OUGD504 - Studio Brief 03 - Evaluation

Evaluation 

I really enjoyed this brief as it has enabled me to improve on my previous skills on layouts and editorial design as well as improving my knowledge and skills on book binding. 

Although there are a few things that did go slightly wrong and would’ve had to be corrected if my book was to be published on a commercial level.  These included: the quality of my photos was quite poor due to my photos being taken on an iPhone. This would be easily corrected by using a professional camera. Although I did use a few photo editing and layout techniques on Photoshop to improve the visual appearance of them. I also found it very difficult to design the dust jacket. As it was challenging to ensure it was an accurate measurement and fit around the hard cover bind. After realising I couldn’t do it accurately without actually making the hardback cover first I still found that a couple of my designs on it weren’t in the right place. For example, the wavy circle on the front page wasn’t central due to this. I also used a slightly thicker stock, so it didn’t stay round the cover without the use of sticky tape, I didn’t use glue, as I wanted it to be removable without leaving a mark.

If I had managed my time more effectively I would’ve measured each element out accurately and got better quality photos. But all in all, I was really pleased with the outcome of my book as it looked really visually pleasing and it solved its purpose.

I have carefully considered the production of this book by doing various binding methods rather than the contents. I felt the binding method I chose the most professional looking with also adding my own twist of a dust jacket which was their for visual appearance rather than collecting dust on a library shelf, I wanted people to want to pick up my book and read it in stead! Each page was designed to be easily read and a quick source of information.