OUGD503 - Penguin Random House Design Award - Development/Final Design

After carrying out research on the original design work and advertisement on 'A Clockwork Orange', then collecting words that described the 'odd' movie and researching similar book cover designs that matched those keywords. 

I then began working on my own design.

First I thought of a concept that would communicate the essence of the movie. My key words:

Dark

Old Fashioned

Psychological

Dark empty sounds

Dark music

Slapstick comedy

Dark Humour

Narrative

Sadism

These words created some sort of distorted image in my mind, something good that could possibly be damaged. At the same time I needed to create something that would fit in with the level of design in book cover's around today. 

I wanted to make something individual and clear so when a reader looks at the design, they instantly have an idea what the genre of the book is.
After I watched the advert for the movie I got a sense of 'dark humour mixed with dark psychological behaviour'. So I began thinking of images that related to this, until the idea of using a simple smiley face as the main point of interest on the book cover.

Then moving onto ways to relate this to the dark humour and psychological behaviour of the movie. I thought of hand drawing the image in fine pen as if to give the idea of a 'message' which definitely relates to this whole dark theme. The idea of a big impact with little care was what was needed. 

.......


Then I needed something to make a statement about the image, so having the idea to tear the image up once it had been created then placing each piece of the image back together to create this 'distorted image'. This was to increase the effectiveness the image had when representing 'A Clockwork Orange'. 

Then using various editing tools I was able to manipulate the image to achieve a better suited look. Basing the design on the research carried out on effective book cover designs using black and white, It became easier to manipulate the image to to something that was similar to the effective book cover designs. 
Then achieving the perfect look with the image, where the the hand drawing was a sharp and bright white against the black and dark grey background almost gave the drawing torn open look that was somehow being invaded by light, this produced a very effective image which worked well with the the dark genre of Clockwork Orange. 

When the image was complete it became easier to work on the positioning and style of the copy text which needed to be placed on both the front and back of the cover including the spine.

When choosing a style of font, it was obvious that because of the design method and general look of the front cover. The text would need to fit in with that somehow.
I had the idea to use a clear font for the 'informational sections of text' and then for the name of the book 'A Clockwork Orange', something which matched the design of the image.

As more cover copy went on the book the overall design began to look more professional and detailed. It became a little tricky when finding good positions to place the required copy because of the harsh black and white contrast in the image made it difficult to find a colour and typeface that wouldn't become lost. 
However the best colour turned out to be 'Orange' which worked well with the title of the book and also worked well with the nature of the image. 
It became clear after a while that to use text on an image like this, the text would have to work within the image instead of finding someway to avoid it.
When finding a suitable background for the back cover of the book, the best option seemed to be carrying on with the same image, however changing it to the opposite emotion 'A sad face' personally makes opened design a lot more interesting and thought out.

I then took my finished design to the module leader to get feedback.
The feedback I received was good, although I received a few comments on the text on the back cover which was hard to read, so I received some help with positioning and colour. We kept altering and moving the text until the perfect layout was achieved.

I then once again finalised the design and then took it to a few other students on the group for some final feedback. The feedback I received was positive.

I could then scale the image and display an image:

The overall design I feel is a success, even though it became hard finding good placement for the text to fit along side the image, I found that making the text work with the image turned out quite successful.

OUGD504 - Studio Brief 03 - Inspirational Book Cover Designs

I wanted to do a little research o both minimalist and more illustrative book cover designs, This is so when I come designing the cover for my own book which I plan to do last I have a better idea of how I would like it to look. 

Below are the book covers that I thought fit well with myself and were the most thought provoking when comparing to my own internal book design.
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After collecting some images of book covers which respond to my own images which will be used for my photography book, I feel I now have a better idea of what I want to achieve with my own book cover. Something dark and easy yet thought provoking. I want to create a design which makes an impact in the least crowded way possible.

I also want to create something which will will be able to express each one of my images and one whole. So when the reader looks at the cover of my book they can instantly get an idea of what could possibly be inside. 



http://bookcoverarchive.com/page/4/
http://flavorwire.com/292165/25-awesome-minimalist-book-covers

http://www.onextrapixel.com/2013/06/25/50-beautifully-designed-book-covers-for-inspiration/

OUGD503 - Penguin Random House Design Award - Research

Before I carry out my design for Clockwork Orange, I will carry out some more research into the movie and build up a collection of key words to help me make a mental image of what the cover will look like. 

I already know that the movie is a slapstick Horror so that already gives me the idea of working in black, white and possibly different shades of grey.

Then I want to carry out some research on various different book covers that could be similar to my own design, this will give me a broader range when it comes to finalising my layout.

First I watched the trailer for Clockwork Orange, during the trailer I wrote down as many keywords I could think of.

Dark

Old Fashioned

Psychological

Dark empty sounds

Dark music

Slapstick comedy

Dark Humour

Narrative

Sadism

Very odd 

I will use these key words and take them into account when designing the cover, the poster for the movie s very useful as it gives me a starting point to work from, as in I have an idea of what the original design looks like. 

I can now carry out some research on various publication and book cover designs that respond to my keywords and the original movie advertisement design. 

I liked all of these designs because I thought the images of each front cover have some sort of connection to some of the my keywords. The overall design of each is very effective at making a sort of odd, misplaced dark feeling. That there is a lot more to do with this book behind the image. 

I want to use these images to help me design he cover for Clockwork Orange, The images have definitely given me some inspiration into what I can possibly do to respond to this brief.

http://theinspirationblog.net/showcases/40-stunning-black-and-white-book-cover-designs/

OUGD503 - Penguin Random House Design Award - Brief

'The Penguin Random House Design Award is an opportunity for students on an Art or Design course at HND or degree level to engage in design for publishing during their studies and to experience real cover and page layout design briefs first-hand'.

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/students-only/penguin-random-house-design-award-2016

This Competition consists of three different briefs, A different book belongs to each brief. The first brief is Adult fiction cover award and the pre selected book is 'A clockwork orange by Anthony Burgess'.

The second is the Adult non-fiction award, the pre selected book is 'How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran'.

The third is the Children's cover award, the pre selected book is 'Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner'.

After a little research on each to understand more about the requirements for each book cover, I have decided to choose and design a cover for A clockwork orange by A.B.

I feel like I would be able to create a very effective and eye pleasing book cover for this 1975 movie.

Below is some information which I collected from the brief section on the website which tells me the conditions that I will be working in.

 'A Clockwork Orange is as dazzling and inventive to new readers today as it was when it was first published half a century ago. The story is well known both in celluloid and print so it is essential to come at it from a fresh angle. Try to design a new cover for a new generation of readers, avoiding the obvious clichés. Originality is key.

Your cover design needs to include all the cover copy as supplied and be designed to the specified design template (B format, 198mm high x 129mm wide, spine width 10mm)'

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=penguin-random-house-design-award-2016

OUGD503 - Responsive - Personal Overview

The purpose of this module is to enable me to have the chance to work with other students from different courses within the college.



The module will also help me to become familiar with collaborating on projects and tasks.

The module will also enable me to research and organise my own briefs and problems to apply my designs towards. I have been given a selection of websites; on each are collections of various types of briefs. 



I will be able to use these to build up my experience in designing for various different causes as well as becoming more skilled in finding a design solution for a problem I am faced with. 
This module should help me to open up more as a designer and will hopefully increase my confidence levels when approaching a task and applying myself to it's solution.

OUGD504 - Studio Brief 03 - Modern Book Layout Designs Research

I decided that I wanted to look at some modern styles of layout design that are being used in publications. 

There are so many different designers now that create very effective and pleasing publications that I personally feel it is becoming hard for me to stay with the trend of design  as well as expressing my own image and ideas.

Below are a few layout designs that I think are very clever along with why I like them.

This is probably my favourite out of all the designs i've seen so far because it's just proving that a design doesn't physically have to be compressed onto one page. I love design that breaks the physical boundaries of what is expected and this does exactly that, it really is aesthetically pleasing and generally nice to look at. It's clear and precise which I love. This is definitely something I want to create for my own design.

I like this because the design for this book because the front cover design, has not been restricted to the front cover. I think this is another great example of a designer breaking the boundaries and going against the expected. Then it turns out to be a very successful design which to me is very pleasing and claiming to look at. The black and white works so well for this design because it enhances the title of the book.

These two above are exactly what I want for my own book, I want my own simplicity to be as just effective if not more than these examples.

I like this layout cause of it's colour or minimal use of it the shading is what brings out the image and creates an interesting yet timeless looking image. I also like how the image just sort of spreads through the page making the layout look so much bigger than it actually is.

Even though i ma not too keen on the colour use in this layout I do like the paper folding technique, it gives more depth and substance to the page and I think it gives the layout more than just the flat surface image you would normally see on a random page.

I really like the layout of these pages, the font is modern and simplistic which I love, the grid system used for the text is very effective in creating a clean centre piece design. On the right hand side the image has been stretched to the full give of the page as if only to give a snapshot or 'section' of what the photographer saw when they took the photo. I personally think this idea definitely makes the layout much more interesting. 

This simplistic design really caught my eye, it's ascetically pleasing setting the bar for what modernist designs hope to achieve.

I love more illustrative designs just as much as the simplistic designs I want to achieve in my own work. A lot of my own work in the past I have given an illustrative twist and I will continue to do this with my work in the future.

I like this design though because it mixes illustration with modern idea of design, to me it's the perfect layout for any book.

I like how the negative space has been used in the layout of these pages, it gives the image  so much more aesthetic an attention, simply because of the colour usage and grid system used. 

This is another example of breaking the boundaries of the page which I love, I really like the autumnal tones in this image as well and how it mixes in with the simplistic text and layout.

I like this because of the clever use of black and white.

These are all very beautiful layout designs, I really want to achieve something similar to my research with my own publication.

http://jayce-o.blogspot.com/2013/06/modern-examples-layouts-book-design.html

http://inspirationhut.net/inspiration/60-beautifully-modern-and-inspirational-magazine-book-layouts/

OUGD503 - Studio Brief 01 - Workshop 2

Today I started by working within a small group on a task where we consider what strategies we use to explore the brief and how we respond to it. 

So together we began working on a list of what ideas and concepts we use towards exploring the brief.

Here are the points that appear in the mind when taking in the information of the brief

• Reading and analysing the brief 
• Word association 
• Researching the brand 
• Taking into account other competitors (brand/product)
• Visualise the brief and possibly the branding
• Possibly drawings and colleagues
• Possibly discuss the brief and ideas with others
• Relaxing the mind and taking a step back to think
• Asking myself; is this a good product
• Colour association
• Identifying the target market 
• Staying in contact with the client
• Time planning
• Overhearing other colleagues or listening into other peoples conversations
• Keeping a notepad and pen close by

After discussing the task we felt that these were the main ideas that we generate in our minds after we have looked at and analysed the brief. We then shared our ideas with the rest of the other teams so we could explain how this worked in our own minds and to note down ay other ideas and techniques we didn't cover.

I found this task very useful, I can now approach a brief in a slightly different way, because I ma more prepared after outlining the mental choices that I make after taking in a brief. 

G F . Smith Talk

I received a presentation by the paper company G F Smith.

They specialise in a vast amount of different stock, different textures colours and thicknesses of paper and card. personally I think it is the perfect choice for any graphic designer looking for an endless choice of different stock

During the talk I received information about some history of the company, where they started compared to where they are today. We also watched a few short movies showing the process that the company printers go through to produce the stock that sells so well.

After the talk we were able to look at a range of samples that the company brought in to look at. 

These are some of the examples that G F smith's work has produced, they are all very effective products that have been designed perfectly after looking at them.

I love the colours that have been used, as most of the products I saw were made with only two different colours which is very effective when used against white or black. 

Also the feel and weight of the stock was very different in each product, it definitely gave me ideas for my own print.

OUGD504 - Study Task 03 - Print finishes

For this study task I will be looking at various different 

print finishes 

How different print finishes can change the way a piece of print work looks, or how they can be used to enhance or achieve a certain effect or design.

When researching different finishes, I will take into account how this can put pressure on the designer, financially and how to prepare for print finishing.

Most print finishes will either be glossy or matte depending on the result needed.


Varnishes

Which give a glossy, shiny feel to each page it keeps the print consistent and also can be used to preserve the material the print is made with so it last's longer. 




Matte

Which is the same process as varnish, only the end result is much less sleek shiny, instead each page is more dense and light.




Lamination 

This is where a thin material, usually plastic is placed over the original material which offers a new overall feel and look to the print by creating a firmer surface to the material, more tactile and hard wearing, as it offers protection from wear and tear damage as well as water.




Spot UV Varnish 

This material finish is probably my favourite out of all the collection because it's the most effective, and aesthetically pleasing, and can be applied to any section on the surface of my print. The effect is made by applying the varnish to the preferred area and then harding the material using UV light. This gives a perfect firm glossy/shiny effect.

This is a good effect if only a certain part of the image is going to be turned into a glossy varnish.

Whats better is that this can be used on any colour stock including white, which I do plan on experimenting with.



Foil Stamping

This is very similar to spot UV varnish, instead a malleable metallic material is used instead. Which is very useful to achieve the a regal gold or silver affect on any section of the surface work. 

Embossing 

I really like this type of finish, i love the raised bold effect that it gives because it gives more than just a flat surface image. It turns into something you can feel and touch which is gives an edge to the design.

However I don't know if I would use this on my own print, I think I would prefer a more sleek design with less weight .

http://designinstruct.com/print-design/print-finishes/

After looking at various different varieties and finishes, I have a good idea of what I might want to use for my own print. However I can't really decide until I have finished my own design.