Publishing Design - Task 1 (Exercises)

 

NAME: SARAH CHEONG YINSHI                                                                                                        I.D: 0354962
COURSE: BDCM

WEEK 1 - WEEK 8

03/04/2023 - 22/05/2023

GCD 61404 - PUBLISHING DESIGN

| WEEK 1 | LECTURE | 03/04/2023

Lecture 1 : Formats

The Book

➤ The book is one of the most important and influential formats as most important publishings centred around books.

➤ Book used as a medium to document and share knowledge, history, records & etc.

➤ Designing book : A comprehensive understanding of typography, good sense of space, good understanding for publishing software.

Historical

➤ Iran-Iraq : Mesopotamian Civilisation - early forms of pictographic writing on clay tablets.

➤ Egypt : Ancient Egyptian Civilisation - only people in Ancient Egypt could read and write Hieroglyphics (written on papyrus paper made from the pith of papyrus plant).

➤ Indian-Pakistan-Afghanistan : Indus River Valley Civilisation - there are not many known records, but it is known that they had a complex system. Cuneiform was one of the earliest systems of writing on soft clay tablets using shaper-pointed tools to record their government, religion and trade.

➤ China : Han-China Civilisation : Chinese characters in the early period were written in vertical columns, the ideal for one column meant a thin strip of bamboo. To make longer document, bamboo strips were linked by two lines of thread.

The earliest known printed book is Chinese from the Tang Dynasty discovered in a Dunhuang cave in 1899 (using paper material in a scroll format)

➤ Europe (Turkey & TheWest) : European Civilisation - Parchment was invented in Turkey (197-159 BC) made demo animal hide later spread to Europe during 1400-1500 CE.

| WEEK 2 | LECTURE | 10/04/2023

Lecture 2 : History of Prints

2nd-8th Century AD

➤ In AD 175, the emperor of China commands that the 6 classics of Confucianism be carved in stone.

➤ The Confusion scholars were eager to own the important text which made them lay paper on the engraved slabs and rub it with charcoal or graphite.

Korea & Japan : AD 750 -768

➤ World's earliest known printed document is a sutra printed on a single sheet of paper in Korea in AD 750, closely followed in Japan by a bold experiment in mass circulation.

➤ The Hyakumanto Darani is a famous large-scale woodblock print, earliest of these records are in Japan.

The first printed cook : AD 868

➤ The earliest known printed book is Chinese from Tang dynasty, 16 feet long and a foot high scroll alongside the world's first printed illustration, which depicted enthroned Buddha surrounded by Holy Attendants.

Movable type : 11th Century

➤ The Movable type - separated ready made characters/letters which can be arranged in the correct order for a particular text and able to be reused. 

➤ It is a necessary step before printing became an efficient medium for spreading information.

➤ As early at the 11th century, the concept was experimented in China, problems were that Chinese script had too many characters that became too complex. 

Saints & Playing Cards : AD c.1400

➤ The technique of printing from woodblocks is introduced in Europe. In the east, images are printed by laying a piece of paper on a carved inked block then rubbing its back to transfer ink. The main market is holy images for sale to pilgrims.

➤ Playing cards are another early part of the western trade

➤ In 15th century, Germany made technical advances that rapidly transform printing from a cottage industry to a cornerstone of western civilisation

Type Foundry in Korea : C.1380

➤ In the late 14th century, Koreans established a foundry to cast movable type in bronze, strong medium for repeated printing, dismantling and resetting for new text.

➤ Koreans still used Chinese script so they had the problem of a high number of characters.

➤ In 1443, this was solved when they invented their own alphabet, ashan'gul.

Gutenberg & Western Printing : AD 1439 -1457

➤ Gutenberg, in connection with printing, first appears in a law case in Strasbourg in 1439.

➤ The next time Gutenberg is heard in relations to printing, he borrowed 800 guilders in 1450, Maine, from Johann Just with his printing equipment as security.

➤ Gutenberg's great achievement in the story of printing has several components, one of it is his development of printing press, capable of applying a rapid and steady downward pressure.

➤ Gutenberg's skills with metal enabled him to master the complex stages in the manufacture of individual pieces of type, which involve creating a master copy of each letter, devising the moulds in which multiple versions can be cast.

| WEEK 3 | LECTURE | 17/04/2023

Lecture 3 : Typography Redux

Typography is the art of arranging and composing text, it is also a medium for expression and communication.

Characters in typefaces :

➤ Small Caps

➤ Numerals

➤ Fractions

➤ Ligatures

➤ Punctuations

➤ Mathematical Signs

➤ Symbols

➤ Non Aligning Figure

Legibility is very important in book designing. When formatting text for legibility, there are few considerations :

➤ Underline should be lowered so that they don't touch the characters

➤ Good typefaces has a larger variety of weights (light, bold, etc)

➤ Small Caps are good for subheads or for the first line of a paragraph.

➤ Text set in All Caps should be used in short headlines or subheads.

➤ All Caps should never be used for long sentences and for emphasis

➤ Do not stretch or squeeze the font

➤ Outline and shadows affects the readability of the text

➤ A column of type is usually about 50 characters, and no more than 65 characters

➤ Leading is the amount of space between lines of types

➤ Overlay long or short lines are not recommended

➤ Avoid widow and orphans

| WEEK 4 | LECTURE | 24/04/2023

➤ The use of grid as an ordering system is the expression of a certain mental attitude inasmuch as it shows that the designer conceives his work in terms that are constructive. 

➤ The designer's work should have clearly intelligible, objective, functional and aesthetic quality of mathematical thinking.

➤ The grid divides a 2D plane into smaller fields, or a 3D space into smaller compartments. The space between the columns is called a "gutter". 

➤ The grid creates a sense of compact planning, intelligibility and clarity and suggests orderliness in design. It helps make the user experience seamless. 

| WEEK 5 | LECTURE | 01/05/2023

➤ All publications consists of 3 major elements:

1. Textual element
2. Colour element
3. Visual element

Variation

It in important to not be predictable. Designers must try to create variation within the layout, but also maintain a consistency across the book. Variation can be done through the textual, colour, and visual elements. The sequence of layouts should deliver a surprise at every turn of the page. This doesn't mean that every spread has to be different as it is expected that we re-use and rotate the formulas in the books. The grid is used in a modular fashion where the elements are positioned logically but also in a compositionally attractive manner.

INSTRUCTIONS

EXERCISE 01 : TEXT FORMATTING (03/04/2023)

We were tasked to write a 3000 words story regardless of any topic we like, below is the draft version of my content.

EXERCISE 02 : MOCK-UP MAKING (10/04/2023)

Today's class is to explore the book size that we want for our publication, we had to explore 3 sizes that are within the size of A5 to A4.

Thus, I tried the following sizes :

• 200mm x 210mm (confirmed size)
• 180mm x 220mm
• 180mm x 250mm

My final chosen size : 200mm x 210mm, the reason is because I decided to have a bigger binding space between 1.5cm - 2cm, so I need a wider length to have space for binding.

Figure 2.1 Book Size Exploration

Figure 2.2 Book Size Exploration cut out

Figure 2.3 Final Book Mockup

Figure 2.4 Final Book Mockup Outside

Figure 2.5 Final Book Mockup Inside

EXERCISE 03 : SIGNATURE FOLDING SYSTEM (17/04/2023)

Signature Exercise 02 : 

We were requires to do signature folder system on 2 A4 papers:

Figure3.1 Signature folding 

Figure3.2 Final Folding 2pcs 

Figure 3.3 Outside

Figure 3.4 Inside

EXERCISE 04 :CLASSICAL GRID STRUCTURE (24/04/2023)

Van De Graft Exercise 03:

We were requires to do Van De Graft exercise in InDesign. Below are the submission for the exercises:

Figure 4.1 Digital Van De Graft

Figure 4.2 Digital Van De Graft with text and size

Figure 4.3 Digital Van De Graft with text

Figure 4.4 Digital Van De Graft without guidelines

EXERCISE 5 : DETERMINING GRIDS (01/05/2023)

We had to choose 3 different spreads and determine what grids the designers might have used to create these spread.

Figure 5.1 Determining Grids

Figure 5.2 Determining Grids Without Spread

EXERCISE 6 : FORM AND MOVEMENT EXERCISE 

Form and movement practice - black and white. 

Figure 6.1 Form and Movement Practice

Then, we had to create 2 different layout spread with single colour

Figure 6.2 Form and Movement-Color 1

Figure 6.3 Form and Movement-Color 2

After deciding which spread, we had to add images that matches our chosen colour

Figure 6.4 Form and Movement -Color with Image

After the feedback from lecturer, I reduced my use of image and use 1 image with cropping, then the last step is to add text to the spread.

Figure 6.5 Form and Movement - Colour with Image Refinement

Figure 6.6 Form and Movement - Add text

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FEEDBACK

Week 7 Some white space and black space should be consistent, use of image could be better, try using 1 image and do some cropping.

Week 6 The 1st option looks good, form and movement are good, it has a good use of white space and connection, the lines and color connection well used. 2nd option has too much unnecessary elements and some not connection can be removed, looks too full.

Week 5 Continuity and consistency looks fine.

Week 2 Remember to highlight the 16 visuals. Regenerate code using the link shared in group. Continue adding more references in APA style.

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REFLECTION

Experience

Week 1 Story writing : It's a good opportunity for me to write a story that I would like to share, it's a great chance to express ourself through this assignment.

Week 2 Mock-up making : I like how we get to do it in class because we can move around. It's very cute to create a small booklet, and also get to learn the folding and binding.

Week 3 Grid structure : This exercise let me understand more on how the grid system works.

Week 4-6 Grid system : Understanding and creating a design from the basic form and movement.

Observation

Week 1 It took me quite some time but I really enjoy the process with all the testing and refinement.

Week 2 This exercise made me have a very clear judgement on my canvas size and I can hold and feel it in my hand to test if the size is suitable for my book.

Week 3 Understanding on the grids.

Week 4-6 A very interesting and useful exercise for further projects.

Findings

Week 1 The process of writing the story made me look up on a lot of different articles that are very interesting and I actually learnt some new knowledge regarding my subject about depression.

Week 2 A clear and better understanding towards the instruction because of doing the process in class our own.

Week 3 Explanation of the grid system and instructions were given and helped to complete all the exercises.

Week 4-6 Gained a lot of knowledge towards the basic on creating guides and understanding grid system, now I know how important grid system are.

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FURTHUR READING

Week 1 : https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/the-grid-system-building-a-solid-design-layout

Important - The grid system helps align page elements based on sequenced columns and rows. We use this column-based structure to place text, images, and functions in a consistent way throughout the design. Every element has its place that we can see instantly and reproduce elsewhere.

Week 2 : https://yesimadesigner.com/anatomy-of-a-magazine-layout/

Principles of Design-

1. Purpose: What’s the purpose of the magazine/layout you are working on? 
   Is it image-based, story-based, formal, funny? etc.
2. Balance: Make sure your content is evenly distributed over the page/spread. Don’t put too much in one part of the page/spread. Unbalanced layouts will feel uncomfortable and lose viewers interest.
3. Hierarchy: Do the right pieces of information stand out? Establish what is the most/least important information for a viewer and indicate the levels of priority visually.
4. Readability: Is the text easy to read? Watch out for your point size and the font you use. Colour choice is also crucial, making sure that there is enough contrast between the copy and the background.

Week 3 : https://www.greenbook.org/mr/market-research-news/the-fundamentals-of-layout-design/

Layout and composition are the foundations of good insight communication. 

The psychology for layout design - 

1. Similarity

   We group similar objects to make sense of the world around us. For example, this could be grouping things of similar color, shape, scale, typeface, or even types of information on a page.

2. Continuation

   The eye visually identifies information by following things. For example, we read text best in a line.

3. Closure

   Complete shapes or layouts are the simplest things to improve visual perceptions.

4. Proximity

   The composition of lots of objects manipulates the message of the whole image. If you have text boxes that all relate to each other or are the opposites of each other, the placement is crucial depending on what message you want to give.

5. Order
   There must be an order and hierarchy to your layout. Otherwise, there will be visual anarchy. Therefore, we group types of text into headlines, subheads, and body text. Also, if there are too many groups the audience will get visually lost and won’t be able to decode the meaning of the document.

Week 4 : https://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/grid-theory-41411345

Grid theory

-Grids establish a meter and rhythm

-Define and reflect proportion

-Work with the golden ratio

-provide solid foundation

-Work with other key design principle

Week 5 : https://www.capito.eu/en/how-does-text-design-influence-comprehensibility/

Text design is the field of activity surrounding the structuring and design of a text. The study was conducted by Sabina Sieghart. The design researcher investigated the question of how macrotypography influences the comprehensibility of a text.

Macrotypography is the overall visual impression of a text. This includes, for example:

• -Font
• -Font size
• -Paragraphs
• -Headings
• -Alignment
• -Use of images, tables or graphic elements such as lines, boxes, etc. 
• -Arrangement of elements on the page
• 
  

Week 6 : https://blog.papertrue.com/book-cover-design-parts/

Essential elements of book cover design

Title, subtitle, interesting typography, coherent cover design and layout, endorsement, well placed bio, eye-catching spine, 

Week 7 : https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/company-article/how-book-covers-are-designed

About book cover-

A book's cover design is the window into its story, and might be the reason a reader first picks it up. The art of conveying an entire manuscript into a single image, and making sure it's targeting the right audience.