Publishing Design - Exercises
Publishing Design
Jason Junior Lim Yung Hsin (034 0569)
Lectures
Week 1
The lecture focused a lot on writing or specifically the format of how text is arranged on a medium. The lecture goes into the history of formats that include Egyptian hieroglyphs and older formats.
Week 2
This lecture focused a lot on not just the history but the techniques that were used by passed printers to create printed text materials. This included letter press, transfers and so on. The lecture brought up the evolution of print and the obvious differences that we have to improve and simplify the entire process.
Week 3
This lecture focuses on typography but specifically typography that goes into print materials. Although the lecture starts of with the typographical elements, it moves into emphasis on legibility and how to apply specific techniques like paragraph spacing, text alignment and type size to improve and simplify the legibility for readers.
Lecture Slides
Week 4
This lecture focused on the grid method that goes into text arrangement when it comes to designing a page or spread. The purpose of the grid is to allow the designers to have a standard guide for each page of their book design so that it creates a sense of consistency. It is also to allow text to be arranged in a legible and understandable manor.
Lecture Slides
Instructions
Exercise Week 1
Mock-up MakingThis assignment was a simple instruction of creating and cutting paper sheets in a size between A5 and A4 (standard) to be bound together in a signature to form a book. The 1st step was to decide the size we wanted to design.
Figure 1.1 Measurements of possible sizes on A4
As shown in Figure 1.1, 3 sizes were measured, drawn and marked on the paper along with A5.
1) 23 * 20 CM (chosen size as highlighted in green tape)
2) 18 * 21.3 CM
3) 19.5 * 23 CM
Then, a spread was cut out of A3 paper to get a sense of the size.
Figure 1.2 Folded spread with 23 * 20 CM
Figure 1.3 Full spread of chosen size.
Lastly, a group of 8 sheets of the cut size was bound together with an elastic string to make a mock up of the final book.
Figure 1.4 Final bound signature with 32 pages.
Figure 1.5 middle of signature.
Figure 1.6 Pages of the bound signature.
Project 1 (Week 1)
Content Generation
In this 1st project, we were asked to write a 3000 word writing of any topic we choose. I choose to write about my experiences. In the writing we must make sure there is a format, including Introduction and 3 Chapters. We are advised to write about something we are very interested in as this is only the 1st step to project 1.The above attachment is the writing i did called Silence of The Dark. Currently I'm using that as the title but i might change my mind as i find that title a little unsuitable.
Exercise Week 2
Van De Graaf Grid
This exercise we learned about the Van De Graaf grid system, which was a mathematically calculated golden ration for text space in a print. We 1st learned to draw it on A3 sized sheets to represent a spread. Then moved on to creating the grid in Adobe InDesign.
Figure 2.1 Van De Graaf Grid drawn on A3 paper.
Figure 2.2 Creating the grid on a 20 * 23 sized sheet in InDesign.
Figure 2.3 Van de Graaf grad on the spread size of the final print size book.
Figure 2.4 Text in Van de Graaf grid.
Figure 2.5 Text arrangement in spread according to Van De Graaf grid.
Figure 2.4 Text in Van de Graaf grid.
Figure 2.5 Text arrangement in spread according to Van De Graaf grid.
Signature Binding and Printing Layout
We learned about the way spreads are printed by folding an A3 sheet 3 times over to create a signature, then numbering each page that is created in order. The the sheet is unfolded to reveal the page numbering arrangement of how the pages should be arranged.
Figure 2.4 Folded sheet of A3 paper that is numbered.
Figure 2.5 A GIF of the labeled pages.
Figure 2.6 , 2.7 The unfolded pages showing the page arrangements.
Figure 2.8 A book binding with staples in the A6 size, made from a sheet of A3 paper.
Grid Analysis
We are to find a spread design on any book we can find and extract the grid design or the textual allowance in the spread.
Analysis 01
Analysis 02
Exercise Week 3
Form & Movement 1
(Attempt 1)
The assignment is to arrange and design a distribution of boxes in a spread for 16 pages with consideration of flow and movement.
Design 1
The assignment is to arrange and design a distribution of boxes in a spread for 16 pages with consideration of flow and movement.
Design 1
Figure 3.1 F&M design 1 on grids.
Figure 3.2 F&M Design 1 (B&W).
Figure 3.4 F&M Design 2 (B&W).
Figure 3.5 F&M Design 2 (B&W with colour accent).
Figure 3.2 F&M Design 1 (B&W).
Figure 3.3 Gif Animation of F&M Design 1.
Design 2
Figure 3.4 F&M Design 2 (B&W).
Figure 3.5 F&M Design 2 (B&W with colour accent).
Figure 3.6 F&M Design 2 (Image design).
Figure 3.7 F&M Design 2 (Image and text design).
Feedback
Week 1
Exercise for the binding practice, lecturer specified that we should make sure all 3 items are pictured well when uploading and updating blog. For me specifically i need to be aware of the width of my binding size as it is near the trim border and could possibly be an issue in future projects.Week 2
For the Van De Graaf system, we needed to put that system into our own book sizing as done in week one book binding exercises. We needed to be quite accurate with out lines and corners as that could affect the outcome of the square. That square being the perfect ratio for text to be put into.
Week 3
Specific Feedback on blog post : 4 things to fix, Formatting on Writing, Image lighting in pictures, add a dummy text in Van de Graaf grid and add one more exercise in grid analysis.
Week 4
General Feedback : Perfect the B&W first then introduce little bits of colour.
My F&M exercise was not well received as my idea for the design was too messy, it seem to be random and the flow was not not consistent. The coloured version i did was also out of topic and didn't seem to fit. But Mr Vinod did note that i had good variety of designs. I also needed to add in a pdf of the Thumbnail spreads.
Week 5
My exercise seemed too messy still, my problem was trying to make each page as different as possible but loosing much of the consistency and flow of the forms.
Week 6
The image i chose worked well with the forms, but i didn't zoom in enough on the pictures to focus on small details, and certain images seem repetitive as they weren't cropped differently.
Reflection
Experience
Week 1 - Due to a virus outbreak, we were forced to change all physical classes to temporary online classes. I'm not the biggest fan of this plan as i find online lessons to be very distracting and difficult to focus on. I would hope that this doesn't last long as there are limitations to how much we can do and learn. The class itself was fine, but i've previously has experience with book binding so i found this to be just a practice.
Week 2 - Things have gotten easier over the weeks, classes are still a little bit annoying as internet stability is an issue. But nonetheless, lessons are going quite smoothly. I was surprised that some parts of my formatting for the writing was slightly wrong, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. I do hope that my enthusiasm for this module continues, as staying home all day turns me into a sloth.
Week 3 - The class went well as usual, but my missing post updates or lack there of an update in my blog made my blog look a bit messy. Much corrections needed to be done in order to better illustrate and display the exercises done. But even with that said, my work was still approved, just minor adjustments needed to be done to finalise the post updates.
Week 4 - This week, the class was quite fun and we had a lot more discussions about the exercises as well as the illustrations for Project 1. The Project was moderately received as my work wasn't done. But i'm confident that my style of work will make my illustrations look attractive and highlight compliment the story well.
Week 5 - The class carried on as usual, but for the most part what my ideas were for design seem to not be on the same page as the lecturer. What I considered to have dynamic flow he felt was too messy. I tried to understand what he was saying based on his point of view.
Week 6 - Much of what I did for the image was acceptable to a certain extend, but still i wasn't playing around enough with the details and zooming in on the images.
Observation
Week 1 - I found myself getting distracted most of the time as the online classes were not as engaging as i hoped it would be (not lecturer's fault). I also noticed some classmates having the same issue after chatting with them. It was also troublesome for our lecturer as he had to try his best to teach us everything from the class via webcam.
Week 2 - The online classes were very enjoyable to an extent. It's comfortable to sit at home, somewhere that feels good to listen in on classes. I feel less pressured as there's no one else here but me. I am not sure about the other students, but it seems like many of us are taking this class very informally during sessions.
Week 3 - The class felt a bit tense as most of us had only started with our illustration project. Everyone had a well updated blog, however many of us had a common problem of Images having bad lighting that Mr Vinod emphasized that we should think of the blog posts as presentations and how those pictures will appear to viewers.
Week 4 - The class was very relaxed, to a certain point we had an extended break for half and hour. A lot students had a similar issue as me that the exercise for form and movement was a little wrongly interpreted. The designs not up to standard.
Week 5 - The class was carried as usual. It was relaxed. Most of the students were getting good feedback from their exercises and were moving forward with their designs.
Week 6 - The class started off quite in a happy mood. Everyone's image use in the exercises were well received and the lecturer seemed pretty happy about the work.
Findings
Week 1 - I realised the amount of wastage that is created in the book making process. Much of the off cuts are not usable pieces, either too small or damaged and unsalvageable. I also found that limiting sizes of the book makes it more difficult to design or choose a proper size.
Week 2 - I had already known about the ways a spread from a book is printed, but i wasn't aware that there was a mathematical ratio that the text could be arranged to be better. So learning about this is quite the eye opener for me.
Week 3 - I was hesitant with with taking a chance in the designs for illustrations, my design references were not liked as much by Mr Vinod as my idea of trying something new with Mexican design was negatively received. Mr Vinod wanted me to look somewhere closer to home for inspiration because there's a lot of potential in asian culture that can be extracted as a reference to my story and might illustrate it better.
Week 4 - Via week 3 assignments, i realised i was misinterpreting Mr Vinod's assignment, in my head i was thinking that the spread designs on the pages had to be as different as possible from each other, yet still have the same elements to show a sense of consistency. However, that was wrong, the idea was to create a set of spreads with minor elements that flowed well, with a strong emphasis on page to page consistency, rather than difference.
Week 5 - I keep noticing that what I considered a good design is seen very messy or different to the lecturer. To me it seemed that he valued a lot of rules and theories that for the most part I didn't follow as I personally like experimenting with different things sometimes. But perhaps my trials were mostly errors and i need to practice more on creating more cohesive arrangements for book design.
Week 3 - I was hesitant with with taking a chance in the designs for illustrations, my design references were not liked as much by Mr Vinod as my idea of trying something new with Mexican design was negatively received. Mr Vinod wanted me to look somewhere closer to home for inspiration because there's a lot of potential in asian culture that can be extracted as a reference to my story and might illustrate it better.
Week 4 - Via week 3 assignments, i realised i was misinterpreting Mr Vinod's assignment, in my head i was thinking that the spread designs on the pages had to be as different as possible from each other, yet still have the same elements to show a sense of consistency. However, that was wrong, the idea was to create a set of spreads with minor elements that flowed well, with a strong emphasis on page to page consistency, rather than difference.
Week 5 - I keep noticing that what I considered a good design is seen very messy or different to the lecturer. To me it seemed that he valued a lot of rules and theories that for the most part I didn't follow as I personally like experimenting with different things sometimes. But perhaps my trials were mostly errors and i need to practice more on creating more cohesive arrangements for book design.
Week 6 - My arrangements were okay for now, but my use of the images in design weren't bold enough. I wasn't cropping or framing the image in away that creates a sort of story flow that slowly presents the full image starting from crops of different parts. I found that I wasn't looking at the big picture and considering parts of the image that can be detailed or focused on.
Further Reading
Reinventing Letterpress - Charlotte Rivers
Review
Similar to our Week 2 tutorial, this book focused in on the evolution of letterpress and the techniques that go into each type of letterpress. The book really highlights the timeline of the letterpress evolution and its improvements. It also relates the era and the level of technological intervention that affected the machinery of the time, and how this directly affected letterpress technology of that time period.