Brief 6 - DC Evaluation

Brief 6 – DC Publication

I thoroughly enjoyed working on my DC publication, it really helped me focus what I was doing and what I wanted to be doing in the future. This brief created something for me to contact other studios and I managed to gain some valuable advice from a range of different professionals. It was a chance for me to work within publication design, which was really good because I wanted to further my skills in this area. I soon began to realize that I had developed a real passion for understanding the intricacies of branding, and wanted to couple this with my passion for processing, so using this brief as a spring board I could research and further my knowledge in this area. This publication has formed the basis for all the design decisions I have made with regards to my briefs, from looking at alternative print methods to making brands and experience and looking at the interaction with consumers. I also got the opportunity to further my skills when it came to setting up documents to print, due to the fact I was printing with two alternative printing houses, lulu and blurb, meant that I had to factor this into my design, following specifications and getting colours/text/alignment right. I have learnt a lot from this brief, not only about printing but where I am aiming to head in the future, and has basically formed a basis alongside my PPD module. I wanted this book to form as a reference point for me to dip back into in the future, to help me keep inspired and remember the things I had done and what I was interested in, so that I don’t loose sight of the designer I want to be, and I defiantly think I have achieved this. 

DC Development Boards

I have documented a flipbook of images that follows the progression and main development parts within this brief, including design decisions and range development.

Blurb DC Publication

My Blurb publication arrived today which was great, this was the publication that i really wanted and needed to submit. The colour accuracy is so much better and the clarity of the images is extremely good. The content works within the layout, and the margins/cropping has worked perfectly which is what i designed for. I am happy with the style, and as i mentioned previously i really think that it does showcase quite clearly my on-going investigation into branding and processes.

Lulu DC Arrival

My LULU DC print arrived today, so if all else fails I will have a book to submit. However this is not the book that i want to submit, its too small the picture quality isn't great. The cropping, margins and alignment is bad and they have left a 3mm margin along the top which means i dont have full bleed images where they should be. With regards to the content and style, i am happy with it and i think that it is a through display of the research i have been doing. 

DC Publication Blurb and Lulu and cover

I have now completed the publication and its layout and style. I have also created the separate cover .pdf.
Because of the printing deadlines i have sent the publication to be printed at both Lulu and Blurb, Blurb will supposedly arrive on the 29th of May. So defiantly cutting it fine. whereas Lulu should hopefully arrive sometime next week.

COEVR DESIGN:

It was frustrating having to design for 2 formats, because they are both very different, and it meant having to rearrange certain items for the Lulu print, as i had originally designed for Blurb. However, i am happy with the design and i will now hopefully be able to create a box to encase the items.

Open publication - Free publishing

DC Chapter 1

I have now completed and design my frist chapter. The publication is really coming together quite nicely, i have narrowed down the appropriate content that i want in this chapter, and i wanted it to be quite thorough, which regards to the different perspectives within branding.\

Open publication - Free publishing

Open publication - Free publishing

DC Chapter 2

taking on the style form the previous chapter, i have now started and finished my chapter two. Covering the range of print process that i am interested in. I still need to add the text, and tweak the images but it shows the key processes that i use and has the case studies and information i originally set out to have in it. Im not sure i want to add too much detail to this chapter, because i think th images are quite strong. The first and last chapter are quite detailed, so it might be nice to have a balance with this chapter and have it work more as a stylistic reference section.

DC Publication chapter 3

Chapter 3 is all about creating a simple look book style for my publication, looking at applied finishes to branding and products and how they have enhanced the deliverables. This is probably my favorite part of the book, because it will bring together the previous chapters, but also its filled with images and styles that i would love to create.

I am really happy with the way that this chapter looks, its minimal and to the point and i can use it as a reference for finishes in the future.

Dc Publication, specification

I want to use blurb to print my book, so i have to use their format and dimensions to create it. i have previously researched this, and now begun to put the foundations of my publication together. Using simple images and minimal type. I have already mapped out the content of each page, and how i want it to run together.

Dc tester 2 - blurb v. lulu

My second book arrived from Blurb today.
The initial evaluation is that it is much larger, giving me more room to play around with the layout. The images are considerably clearer than the images in Lulu. Im still not sure about the glossy cover, i think that it adds a tackiness to the book, which isn't what i wanted.
When you look at the type and the images the quality is much better, and i think that its a good idea to use both futura and avant garde.



The comparison between the two, apart from the obvious size difference. I defiantly prefer the larger book. The page is a slight off white which i think adds a more professional aesthetic to the Blurb publication. Although the blurb book is more expensive, i am looking for quality, and from the looks of it i am going to get this with Blurb.

Dc Print

My publication arrived from lulu today, i am happy that its arrived but initially i think that its a little too small.
Things that i dont like:
Lusture Cover
Low res images look bad, really pixelated
Not sure about white background
Type bleeds on front

Things i like:
binding
format the avant garde font
image colour, although res is bad, the colour isn't as bad as i thought it was going to be.

I think the next stage is to wait till the together book i have ordered from blurb arrives, this is so that i can then compare the two and see which one, quality wise, is better. Although lulu is cheaper i'd rather pay a little extra and be able to have something of higher quality and professional looking.

Happy with the type element, seems to still be clear and legible. The slightly thicker fonts better than the others. neou isnt good at all. 

Low res imagery come out poorly.

Particularly happy with the florescent page, i thought i'd have a problem with this but it has come out quite clearly. 

DC TEST

In order to help get my design ideas right, i wanted to get some publications printed so i could test out the quality of the pieces. I think this is important because i know i want to create some wooden wrap around for it, and by creating this it means that i can measure the depth of the piece., As well as work out the quality of the print etc.
I am not sure which printers to go with, i think out of the two i know Lulu and Blurb, Lulu is the cheaper option but i havent heard great things about quality. Apparently black and white is good, but i know my publication will be full colour. So i have created a range of different pages with type and imagery that will hopefully cover the range of colour that i am going to be using.
The process of actually sending it to Lulu is fairly easy, it does a lot for you, and by giving me page restrictions it gives me a format to work to. 

DC - Printing

After going through the book and how i want it structured, it means that i can now start looking at where to get it published because this will dictate (to a certain extent) the format and size of the pages. This is something simple, which i need to work to and will help give more definition to the book.
So i started out by looking at Lulu. this is a company i have already researched, they make the process of publishing a one off book really simple and accessible which is what i am looking for.

Initially i thought i'd want a hardcover, but going through my library the books i actually prefer to read are the books that are paper back. So this is the avenue i am going to head down. 

Then i had to think of a name for the publication, by going through this process it has actually forced me to make decisions that i wouldn't have before. So thats good. 

I got a bit confused here, and im still not sure about the paper that i would be printing on, and i think i may ask some advice from lorenzo before i settle on it. Its just a bit confusing. 

examples of weights

I defiantly want my publication to be landscape, this is because there will be case studies etc and i think it adds a nice quality and tactility to the book as opposed to a landscape print. Theres more rooms to layout images. 

With regards to the bind there are a lot of options, but again looking at the books i like and the feel they are all perfect bound, i borrowed lorenzos books to check and see what it was like. But, at this stage, this is the finish i want.

 And of course it will be full colour printing.

Lulu make the whole process very easy, which is nice. 

DC Mapped out

In order for me to start designing the format of the book, and the content i have mapped out the page count for each chapter, the basic structure of the content and how i want the book to run together. This way i have a better idea of what im working to, that way giving me some restrictions to work with.

This now means i can look at places to get it published, so as to get a better feel for the book and how it would go to print. 

Moving Brands, Contact and Book

I contacted Moving brands for both my PPD (EMAILS HERE) and for my DC publication, they are a company that i love and any advice from them would be massively appreciated. So they sent me through a book about how they brand, how it works and why. Which is a huge help and will be a large part of my case study on them. They also sent through a sketch book for me, which is amazing. The design itself is beautiful, and the layout amazing.

DC Presentation

I had a really helpful presentation today. I think i have a fairly clear outline of the strucutre of my presentation and the sort of style i want it to be in. 

I have written up my presentation that clearly outlines the design direction, chapters, sections, headings and content:

The general feedback from it was that because im process driven, and i enjoy working with other materials as opposed to paper i should be outlining that with the design of the publication, maybe having tangible substrates within it instead of just creating a box around it. I should also be maybe focusing on an alternative way of delivering it, as opposed to creating a box. So this is what im going to investigate and see what ideas i can come up with.

DC Presentation

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I have put together my presentation for wednesday morning. This has really helped me outline a clear structure to my DC and i now know exactly what i want to put in it. As well as the people i need to contact in order to better inform my practice. If i get half the references i want then i will be happy, hopefully this will come to fruition, but if not then i have a lot of case studies to do. 

My DC will be broken down into 3 chapters:

// CHAPTER 1

- Branding

including: case studies, about heritage branding, details within branding, and then tips on how to brand

// CHAPTER 2

- Print Processes

including: Old print techniques, new print techniques, case studies on printers, finishes, and tips on specking for print

// CHAPTER 3

- Applied format

including: look book style publication, highlighting favourite work done by artists and studios with evaluations as to the concept and how they have printed their work.