Thursday 23 January 2014

OUGD503: Responsive Final Crit: The Outsiders Book Jacket Design



During our final crit with Fred, as a class we were asked to list the key questions which should be addressed when critiquing concept boards at this stage in the development process. 
The questions were:

1. Does the research inform the product?
2. Is the idea fully resolved?
3. Are mockups believable/refined?
4. Typo's Typo's Typo's
5. Is there too much text? does the text distract/overwhelm the audience from the images/core concept? Too much type creates also creates a layout problem where design work is created to match facts -- images should speak for themselves effectively.
6. Are your boards numbered? It is important to inform the Audience of the intended order of your content so they fully understand your thought process. 
7. Is the photo quality good enough?

_____

My three presentation boards for the final crit:

My three questions:
1. Do you think the minimal approach is appropriate, or does it need more imagery?
2. Would this grab your attention if it was placed in a bookshop?
3. Can you easily recognise that the circle in the middle is also a subtle reference to the title beginning with 'O'?


My Peer Feedback:

Effectiveness of the product/proposal in relation to the original brief
-The cover design applies to both target audiences. 
-The colour choice works well because it displays a sense of "tension" before the
 book has even been opened.
Suggestions: The illustration could be improved. By this, we mean it needs to be more apparent; i.e; the circle contains lines in the middle, which doesn't communicate "emptiness".

Appropriateness of the response to the identified Audience and/or context
Suggestions: Narrow down your target audience. Adults and Teenagers is too vague. Consider book clubs, people interested in literacy, libraries, reading.. where do they hang out? - This can also apply to where you distribute your proposal.

Visual quality of the final resolution
-The use of typography is effective because it applies well to "modern design", by this we mean that it is original in comparison to the other looks. 
-The simplicity of the typeface compliments the minimal aesthetic of the cover.
Suggestions: Continue to experiment with illustration. Push it further, create a range of different designs and choose one.

Quality/effectiveness of the presentation of the product/proposal
-Understood the concept straight away
-The imagery supports the content on each board
Suggestions: Actually print out the book jacket and place it onto the book itself. Then photograph it professionally. 
-Layouts could be more engaging.
-Use a background colour.


________


Following on from the final crit, I decided to attempt a new approach to my book jacket. I began looking at a more literal approach to the term 'Outsider'. This then led me to narrow my idea down more specifically to 'outside'. From this I thought about the first things which came to mind when thinking about inside vs. outside. My favourite idea was to illustrate someone looking through a keyhole. This idea is ambiguous and concentrates on the irony of being 'inside' or 'outside' a social group. It is unclear as to whether the person is looking through from the inside or out. By using a keyhole, I thought it would apply to everyone as its an everyday object. My initial ideas and sketches are shown below:




________

Although I was pleased with the outcome of my images, I still preferred the general simple aesthetic of the initial book jacket presented in the final crit. Taking all of my constructive feedback into consideration, I began experimenting with different layouts, detail, and colour. I wanted to think of more adventurous ways to emphasise the concept of 'outsiders'. 

I continued using red, white and black as I felt this was the boldest and most appropriate combination for the bold, and violent nature of the story. The bright red used for the background also attracts a lot of attention from a distance - one of the key requirements asked in this brief, but also an essential aim of any book competing on a shop bookshelf.

Below are a few examples of my layout and colour experiments and development:

In the final crit, I asked if the round white image with a think black outline was clearly recognisable as an 'O' for The 'Outsiders', but also symbolic of emptiness. A useful suggestion was to remove the black diagonal lines as this was slightly misleading and did not speak for itself. As well as removing these, I decided to use a keyhole shape instead of a simple circle. The keyhole subtly still included the original 'o', but now was more relevant to 'Outsiderness'. This idea followed on from the photographed images of the close-up eye looking through a keyhole.


Originally, I had been working with the typeface 'Bebas Neue' for the book title and Author's name. Although this worked reasonably well, I thought a typeface with a heavier weight option would increase the legibility from a distance, helping to grab the buyer's attention. Using dafont.com, I searched the sans serif fonts to find something more ideal. I based my decision on the condensed typeface which caught my attention most effectively: 'Gobold bold'. This is shown in all the following designs..


As the original back cover was also very plain, I thought about adding simple imagery, similar to the front cover. The most logical place to put the imagery was surrounding the text. This effectively corresponded with the front cover as the black space suggests what is being viewed through the keyhole. The white text placed on the black, empty circle is bold, legible and corresponds effectively with the dark theme in the written content being displayed. 

For the bodycopy text, I used a combination of bold and italic 'Courier New'. 






Although the book jacket was beginning to come together, I was still keen to incorporate the concept of someone looking through a keyhole. Using the pen tool in Illustrator, I created a simplistic outline of an eye shape. This was then increased to match the thickness of the keyhole itself for consistency, and also to generate an eery feel as though the person on the other side is very close. I then proceeded to add smaller detail such as the iris, and also a small reflection. By keeping the design minimal, I was aiming to keep it ambiguous as to whether the person was looking from the inside or outside. This was to also play on the deeper meaning of 'Outsiders', and how it is defined. The eye represents the different view points of who the 'Outsider' really is. 








The final book jacket with a black spine variation

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Responsive Print Development

For the Cath Kidston brief, I wanted to create a range of patterns using everyday objects which had not yet been produced. I thought bugs would be an interesting and fun theme as they are part of nature, everyone is familiar with them and they link to the commonly used floral themes used for Cath Kidston prints.

I began with an illustration of a ladybird. The main body of the bug was then traced and used as a template to experiment with different ladybird variations (shown below). 

Once I was pleased with my initial drawings, I scanned them into Photoshop in order to alter the contrast and brightness of the lines.

I then selected my favourite ladybird as an initial experiment to continue with. 

The ladybird was cut out using the 'lasso' selection tool. This was then copied and pasted into a new Photoshop document. I then proceeded to copy and pass the ladybird illustration into a repeated series of ladybirds. In order to do this, each ladybird was placed onto its own individual layer (shown below). This meant I needed to be cautious when placing each ladybird as it was going to be difficult to shift them around as the layers built up.

In order to better organise the document, once I had completed one line of ladybirds, I hid the background image (a blank white page). I then selected the layer option and then 'merge visible layers'. This was an effective way of essentially grouping the bugs together into one new layer. The benefit of this was that I was now able to copy a line at a time as opposed to one bug individually. This is how I intended to create the majority of my patterns in Photoshop.

I then began applying colour and more detail to the image. The obvious first colour which came to mind was the bright, bold red found on a ladybird's back, as well as a selection of large black dots. This was also applied using Photoshop. In a separate document, I manually selected the area of the ladybird's back which I wanted to apply colour to. The layer was then placed beneath the original one drawing and black dots so it wasn't obstructing or covering any essential detail.