Communicating with Isabella, a member of
the editorial team, a slight design direction was given. An agreement within
the team that a product similar to independent publications such as ‘The White
Review’, ‘Cereal’ and ‘Kinfolk’ – three minimally designed magazines.
The blue texture used on the cover design
and across promotional material, derived from a section of the foreword;
“I don’t know what the point of writing is,
or the ultimate, cosmic purpose of making or reading books that soon enough
will all mean nothing to the rising sea or falling sky. “
The idea of rising seas or falling skies
seemed negative initially however, interpreted with positivity gives such time
before apocalyptic events are to happen, we are to enjoy, blissfully aware.
To appreciate the beauty of a visual
translation of doomsday events is ironic, perhaps too, a homage to the creative
practice, in the sense that the content of the book will ‘all mean nothing’ at
some catastrophic point, but until then, it is here to appreciate, cherish and
enjoy, there’ll always be a reminder of the impending end around the cover.
The title ‘Beyond The Walls’ refers to the
exposure of the student’s work outside of the confines of the walls of York,
built in the Roman period, to defend against undesirables (source). The title of
the publication then relates specifically to the context of York St John
students. The anthology is a collection of work from final year students, the
work does not revolve a specific theme or issue therefore this is the only
manner in which the work can be related collectively.
In terms of research, the manifestation of
the concept taken from the foreword required little research, how best the
translation from written to visual could be conceived was a matter of
conceptual practice. Research through practice in relation to the scale of
typography, colour and commercial considerations such as ISBN and preparing for
print was undertaken (available online).
The ability to create work without a concept, especially on
commercially driven briefs is easier. To appropriate an existing visual
language and the connotations and audience that exist alongside grants a
designer the ability to quickly create contemporary work. It is the principles
held by a designer that define if this practice is acceptable, a designer may
be happy to appropriate, imitate or replicate visual language without worry. I
do not consider myself as a supporter of this practice, imitation and replication
may work for a client but it is my principles as creative that I hold dear, for
sentimentality or increased difficulty, I am yet to identify[KW1] .
Typography:
Serif or Sans Serif
Adobe Caslon (1990) has been used
throughout, with a variation of weights and styles, the font family designed in
Britain pays homage to the traditional idea of writing and the heritage of both
York and the university.
Experiments with sans Serif font families
did not prove fruitful, a clash of modernity and traditional values perhaps.
The use of both a sans or serif font
struggled to relate efficiently enough to the concept to justify a decision
therefore the selection of a font derived from it’s suitability, in this case,
serif.
Why Italic?
Both italicized and regular editions of
Adobe Caslon were attempted, the italic variation was visually pleasing while
objectifying the movement ‘beyond the walls’ as the title portrays. The use of
a regular variation in the cover title subsequently seemed too static.
Image:
To prepare for print the image of course
had to be translated into CMYK, while slight editing granted a greater
brightness/ contrast and hue variation. The image was then cropped to fill the
full spread (cover/spine/back). The composition was to then dictate the
arrangement of typography in order to keep the colour of copy consistent
(experiments in colour variations can be found online).
The formatting, paragraph breaks and
indents were defined by editor JT Welsch, this made the placing and setting of
typography void of difficulty. Placing the entirety of the copy with autonomous
‘placing’, character & paragraph styles tools within InDesign made the
process efficient.
The format A5 dictated a single column grid
as the word count per line in any more than so would have intruded upon the
readability. A point size of 9 was proposed as to reduce the page numbers
(adhering to the strict budget) without constraining the reading.
The two viable alignment possibilities –
left or fully justified were both attempted. Left aligned subsequently left a
rugged right, in comparison to the fully justified alignment; it appeared much
harder to read. The composition of justified copy is both more visually
appealing while resembling the traditional type set literature publications the
target audience may be accustomed to.
Titles and authors names were set in a sans
serif, slighter larger than the copy to the top left of the page in order to
create a hierarchy and the ability to identify the start and end of a writing.
The indent of the authors name certified that the name itself was not be
confused as part of the title – as some pieces did include full names that
could have been mistaken.
Promotional material was created to
coincide with the launch of the anthology. A poster was desired by the YSJ
promotional team; this would adhere to the cover design of the anthology to
retain continuity. Social Media assets were created adhering to the RGB and
image space necessary for a Facebook events page.
The print deadline was met with ease for
the publication to be revealed on the launch event, taking place on the 27th
April. Unfortunately due to miscommunication between YSJ and the printers, the
colour on the cover printed unsaturated and spine details were added without my
knowledge. This editing of my own work reflected the unprofessional manner of
the printers and YSJ, an addition to the design I believe to have negatively
impacted the final product.
A student member of the anthology committee
gave an apology however no remorse or acknowledgement was given from the
creative writing course. Perhaps a matter of incompetence or the disrespect
placed upon the creative student to be any different from the professional
counterpart which can be found in broader fields of education; free work,
unpaid internships and the promise of exposure amongst others.
[KW1]Designer Positioning / principles.
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