OUGD404 Design Principles: Studio Brief 02 - Research

OUGD404 Design Principles:

Studio Brief 2 - Research

As I was unsure about type of design the book should have, I went through my following current ideas and researched them to see how effective it could be. I started this research by looking at current books on women and advertising. The first that I looked at was 'The Feminine Mystique' this however is all about women in general but does mention advertising. This cover for me works well as the use of shadows creates the title very impactful, as it reminds me of statues, relating to how this book with new ideas and morals will pave its way and be a statue within itself reinforcing the importance of this book. The other books covers that are specifically about advertising are a lot more playful and simplistic. They also remind me of school text books rather than books due to the way they are laid out. These books particular though are not modern but the earliest I could find was from 2002.

One approach I was considering was to make the book a 1940s vintage style similar to these approaches. I loved looking at the Vogue magazines of this time as all of them had such an elegant, sophisticated feel to them. I thought this would look really nice for the design of the book but the pictures that have been used are modern and wouldn't really suit or fit with the whole aesthetic of the book as for a vintage book I would need vintage advertisements, and although it does include these, I also would like to include modern advertisements. Therefore I think a modern approach to this book will be the best approach.

Due to the nature of this website, it is an informative website that informs how negatively women can be portrayed in advertising. I though it would be appropriate to look at campaigns that raise awareness as this is also a route I could take for my book. Although these campaigns are posters, the aesthetic can still also be used within a book, where I would be raising awareness of how women are and have been portrayed within advertising. These posters both use different approaches but I also chose ones that looked specifically at women. The first from Unicef uses a dramatic effect from the use of direct address, while the second uses both image and type to make a dramatic effect. Considering I have quite a bit of text to place within the book, I'm not sure how well these posters will help me in my design layout, but they are useful for looking at these for my front cover. My cover needs to have a dramatic effect but I need to keep particular focus on the layout of my text. 

These are some designs of books and layouts that I have seen which use this modern approach. I particularly like the layout of this first design as the use of the square covering the face would work well with what I am doing at the moment as it conveys how the media objectify a person and pay focus to women's bodies. The stock and binding within these also complement each other really well which is something I would like my book to do also. The second uses bold colour to really stand out against the white stock and grey effects within this. I think this layout works really well as the colour is really impactful, and the use of white space works within the design. I think modern approaches is definitely what I am going to use while creating this book. I think the aesthetic of the book will work more with the modern advertisements that are used. Ultimately I would like to work with all the images to make the correct colour choices, as this book below has done. 

Tutorial

From my tutorial I found that my idea was good to do as the context was all there, I just need to finalise my design choices. As when I suggested a more modern approach to the book, this seemed more favourable therefore I will go forward with this approach. In terms of booking binding, as my idea for a newspaper/magazine aesthetic I most likely will have to do a stitch bind due to the thin nature of the paper, but as I was originally thinking perfect binding, this is something I can investigate into. 


Modern Magazines

From my research and tutorials, I have decided to produce this book in the style of a modern magazine as a magazine is typically where you would see advertisements. Fashion magazines in particular as fashion and beauty is the subject of the advertisements shown within the website. I think it will interesting to see the book in the style of a modern magazine but have the content of this website as the two directly relate and perhaps the magazine aesthetic would allow you to see one of the major sources of these advertisements. Pinterest has a been a great source of inspiration for looking at modern and fashion magazines, and these in particular 

Book Binding & Page Layout 

These are a few examples of page layout and bookbinding that I have pinned on my Pinterest. I have chosen these examples for inspiration as they all have such simple but striking effect. I particularly like how the images in both expand over to the second page and have a full bleed. This creates a lot more sophisticated and professional look in my opinion as many magazines that I have looked at by myself and also on the internet feature this use of full bleed. In addition sans serif typefaces feature a lot in modern day publications, I would definitely like to include sans serif typefaces as the majority of type choices within my book for same reasons that it looks so much more sleek and professional. Magazines, zines and most publications I have found use stapled binding. This is probably due to cost efficiency and as staples allow you to bend the pages well, however from my understanding of the brief, I think it would be better to demonstrate my understanding of other bookbinding methods.  I have found other binds which I really like and others which I have practised such as pamphlet stitch, case and perfect binding, japanease stitch and concertina fold. 

Examples of Folds

Thread Sewing: Thread sewn text is recommended for book work where strength durability and a high quality feel are required. Characteristics are a strong bind with good flat qualities.

Burst Binding: Bound using Hot Melt Adhesive with sections burst perforated on the spine to allow additional glue penetration. This binding method is recommended for binding documents where additional strength and instant binding strength is required.

PUR Bound: Bound using Reactive Hot Melt Adhesive , a binding method for frequent use with increased page pull strength and lay flat. Recommended for books with a large number of pages or when heavy heavy weight text materials are used.

Flexi Binding: Rounded and backed Flexi bound book with a 300gsm board cover. Flexi binding has the characteristics of a traditional case bound book with reduced weight and bulk. The book has 2 x 4pp end papers and a thread sewn book block.

Swiss Binding: Swiss binding offers good lay flat and strength and a design opportunity with a range of colours and materials available for the inner spine.

Case Binding: Rounded and backed case bound book with a cloth cover 2500micron board. The cover has been foil blocked and de bossed and includes head and tail bands and a ribbon marker. The book has a 2 x 4pp end papers and a thread sewn book block.

Otabinding: Otabinding is recommended for books that require increased levels of lay flat for example musical scores. They are very durable as the spine of the book is not broken by the opening of the book, as the cover is glued at the front and rear hinge. Otabound books can also be produced using PUR adhesive.

Perfect Binding: Bound using Hot Melt Adhesive, a binding method recommended for binding documents of limited use where instant binding strength is required. 

Case Binding: Square backed case bound book with a gloss laminated printed paper cover over 2500micron board. The book has 2 x 4 end papers and a PUR bound book block.