Design Practice - Studio Brief 1 - Development 2

Here you can see that after presenting the first three approaches to the book cover, it was also suggested that I create another approach, which focuses primarily on an object in relation to the book, rather than a theme. Therefore I decided to create a cover that shows one of the weapons involved in the killings. 

To do this, I maintained the style of limited colour and began by making a silhouette style for the object. I also included the use of lines in between text to separate it, similarly to how it had been done in the previous cover.

After more discussion on whether or not these designs would work, it was decided that the previous ideas worked better and therefore they would be used to form the final designs.

Out of all the styles that I had experimented with, it became clear that the newspaper style with the mug shots was the most favoured and successful approach. Therefore, the next step was to try and develop this design so that it would be suitable for the competition in terms of copyright and so that it would have my own original interpretation in it.

From this I began to recreate the third design from the development stage by removing the images and replacing them with silhouettes of the people involved with the book. This way it would be leaving the interpretation of the characters up to the viewer and their imagination. Also by including the mug shot numbers for the killers, rather than their names, implies that their crimes were so severe that they should only be referred to in this way.

The alternative design to this development was to try the same idea, only with the silhouettes replaced with outlines. This way the characters could be seen even more mysterious to the viewer. These final two book cover layouts would be presented to peers during the final critique session, to see which has been more successful at modernising the non-fiction novel.

After receiving the feedback from the session it will be possible to determine a way to further develop the idea for a book cover into a final piece. It will also provide me with a better understanding of how the project could have been improved at certain stages, and what other alternative approaches could have been taken in order to come to a conclusion.

Design Practice - Studio Brief 1 - Development

Using the rule of thirds was my first grid system, which was reflective of the book cover I found most appealing during the research stages. This way I could focus the title of the book in the middle of the cover page and the author’s name above in a smaller typeface so that attention is drawn towards the title more. 

For this first design I also decided that after receiving advice from peers, it would be appropriate to create a cover focusing primarily on the type and colours. In this case, the use of red on white was a simple approach. The idea behind the colour scheme was to create a way of modernising the original cover, as the colours used here are the same as the original. This means that any readers who may have read the book when it was first published may recognise the style of the cover as a nostalgic feature.

In terms of the font used for the first cover, I felt that Garamond would be the best to use as it was well received by peers during critique for its formality.

My second approach was to use the Marber grid system, as it was used frequently for many of the existing Penguin books. As the book is supposed to be read as a novel, I thought it would be appropriate to attempt an approach this way.

By keeping the colour scheme minimal, I was able to create a more structured and original approach to this cover. By choosing to leave the grid in the cover was also intentional, as it would show a traditional method used by Penguin, being re-used in a modernised way. The use of Bodoni 72 was also well received by peers during critique sessions, as it felt more appropriate than using a font that resembled typewriter lettering.

The third idea was to create the layout in the style of a newspaper, similar to The New York Times. This would be reflective of the newspaper article in which the murder case was originally printed. For this book cover, I began by studying the layout and formations used in The New York Times and The New Yorker. This way I was able to construct an initial idea that could be improved on when presented in the next critique session. I also used the font Cheltenham, which is used by The New York Times.

Many of the features of this book cover were inspired by the first two ideas. For example, the text on the front page shows the title to be the largest and most legible to the viewer. It also makes use of lines to structure the text in way that represents a newspaper. As the second cover idea was well received for its lack of colour, I felt it would be necessary at this stage to carry on using a limitation of colours.

One idea that came to mind when creating this piece was how the viewer would perceive the imagery. By presenting the viewer with the faces of the killers on the front it would almost act as a way to ‘name and shame’ the perpetrators, while the back page would shock the viewer to see the smiling family that were murdered in such a brutal crime. This issue with this approach was that the images could not be used for copyright reasons.

Design Practice - Studio Brief 1 - initial ideas

After analysing the existing book covers I began by creating 30 initial sketches of what my book cover designs would potentially look like. Taking most of the inspiration from the third analysed book cover, I began constructing different ways that the type and imagery could be layed out, on the front, back and spine of the covers.

Many of the first sketches show basic imagery that has been inspired by the ideas of the book and representations of the time period in which it was set. This includes the use of objects, such as the murder weapons involved in the case. By adding these the viewer can immediately determine that the book may be to do with crime. Another idea was to mimic the layout of a newspaper front cover. This was in relation to The New York Times, which printed the story at the time. 

Many of the adjectives that were associated with the book during the research stage are also reflected in some of these designs. For example, a cover that primarily focuses on the colour schemes and attention to type rather than imagery would represent the adjective mysterious. This way the audience are open to interpret the book cover for themselves and what mystery they can uncover through reading the non-fiction novel.

During this stage in the process, I decided that it would be appropriate to see what sizes are best for the typography. For example, after the research stage I found that the third book cover I had analysed was the most successful in terms of type as it structured the title in the centre, with the authors name above. After receiving advice from my peers, they also decided that this was the best cover of the three. 

However, one of the initial ideas was to create the cover in a style similar to a newspaper, meaning the type may not work to fit this structure. 

In terms of the typography itself, I decided to look into the fonts that were being used for newspaper articles and headlines. The New York Times in particular has used one font for many of their articles. This was Cheltenham, a font that I later decided to play around with during the development stages. Other fonts that were experimented with during the process include Bodoni 72 and Garamond, as they were both formal fonts to use for a book, which is based on serious themes. 

Although my intentions for the book cover were to create a more modernised version of In Cold Blood, I still decided that using traditional serif fonts would be most appropriate for the process. However during the final stages of the project some suggested that the experimentation of sans serif for the covers might have worked just as well.

As shown here, several variations of the book cover were designed using layouts including the rule of thirds, the Marber grid system and hierarchy grids, as learn during the course of the design principles module. This helped in the positioning of the text, as well as the images and spacing for the margins.

Design Practice - Studio Brief 1 - Book cover research and analysis

The original book cover design for In Cold Blood was designed by American graphic designer Sadamitsu Fujita. In terms of the design itself, the cover has been created in quite a minimal fashion, focusing primarily on the use of typography. One thing that stood out most was how the font is appropriate to the time period of the book being written. This meant that from the audiences point of view they can expect the book to be set in the 1950s and 1960s era. Another example of Fujita's designs being appropriate to the context, would be the cover he did for The Godfather book, which also uses typeface that supports the era in which the story takes place.

The colours being used are very basic and minimal, which I believe could be impactful to some audiences. The use of red could be in reference to the violent nature of the crimes committed, while the black could be a reference to Capote's writing.

The only thing that could have been changed about this book cover would be the hair pin placed in the top right hand corner of the design. As Fujita had chosen a minimalist approach, it has been made difficult to interpret what the object in the corner is.

This book cover also utilises the use of red in a way that reflects the nature and themes of the book. Although this approach is also minimalistic, the difference here is that the book cover focuses on imagery. The ranch shown on this cover is a reference to the scene of the crime from the book, which is accompanied by the red background, suggesting to the audience that something bad is happening in this particular scene.

The small uses of white also help to represent the lighting of the ranch, with just one of the windows remaining red. This could be a reference to one of the murders taking place in that room in the house.

In a similar manner to the first cover, this one has used font that related to the subjects of the book. As it is written in a typewriter form, this is likely to be reflective of the typewriter used by Capote at the time it was written. It could reference the print style used by the newspapers of the time.

One thing I would have changed would be the typeface used for the name of the author as it doesn't have as much impact as the letters used above it on the cover.

The last book cover I looked at has also taken a more literal approach to the cover design. This time through the use of photography, the designer has been able to reference objects relating to the story and the author himself.

The glasses are a reference to Capote's icon image and the journal beneath them are in reference to the notes kept by Capote when writing the non-fiction novel. I think that this approach has focused more on the writer of the book rather than the story itself and therefore could be interpreted by the audience as anything.

In terms of the typeface used, I think that although it reflects a traditional and formal setting, it has also given the book cover a more modern look. This is evident in the fact that the kerning has been taken into consideration and the layout of text on the cover also gives audiences a direction in which to focus their attention. For example, where the other two covers show the title above the authors name, this cover has placed the title below the authors name but enlarged it so that the attention is drawn to it first.

Design Practice - Studio Brief 1 - Research

Studio brief 1 – Live brief: Penguin Random House Student Design Award

Research stages

·      Imaginative concept and interpretation of the brief

·      Use of typography

·      Audience to consider

·      Avoiding typical ideas.

·      Consider grid layout

Truman Capote – In Cold Blood

This book is a non-fictional crime novel, which follows the investigation into a 1959 murder of a Kansas family. With no apparent motive for the killings of a man, a woman and their two children, there were almost no clues for Capote and investigators to go on. Capote reconstructs the murders and the investigation into the case, which resulted in the capture and execution of the killers.

Initially, In Cold Blood was published in The New Yorker in four parts and then release later as a novel in 1965.  The book was also the last to be published by Capote after it took a toll on him personally during the six years taken to write it.

The investigation started when Capote heard about the murder case in The New York Times. He began interviewing the people of Holcomb, Kansas and doing extensive research with the help of another writer, Harper Lee, who went on to write To Kill a Mockingbird.

The murderers in the case

Perry – Abandoned by his family and abused by nuns at a young age, which had a detrimental effect on his life. He recalls a reoccurring dream, involving a large bird, which saves him from anyone that might cause him harm. He does not have much of an intellectual childhood, however he does pursue it later in his life. Although he is seen as gentle, it is revealed that he is possibly the more brutal of the two.

Dick – A motivated and strategic man, who intends to pursue women and money, all while avoiding capture. Even after the murders, he shows no remorse or interest in speaking of the crime as he is focused on getting money and women. He is seen as the more street-wise of the two.

As there were limitations in the methods to finding clues at the time of the murder, a series of photographs were the primary tool for the investigation. These photographs, taken by Assistant Chief Ritch Rohleder, revealed a bloody footprint at the crime scene and tire tracks left by the get-away vehicle.

Key ideas of the book

• Brutal crimes committed against innocent people.
• investigation
• multiple murder
• the history behind the killers
• the motive for murdering the family
• objectivity 
• first ever 'nonfiction novel' to be written
• Truman Capote discovered the case while reading a paper.

Ideas for a book cover

• Newspaper layout, including typography and murder article style.
• murderers mugshot
• typewriter layout
• 1950s/1960s style

Adjectives to describe the book

• unique
• impactful
• honest
• sad
• iconic
• mysterious
• dramatic
• heavy
• creative
• memorable

Design Process - Evaluation

As a result of studio brief 1 and studio brief 2, it has been possible to gather knowledge and understanding in several areas of design. This has included the differences between what design is objective, what design is subjective and where these can both be applied to a context. Personally, I have found that creating work subjectively allows for different interpretation toward a brief and therefore creates many different approaches and possibilities. 

When working objectively it is improtant to take into consideration the context you will be producing for, as it requires an understanding to interpret the designs being made. As a result of studio brief 1, it became apparent which tasks should be approached subjectively and which should be approached objectively. This also became helpful during the other studio briefs and during the development stages of both projects. Designing a wayfinding system for Leeds also turned out to be successful as it allowed for new approaches to design to come about. 

For example, peer critique sessions gave the work the opportunity to improve and furthermore, work to the best of its ability to appeal to the intended audience. This in effect helped the concept of outcome of the studio brief to work well. Although there were complications with some choices toward the end, solutions from peer critique helped to gether an understanding of what could have been improved and how I might go about fixing it. 

As for studio brief 2, I found that the outcome of the object project was more successful than the first. This was due to the fact that extensive research into the possibilities, helped to build up an understanding of what may be an appropriate idea to develop. From peer critique sessions and feedback, it became possible to understand from someone elses point of view how the outcome would look and what needed to be changed in order for the project to work to the best of its abilities. These peer critique sessions also provided the chance to see how others had approached the tasks and what feedback I could give to them in order for improvement. Furthermore, this informed the decisions made in order to produc the outcomes of the project.

Overall, I think that this module has provided me with a series of transferable skills that can be used for modules in the future. To add to this, peer critiqing has also become a more understandable process, which has become essential when working to a brief. In this way, feedback is an important step in concuding each project and finding closure in the decisions you are uncertain of.

Design Process - Object Rationale

For this project, the object that was chosen to be investigated was a casette tape. The idea that followed was to create a graphic novel publication, that recreated scenes from the movie A Clockwork Orange, in a similar style to Frank Miller. This idea came about  when researching for films that base a scene around playing a casette tape. From this I began to create digital designs that included scenes from this Stanley Kubrick classic in several different approaches. These approaches were then critiqued and narrowed down to the most favoured, which was to create more scenes in a similar manner to build up a booklet of the designs.

I then started to look for inspiration for these designs, which brought me to Frank Miller, a graphic novelist known most noteably for his Sin City comics. After finding out about this designer, it became clear that the designs that would be made for this project would be influenced by the layouts and style used by Frank Miller in order to create a successful outcome.

During the development stage of the project, the scale and production of the outcome had to be taken into consideration. As it was to be similar to the graphic novel series Sin City, it seemed appropriate to create the graphic novel at A4 size. It would also feature similar material to the publications of a similar style. 

The audience for this project could be anyone who is in their teenage years or early 20s. It may also be an interest to comic book collectors and fans of the film adaptation. These would be targeted in particular as they are most likely to be the ones who would read content of this kind. Taking elements from other graphic novels as inspiration has helped the outcome to look more engaging for the audience that comics are aimed at. 

Throughout the research stages of the project, it has been possible to gather knowledge of how exactly the final outcome should look and what ways this can be achieved.

Design Process - Object Evaluation

Overall, I believe that the project as a whole has been a success, as the intentions from the initail idea stage had been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, the conclusion to this idea was completed by creating a publication. 

The most successful part of this project has to be the outcome of the design aesthetic, having taken inspiration from other graphic novels of a similar type. As a result of this exploration of design, it has been possible to understand the layouts and ways of creating images for a comic book style. Furthermore, I believe the designs also reflect well on their intentions as the colour schemes and typefaces have also allowed the publication to feel authentic.

If there were things I would have changed for this project, it would be to create more pages inspired by scene from the film, in order to create a 20 page spread. However, time management during this project had limited the page count to 12 sides in total.

Informed by group critique sessions throughout this project, it has been easier to understand the limitations that the publication may have had. This includes creating the outcome at a suitable scale and printing the final booklet on appropriate material, in correspondence with the context of the project.

in terms of the final finished booklet, I believe their could have been more ways to avoid the front cover error, which meant the typeface that had been chosen for the final piece was unnable to be printed due to copyright limitations.

Design Process - Object Final Design Production

Once the design stages of the booklet were complete the next step was to look at how it would be produced and what materials would be appropriate for this.

To begin this process, looking at the materials used in graphic novels helped to build an understanding of what may be an appropriate type of paper to use for printing. One thing to consider when making this decision was the cost of printing, as there would have to be 12 pages in total to complete the booklet.

During the final peer critique session, I received feedback on how the outcome should be printed so that it suits the context of the project. This was to have the booklet printed A4 size and on a grainy or rough surface paper. In this way the booklet could be printed to its full potential as a graphic novel.

After recieving feedback from several people, they all agreed that the final piece should be printed in this way and with a minimalist front cover to finish. However, when printing the final outcome there was an issue with the typefaces that had been chosen for the final design. Therefore, printing the front page meant using a different typeface all together.

Another idea that was brought up in the final critique was to show where the colours for the designs had come from. Therefore, I switched the colours for ones that were from colour swatches, taken from scenes in the film.