Batsford Thinking

Planning and very very initial idea generation for the Batsford prize project before I go on to developing any motifs into something more substantial.

Ruskin Prize 2017

Another option to consider taking on for a responsive brief. The theme is challenging but could be interesting, and the competition itself promises a lot of valuable opportunities if successful, such as the chance of the exhibition..

Responsive...

I've neglected responsive up until this point. I've been finding it difficult to manage this module as well as all of the others.

I think what's stopping me with responsive is the professional nature of it all, and having to put yourself out there. The whole competition structure, selling yourself, being assertive, and deeming work as being submission-worthy is really stressful to me.

Talking to Teresa, she said to make the briefs work for me. Align them with my own interests. See them as challenges, and self-managed briefs rather than these overwhelming competition things.

The word competition makes me freeze up, and makes me think that the bar for the standard instantly goes through the roof. Competitions make it sound like something you have to labour over and shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get it done.

Does responsive have to only be competition-based/externally judged? Or can it include self-initiated work?

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Things to look at: Graphic Competitions, Colour Collective, Ruskin Prize 2017, scout out my own projects, respond to articles...

I'm going to focus on this module during the break.

Mega Crit

On Friday we had a mega crit before we left for Christmas. It was a good time to get some last pieces of feedback, especially as I'd be printing straight after the break.

I presented a stack of all the mono prints I'd made, my screenprints, as well as 2 mockups of my publication - a black and white, and a full colour copy. The finished publication will be printed in the digital print room, so there will be some differences. It was more to get an idea of the size and page order.

 Feedback form

The feedback was generally positive which was good. Key things that were mentioned:

• Atmospheric textures
• Lo-fi look
• Monoprint textures and light and dark pages are well-balanced
• The aesthetic suits the author
• Colour choice is well thought through / subtle use of pink / flecks of colour
• Incorporating the writing gives a sort of narrative

Considerations/Improvements:

• The digital type - people said that they would prefer if all of the type was handwritten/monotyped. The digital type detracts from the handmade feel.

• Black - can appear quite harsh, maybe a different colour would enhance the textures

Because the examples I presented in the crit were just mockups, there will be changes when it comes to the finished product. I would like the final print to be on a matte paper, I'm not keen on the slight sheen on the mockups.

Also, I would like to hand-stitch the final. I'm thinking of using a hot pink thread to contrast against the dark covers.

On the inside title page, the small monotyped man is very faint. The lines don't show up as well as they do on screen. I will either change the image to a thicker line drawing, or remove it entirely.

There is also thoughts about stock - do I use a thicker stock for the front and back covers? Will this create a more considered, professional finish? There is also the option of creating a fastening or band to hold it together. I'll think about this over the break.

The main thing is that it is mostly finished. I just need to focus on the animated stings.

Final Pages

Making a Book

☆★  Working some InDesign magic  ★☆

Very very nearly done. I've set up the document, I'd just like someone to check it over incase I've missed something important. Also to see if I've made the pages full-bleed correctly.

I've added in the bits of monotyped writing that I made yesterday. I think these tie the whole thing together nicely, and set the tone of the publication.

Monotypes

Refining

As I'm making a 16-page publication, I need to sort out 12 pages of content from the tests I've been doing, create 2 end pages, as well as a front and back cover design.

I also need to do the following:

• Handwrite the title out using monotype, put this on to the original title page document instead of the digital type.

• Sort end pages (solid pink? pattern? textures?), and I plan to have both the first and second end page the same to differentiate them from the actual content pages of the publication.

• Add colour. I felt a lot safer when I was making up the pages in just black and white, but I suppose part of the brief is to play with colour in some way. I just don't want it to overpower the images themselves and look a bit gimmicky.

I think I want colour to only be a small part of the book, highlighing small areas or creating tiny contrasts.

Here are the pages I've been making, where I've made some changes since the last time. However I still need to cut a few of these, and create the end pages instead (as I only have room for 16 pages in total).

I also need to figure out the best order for the pages. I need to see them side-by-side in order to make a final decision on this.

Restarting

Since the end of last week, I've been making new mockups and testing page designs since I was really unhappy with the way the book was going up until that point.

I left out the colour for now, and tried to make a point of focusing more composition and light/dark to (hopefully) create a set of aesthetically pleasing images, or at least better than the stuff I was doing previously?

This document shows all of the minor changes I made to the test pages, changing filters, type, layouts, colour, etc. I like keeping a record of all of the amendments I make so I can compare them and make a decision on which one to take forward later.

Although these examples aren't totally finished, they are much better I think. It's tough to balance between keeping things varied but consistent.