to your design. Images and text are literally felt. Often, embossing can be combined with other printing techniques such as foil stamping to enhance the effects of both techniques although this increases the cost of production. 

There are a range of production techniques for paper embossing, a common technique being running paper  through a printing press. The paper is dampened and pressed against a block or plate prepared by the embosser. 

Debossing: 

With the use of a male and female tool, a little bit of heat and a lot of pressure, we can also sink the artwork into the sheet. This is known as a deboss. Both embossing and debossing can be coupled with printing or foiling to really make a great impression.

Letterpress:

Letterpress printing is one of the oldest printing techniques available.  The letterpress is used to depress or indent certain portions of the page. It can be seen as the opposite of embossing. Traditionally, the letterpress technique was used only for applying ink on a page as a form of relief printing and usually only for text. But it has evolved to also include pressing logos and other design elements directly into the paper substrate. 

Traditionally, letterpress printing involved arranging individual blocks of 'moveable type' into a caddy, forming words from the combination of letters. As this type was used to make the print, all the characters were moulded in reverse, and the words had to be similarly arranged in reverse. 

This has given me an extended knowledge of print finishes that I can look at applying an appropriate printing finish to my resolution. 

Blogging Workshop - Summary

From this blogging workshop various new skills have been highlighted to improve the overall quality of the blog, removing personal pronouns to avoid subjectivity and quoting sources and paraphrasing information. This workshop focused on quality of content create substantial design decision that could summarise development as opposed to documenting every tiny design decision. This workshop will aid the development of the blog ensuring a consistent output to document the design process. 

Blogging Workshop - Design as entity

Visual development

Having developed the layout of my leaflet and selected by folding process the next stage of my design process was to develop the visual components of my leaflet. For this the visual aesthetic needed to remain simple so to not distract from the content. A busy layout would confuse an audience and wouldn't match the informative tone of voice the content provides. 

Taking inspiration from door signs at Leeds College of Art using lines to build shapes. This aesthetic created bold and creative connotations that would be effective within the leaflet design. Creating a diamond built up of individual lines created continuity between the cover and inside aesthetic, Rounded corners made the overall aesthetic less harsh and clinical to create a bold confident shape that reinforced the content of my leaflet. 

Blogging Workshop - 3rd person

OUGD504: Brief 2: Logo Starter

Logo Evaluation 

This logo creates an exciting visual identity for Portland Ashwagandha Farm. The initial logo was very confusing with the thin typefacing affecting the legibility and the erratic colour scheme that battled each other for attention causing confusion as to where to look first. The logo was very long physically causing issues with its versatility across a range of media and the mandala design was difficult to define on a small scale with the neon colour scheme that connoted chemicals and toxic as opposed to the natural and organic identity of the product. 

Focusing the design on the products natural ethos of the product, the visual identity consists of an engaging combination mark that is bold and eye-catching yet easy on the eye and designed with a contemporary aesthetic to appeal to the urban target audience of portland. The spherical design is contemporary and uses the typeface to create a bold legible statement to delver to the brand name with a confidence to the audience. The mandala design connotes nature with subtle reference to its indian origins that will appeal to the target audience with its synonymous nature with a cool hipster culture. This is also effective in carrying forward and previous brand identity established under the old logo. Overall the whole logo works well, It is balanced with even weights and creates a strong visual focal point naturally drawing the eye into the centre of the design. It is successful in communicating the brands natural and organic beliefs without looking poorly designed like the range of well being products that was analysed as part of extensive research. 

OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Research: Grid Systems

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Research: Grid Systems

What is a Grid?

A grid subdivides a page vertically and horizontally into margins, columns, inter-column spaces, lines of type, and spaces between blocks of type and images. These subdivisions form the basis of a modular and systematic approach to the layout, particularly for multipage documents, making the design process quicker, and ensuring visual consistency between related pages.

At its most basic, the sizes of a grid’s component parts are determined by ease of reading and handling. From the sizes of type to the overall page or sheet size, decision-making is derived from physiology and the psychology of perception as much as by aesthetics. Type sizes are generally determined by hierarchy—captions smaller than body text and so on—column widths by optimum word counts of eight to ten words to the line, and overall layout by the need to group related items. This all sounds rather formulaic, and easy. But designers whose grids produce dynamic or very subtle results take these rules as a starting point only, developing flexible structures in which their sensibility can flourish. 

The Grid & Swiss Design:

Early modernists had explored layout, space, and scale. They had talked of the democratizing benefits of mass production, and had used the language of science as much as art. They had argued for consistency and minimalism as a mark of design confidence and greater accessibility. During WWII, and in the decades that followed, these ideas coalesced into a coherent design manifesto with a new design device at its core—the grid.

The grid and Swiss typography are synonymous. Switzerland was neutral during the war. Not only did it attract many intellectual refugees, including designers like Jan Tschichold, but also most peacetime activities continued as normal, and supplies of such things as ink and paper weren’t rationed. Added to this, publications had to be set in its three official languages—French, German, and Italian—which called for a modular approach, using multiple column structures.

Several Swiss artist/designers, most notably Max Bill and Richard Paul Lohse, explored systematic forms in their paintings concurrently with graphic design, while the graphic designers Emil Ruder and Josef Müller-Brockmann both wrote educative texts explaining what grids were and how to use them. They approached the subject with great rigor, arguing passionately that "integral design" required structures that would unite all the elements in both 2-D and 3-D design: type, pictures, diagrams, and space itself. Despite their enthusiasm for order and precision, they both understood the value of artistic intuition.

Grid Analysis: 

I looked at Jan Tschichold's canon to gain a deeper insight to grid systems in practise. This format supposedly achieves a 'perfect page layout' which helped me to further understand the function of the golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence within page layout. I found that whatever the page size there will always be a 9x9 grid with text boxes 1/9th from the top and inside and 2/9's from the outside and bottom which relates back to my research on the golden ratio*. Tschichold argues that the page ratio is best a 2:3 as he claims this is within the golden ratio and Fibonacci Sequence and creates a text boxes that are proportional and harmonious to the rest of the page.

I am personally not a fan of grid systems as I find them restrictive and that they can take the excitement out of designing.  I do however recognise the importance of grids within editorial design to create continuity between the pages ensuring a professional aesthetic. This research has further informed my understanding of grid systems which will help me to develop my publication and create a successful resolution. 

This zine I found online was a great resource that helped to to understand more about grid systems in an informal tone that wasn't too heavy like most of the academic texts I read as part of my research: 

http://typophile.com/files/How%20you%20make%20a%20grid.pdf

OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Primary Research: Village Bookshop

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Primary Research: Village Bookshop 

To make a good start to this brief I wanted to analyse a range of existing examples of good quality specialist publications. Village is an independent book store and gallery based in Leeds, UK, specialising in self-published zines and artists books, this is the specific niche identified in the brief that my publication will be aimed at therefore felt this was the perfect place to start my research. I spend a considerable amount of time just looking at the different publications in the store varying in size, shape, binding method and print finished all considered to appeal to a specific target audience. 

I liked the combination of illustration and photography within this publication it gave it a fairly informal aesthetic due to its finishing method. The matt stock created a substantial weight in the hand and the 5 hole pamphlet stitch adhered to this minimal aesthetic which was tied together nicely by the monotone cover palette. I like the photographic style forming the content of this publication the colours are soft and aesthetically easy to view which is accentuated by the matt stock. I further think the boarders create a continuity with the cover using the stock to tie the whole publication together. I feel this is a strong minimal publication that has carefully considered design decisions to create an understated design that is versatile and successful in appealing to its audience. 

The second publication combines a range of specialist design features to create a more refined publication. The different sizes create a dynamic cover that is aesthetically engaging and contrasting in its stock using a cream cover and white half cover to create a refined depth to the piece. I feel the specialist coptic bind works well and will directly appeal to the target audience adding designed style to the publication. The content of the book is extremely well formatted using the available white space and creative placement of the images to appeal to the target audience and keep the publication dynamic and engaging throughout. Overall I feel the design decisions of this publication have been carefully considered to appeal to the target audience and create a specialist publication that effectively communicates the content. 

I initially questioned the scale of this publication as I felt it was quite oversized for its purpose however concluded the design decision was to accentuate the photography within the content and allow creative placement using white space. I initially liked the monotone cover design however felt it didn't complement the content as this was very dark using muted colours that do not really contrast or complement each other. The staple bind is effective and complaints the negative space and minimal aesthetic which I feel works well within this publication. I liked the varying layouts throughout the book as I felt it kept the content engaging and dynamic, this would ensure the audience do not get bored with the publication as it is unique and varied. I think there is a definite artistic style to the content, although not my personal taste it creates an intriguing publication that will appeal to its niche audience. 

The innovative concept of this publication really appealed to me, the book in a box created instant connotations of a high quality publication that has been designed specially for a target audience interested in design. I think the two tone black works effectively in creating an enigmatic first place t the publication, with the spot varnish adding a multiple textures inviting the audience to physically interact with the product. I feel the consistence of the sleeve and the cover brings the elements of this publication together however would have further incorporated this more subtly within the separate prints. I personally didn't find the black stock for the content aesthetically appealing as I didn't feel it showed off the content to its full extent. I feel I could take inspiration from this publication as I also have a range of high quality photography that further contextualises my content and could work well similarly to the prints included in this publication. 

Analysing these publications has given me a great insight into the aesthetic of specialist art/photography books as this is a style I will take influence from during my design development. Physically visiting the Village bookshop instead of viewing the website allowed me to physically interact with the publications gaining deeper insight into design decisions such as stock, binding method and print finishes. The layout of the bookstore provided me with inspiration giving me an insight into the target audience and being able to see first hand which publications stood out on the shelf which I can take some of these design decisions to create a successful resolution to the brief. I will definitely use this inspiration to develop initial ideas and revert back to this analysis when developing my final resolution.

OUGD504 - Brief 3 - Summer Brief: Presentation

OUGD504: Brief 3: Type In Context

Summer Brief: Presentation

My presentation went really well the rest of the students seemed engaged with the content and asked me more about it on a one to one bases after the presentation. I received some good feedback from the lecturers saying they liked the vectorised type and that this could be brought forward into studio brief 3 because of its legibility and bold aesthetic.