Portfolio
iSTD
- Dust jacket / Front cover. The cover introduced the tone of the publication, hinted at design, showcased the Quire logo and introduced the grid.
- Half title page detail. Set tone design wise and reinforced the brand. Introduced the 'growth' element of the bo
- Half title page. Set tone design wise and reinforced the brand. Introduced the 'growth' element of the book.
- Part opening spread. Introduced a new section. As the access structure of the book is based alphabetically the first page showed which letter you are in.
- Content spread. Shows working of grid in 2 and 4 column widths.
Dust jacket / Front cover. The cover introduced the tone of the publication, hinted at design, showcased the Quire logo and introduced the grid.
Objective
The brief was to design several elements of an Encylcopedia of Molecular Biology.
These included:
- Dust Jacket/Cover
- Blocking design
- Half Title and Title Page
- Contents
- Part opening spread
- 4 sample spreads showing complete typographical hierarchy and application of grid.
- Poster
- Press Ad
- Fully marked up grid
- Fully marked up copy
- Written rationale and full production specification.
Solution
Upon reading the brief I decided to choose The Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology option. When presented with the task of designing the logo for the publishing house ?Quire?, as with any corporate identity, the logo had to communicate many facets of the company in question and not just the name. The logo is a result of this consideration, taking into account the need for simplistic design in a single colour (in order for the logo to be resized and reproduced by photocopier and fax) The logo also communicates the printing process and the overall form of a capital ?Q?. The typeface chosen to be used in conjunction with the logo was Palatino. Due to the classical cut of the typeface it communicates a company of high quality.
Thoroughly reading the brief again I identified the many different hierarchies present within the text and began experimenting with typeface, size, measure etc. Legibility and differentiating between Primary and Secondary entries were considered primary objectives when designing the book. With these considerations in mind a serif face would be used for the main copy and a sans serif for the titles, purely for legibility purposes. The typefaces chosen were ITC Garamond (due to the large range of weights available) and Frutiger (due to the modern cut of the face). Primary and Secondary entries would be differentiated by a difference in size and weight of typeface (Primary text would would be 1pt larger and of a bolder weight).
Other considerations in designing the book was cross-referencing and the books access structure. The solutions arrived at for these were a simple cyan icon present level with the heading, which would be easy to see at a glance, the reference itself would also be set in a bolder weight.
A common element which is present on each page and a design element of the whole book is the ?organic growth? illustration. This is to give the feel of molecular biology, an organism growing on to each page. These illustrations would also serve as chapter indicators for quick navigation of the book. They would also be in a different colour for each chapter. The size of the book was an important consideration, I chose a larger format due to the book mainly being used as a reference source, it is unlikely that it would be carried around. Also due to the amount of pages stipulated in the brief it would result in a thick book.
The cover, poster and black and white press advert all relate to each other as they are the books main selling vehicles. The book has to compete on a shelf in a bookshop, therefore the cover had to be striking and aesthetically pleasing. The poster and press ad both relate to the front cover and include copy which would have to be read at a glance. The main purpose of the poster was to give a visual feel of the book as the poster would more than likely be positioned near the book in the bookshop, there would be an immediate visual link between the two. The blocking design of the book is taken from the simple geometric shapes present on the cover, these would then be blind embossed to give a subtle indication to the shapes.