Type in Context, Publication - OUGD504

Below are a selection of photos taken to show some of the key binding techniques and design decision in the final printed and bound copy of the publication.

Type in Context, Feedback - OUGD504

The final feedback received on this brief was positive;

People stated that the brief and rationale was followed from the start using the images taken over summer to create a publication that showed off Preston and make fun of it's Unhealthiest high street in Britain. The book's design followed that of a luxurious nature with content juxtaposing it in with a comedic aspect thus strongly backing up the idea of making fun of the high street as a whole. The name 'Depreston' was seen to be funny and presenting it with a golden foil in a serif timeless typeface backed up the idea of being high end until you look inside.

Type in Context, Final - OUGD504

Below is a finished digital copy of the publication.

Type in Context, Design Decisions - OUGD504

To fit with with a theme of luxury and being niche lots of decisions had to be considered but because a theme was put into place it did help.

The colour for the cover was decided upon because blue has often been considered the colour to represent wealth or luxury as it was hard to come across natural blue to dye fabric. The gold colour is quite an obvious representation of wealth. The material for the cover was decided upon after looking through the different choices in the print room, the cloth that was used was the only in the correct colour that felt the most luxurious, it would have been nicer to have a different more fabric like feel of cloth but it wasn't available in the price range or at university.

Throughout the book a consistent typeface is used to tie everything together, all the body text is kept to 10 or 12 point and used 14 for titles inside the publication. Following The Vignelli Canon to an extent, it is said to use only two typeface per page but there are exceptions when using titles, sticking to only two type sizes apart from on titles and although the rule is not followed verbatim making sure all the titles used the same sizing and weight for this reason.
Following on from the type size the face used was Garamond, again taking note from Vignelli but also using the fact that it is one of the oldest typefaces around providing this classical timeless look.

The binding was decided upon when there was a block for what could possibly be done to suit the theme. Hardback had to be part of the design as it has always provided a more pricey niche look. Japanese stab stitch never influenced the original design because of the problem of being softback and not being able to stay open always wanting to close again. After speaking to a tutor other examples were shown including a hardback japanese stab stitch which was very interesting, the book still wanted to close on each page so it was suggested that the pages on the publication could be scored to help them fold with the cover to make sure the book was more interactive.

Paper choice is always a hard decision, after deciding GF smith paper would be too costly for the design, although the publication is meant to look expensive it is still meant to be affordable the main purpose is not to cost a lot but instead look like a luxury design that is juxtaposed by content. When working on another task more stock was found which was perfect for the publication as it looked similar to the GF smith stock and still fit the takeaways theme. The type was set on  a different stock to the imagery because the pictures couldn't lose any colour and it is said by Tschichold that type should never be set on a white background for it is less legible. A thicker stock was used for the imagery too to make sure they could be printed full bleed back to back.

Layout was influenced again by Vignelli inputting a grid system to make sure all pages flowed and fit together. Although the type was centered a margin had to be provided for the bind and make sure both sides of paper fit this. The publication size was taken from standard picture sizing so that the images would fit perfectly on a full bleed image and none would be lost apart from to the bind which was an aesthetic decision so that the publication looked purposeful throughout.

Type In Context, Printing - OUGD504

For the printing process everything would have to be designed perfectly to fit with the binding method. All pages on the right had to have a margin on the left and vice versa. The images had to have a bleed to make sure no white marks would appear around them. 

As for how the publication was printed, the stock would be different throughout the main stock would be 135gsm textured stock for text and blank pages and for the images 200gsm matte stock. This could be achieved with the style of binding and with the pages being printed back to back (images on images, text on text). When printing all images had to be printed separately to the text to make sure the right stock was used for both.

Once the printing had been completed the book had to be cut along the crop marks. An electronic guillotine was used for this to provide accuracy throughout the pages. All pages lined up and then had to be folded to combat the issue that Japanese Stab Stitch binding has of always wanting to close.

The machine was set to 4cm just over that of the fold in the cover so that the pages could be folded back and not become stuck. The pages still want to close but not as aggressively, it means you have to be more hands on with the book rather than just flicking through and looking at imagery you have to engage.

Type In Context, Foiling - OUGD504

To start the process a fabric screen had to be exposed with the type design. After this alignment by eye proved to be a challenge test prints were produced at first and then onto the cut fabric. The cloth had to be aligned to the screen by eye and then slowly brought down onto the vacuum bed.

The tests were done using both gold and silver foil, the choice of foil was down to the overall theme of the publication to look, niche, luxurious and elegant. Both colours worked well on the dark background and contrasted to draw in the eye but the gold was the better choice to show wealth.

The test pieces worked but there were spaces around the type that picked up a small amount of foil this is due to the glue spreading and the fabric having an adhesive quality to it. For the final the foil was cut much smaller to make sure less would appear around the main design.

The type was aligned correctly and only a bit was left outside of the writing which showed up in some light but was not noticeable without looking for it. The design felt more hand produced rather than using a machine.

Type in Context, Cover - OUGD504

The cover had to fit with the luxurious theme and with the irony of content vs design. The name was decided after a few critique sessions, because the design was meant to show off the horrible unhealthy high streets but put a somewhat positive spin on Preston. The name Depreston is used a lot in the city to describe a sort of dull feeling over the city. A working title was used before 'The Unhealthiest High Street in Britain' but that was a bit too long winded.

The design featured borders and different type styles but it was decided that less was more in this situation. The cover will also be foiled so there will be enough to make it stand out and have a feel of class.

Final Design:

Type in Context, Feedback Further Refinement - OUGD504

After refining the idea to making a joke about England and Preston. The new idea was presented to peers, here are some of the points taken away from the critique:

• Super size me
• Louis Theroux
• Joke menu showing of the calories
• Michael moore bowling for 
• Highlight fat britain
• Private eye
• Depreston
• Puns
• Just take the piss
• David Shriggly
• Marks and Spencer ‘Food Porn’
• Mcdonalds advert 
• Use news clipping for unhealthiest street
• Compare equivalent 

The work needs to look similar to documentaries such as Supersize Me and Louis Theroux to see the style of their jokes also look into the adverts for food products that make food that's not necessarily anything special but the ads seem to make them seem so, therefore take the idea but use it to my advantage showing the food that is sold within these different take aways. 

The design of the book would feature a 'proper' design almost luxurious on the cover with a complete juxtaposition inside the book with images of disgusting take aways. Throughout the book there will be digs at British food and health, describing the food as this amazing standard like in the M&S adverts. The whole book will stand out as a joke from start to finish. 

Type In Context, Mock-Ups - OUGD504

In a refresher bookbinding induction techniques were brought back. This helped create an idea of how to produce the publication later on. The session went on to produce a hardback five hole pamphlet stitch book. To create the publication luxury was needed which was found in a considered more expensive method using hard back covers but the binding method was difficult to come across for this theme. After speaking to a tutor the idea of using Japanese Stab Stitch to bind the book really came out as a niche method to suit the theme. For the format of the book it would be based around the imagery, because of the dimensions of the images the design would suit this method of binding too in a landscape format.

The mockups below were designed in a smaller format to save on costs but still give a good example of how the end product may come together both in printing and binding.

Type in Context, Research - OUGD504

These are some of the things that were suggested for to look into, that seem to fit into the the style the book will be designed around:

Preston is my Paris

Preston is my Paris a zine set up in 2009 to try and push creatives to consider Preston as a good place of exploration for their practice. The zine seems to hold some similarities to what will be created, showing off that Preston isn't this dull city putting a new light onto the city and maybe encouraging the idea of tourism.

M6 Motorway Boring Postcards

Boring postcards was another suggestion by our tutor Nick. The idea is definitely something that will be the direction the publication heads towards it is almost completely making fun out of England. The postcard above is of someone buying a postcard from a service station on the M6. It is impossible to show a more accurate representation of how an English holiday is viewed.

Dog In Sunglasses on Venice Beach (1998) by Martin Parr

Onto Martin Parr who loves showing off Britain and has made an entire photography career out of it. The images used within my publication to be very tongue and cheek to almost be serious but at the same time there is this obvious sense of humour about them.

Stanley Kubrick's Boxes Documentary

Another suggestion by Nick, a documentary on Stanley Kubrick about the boxes and boxes worth of images found in his house after he died of streets. The images were in such a quantity it was almost an early version of google maps. In the publication imagery will be shown off to create a sort of journey through the high street.