OUGD504 - Design for Print - Collaboration

In order to produce a professional outcome I got in touch with Arcane Photography with the hope of using his images in my publication:

The high resolution images allow them to be enlarged enough to provide my coffee table book with full bleed images without pixelation.

Arcane's images capture the raw essence of Bristol's graffiti scene as well as the juxtaposition of typographic styles that surround the urban environment. Collaborating with other creatives has been really beneficial to my project because it has provided me with strong images that are relevant to my concept.

OUGD504 - Design for Screen - Website/Screen Typography

Typefaces used on a website can only be displayed if the computer has that typeface installed, otherwise the typeface will be changed to a default. This becomes problematic for typesetting, especially if a 

Now sites such as google type will download the type once the site is visited.

FontFace Kit - Installs any typeface to the website HOWEVER the typeface becomes available for anyone and everyone - Breaking the license fee

The license fee for type on screen is much higher than for print - Online there is much more exposure

Royalty Free typeface - Free for print however on screen it might not be - Check small print

OUGD504 - Design for Sceen - Concept Review + FEEDBACK

Looking at websites created by/for contemporary design studios has shown me the capabilities of designing for screen. However they highlighted the importance of considering usability to make the website easy and pleasant to use and a minimalist layout achieves this well. People of Print's website has a problematic user interface which creates a frustrating user experience. The content is informative, current and inspirational, however the interface lets it down. I can see potential to improve the user experience by using all available space on screen, engaging visuals and a clear and user friendly interface.

How can I inspire and educate users about print media in a digital age?
How can I bring print media onto screen?
What techniques can I use?
How can I connote print's natural, expressive and personal characteristics on screen?
Print isn't always uniform and consistent - Human error adds personality
How can I communicate the hands on processes used to create print media?
Techniques and processes
How can I make it experiencial?
How can I make People of Print's website an engaging and immersive experience?

Create an immersive and functional user interface for People of Print communicating the creative culture associated with design for print. 

Brainstorm

• Make it engaging and immersive:

Animation, large images, layering

• Clean design

Sans-serif 

Helvetica is a standard typeface for screen because it of its simple and clean form which gives it strong legibility. 

• Pop up boxes instead of new pages

Identified from my research into SLS' website
Better user experience
Engages and stimulates the audience
Easy to navigate - dont get 'lost'

• Make it transferrable between smart phone and website consistently 

Simple and clean layout would be easier to simplify

• Take influences from the creative processes and techniques that are covered to inspire engaging content. 

• Categories

• Large amount of content

Newsfeed
Categories
Events
Contact
Directory

Crit/Feedback

Pitching my concept to a crit group allowed me to articulate the problems that I have identified with People of Print's website. By demonstrating the problems of the website in front of the group allowed them to gain a better understanding of the problem I have identified.

• Good opportunity - Recreating a design website for a design audience provides room for an experimental and immersive interface.
• People agreed that the website content is good, however the delivery lets it down.
• Be careful not to create it just to make it nice - Be objective and solve problems.
• Focus on making it easy to use so I don't frustrate the audience and ultimately make their experience inspirational. 
• Make it work on computer and on mobile. 

The crit made me aware that my solution needs to be objective in order to improve the interface of the site, rather than just change the look. I have identified a range of problems with the site already which gives me confidence that I can create a better solution to finding inspiration online. The crit gave me confidence in my solution for design for screen because they believe it is relevant and apparent that the site has a lot more potential. 

OUGD504 - Design for Print - Pricing

Originally my publication was aimed at a high price range because I have identified a gap in the market as a lot of Bristol's publications are free and printed on cheap magazine stock. This is still appropriate for my finished publication because it will be aimed at a high price of £30 - £40.

Material cost for 1 complete publication:

1 x A1 3mm Grey Board - £1.60

1 x A1 GF Smith Red - £3.60
1 x A1 GF Smith Light Blue - £3.60
2 x A1 GF Smith Green - £7.20

8 x A3 Recycled Stock - £1.50

1m x Black 8mm Binding Tape - £1.40

Binding thread - £3.75

Printing cost

For the GF Smith stock I bought externally, it will cost 50p for ink

5x50p = £2.50
8x£1.50 = £12.00

Print Total: £14.50 

TOTAL: £17.00

In order to make a profit on this publication, I will increase the price to £35 which was my target before printing and production. This shows a profit margin of £18 which is enough to produce another publication.

If I was sending this publication for mass production, it would be a lot cheaper to produce because I can buy the materials in bulk and print the publication on a large print run. However, my publication is aimed to be bespoke and limited edition, therefor the production price will still be large. This suggests that I can make my publication more expensive to cover the time required to make a single publication.

Labour

As I have hand made my publication, a lot of time is dedicated to manual processes such as trimming pages, binding and embossing. Considering the production time and amount of hours spent creating the publication will effect the price:

Trimming and Binding - 1 hour: £10
Typesetting and Embossing - 1 hour: £10

= £20

Using the colleges resources such as typesetting is completely free for me while i'm studying at the University, however in the real world I would either need to buy the equipment or rent a space in a print studio which will be very expensive.

My publication can be taken into commercial printing because the debossing can be done using printing machinery which is quick and cheap and the stock can be bought/printed in bulk, however the bespoke binding method would need to be hand produced. This would still reduce the labour price.

OUGD504 - Design for Print - Final Crit

As I have completed my final publication, I used to final crit session to gather summative feedback in order to see if my publication successfully communicates the aim of my concept.

Summative Feedback

• Pagination and content flows well making the reader want to read on

Pleased with this feedback as I printed out a lot of test layout so that I created a well considered, flowing publication. I also explained how I forgot to press 'print blank pages' and all my pages got mixed up was actually a positive event as it made me rethink my page layouts to be more expressive and engaging. 

• The colours over the double page spreads compliment each other making it easy on the eye.

• Cover looks professional

I was worried the cover was too minimal, hence my research into shelf presence, however the feedback was positive as the minimal cover intrigues the audience to have a look inside it. Using grey board was successful because the rough texture and style is unconventional. 

• I explained my problem when trimming down the pages and luckily people said it wasn't immediately visible however I know for a fact it isn't professional. It was suggested that I needed to trim the sides of the cover so that there wasn't such a big gap between the page and end of the cover, however I like how the pages sit on the grey board as it frames the images of Bristol. 

Further Feedback:

My crit group confirmed that I have used my research into Bristol to inform the production of my publication as I have combined Bristol's environmental awareness with stock choices. I explained how my research into Tschichold and Irma Boom helped to inform the cover of my publication as Boom contradict Tschichold's traditional principles in order to benefit her publication which demonstrated how I have analysed and critiqued my research which they were impressed by. 

OUGD504 - Design for Print - Final Print and Bind

Due to the amount of test prints and mockups I'd created, I am already familiar with the print quality of the stocks, etc. After taking care to make sure my publication was ready to print, I had confidence that the final production would be an easy, simple process.

Cover:

For the final embossing, I had to make sure that the typesetting was lined up to the position of the grey board so that the type was straight and justified equally to the right of the cover. To achieve this, I created a registration sheet for the lead type to sit in relation to the size of the cover.

I tried to get the type as accurate as possible, however it is slightly tilted to the right:

Printing this cover using industry standard embossing/debossing machinery, such as the ones used at Pressision Print, would make for a more consistent debossing as the machinery lines up the bossing plate exactly to the size of publication. This would be particularly useful if I was printing a large number of the publication as they will all be consistent. As I was using an Albion Press, which is traditionally used for printing lino, the results were less consistent.

Binding:

Due to my recent mockups I knew how to bind the publication accurately, making sure that the visible stitch is straight and all the pages fit together flush.

Taking my time and accurately measuring the binding holes was beneficial as visually it was the best bind.

Page Trimming

Each mockup I created from digital print were trimmed accurately, allowing the pages to sit flush together. However as I was trimming my final publication, I noticed that each page was a slightly different size. In order to make the finish professional, I attempted to trim down the pages once again so that they were all consistently the same size.

Reflecting on this, I should have used the electric guillotine, however I manually trimmed the pages using a standard guillotine. This was my biggest fall back for the final print as I took off too much of each page:

Where I have trimmed the pages too much, the type is now justified way too far to the left:

This was a frustrating stage as I can not afford to print out another publication as I have already bound the pages together and would mean buying more stock. I can only learn from these naive errors so that I take more care when trimming my pages and also preparing my document for print.

Print Quality

Non of the image have been pixelated, showing that I set up my images correctly for print:

The full bleed images are sharp and due to the size, make the publication really engaging due to the amount of type and activity:

The publication lies flat when open and closed, even though I exceeded the suggested amount of pages for pamphlet stitch, showing that I have considered my binding allowance accurately. This is another example of why mockups are so useful for quality production.

Zine:

Placing the zine section in the centre of the publication, contained by a double page spread of red card removed the audience from the context of the book, inspired by Printed Pages Issue 02. This was really hard to line up with the rest of the pages as it is a smaller size, however I am pleased with the accuracy:

The matt stocks contrast with the slight shine from the recycled 120gsm stock which also aids to removes the audience from the rest of the publication.

High contrast and bold type to introduce the publication is intriguing so when the audience opens it up, it reveals the introduction:

This forces the reader to turn the page and keep reading.

Decreasing the size of Arcane's logo makes it subtle and doesn't distract the audience from the main content of the publication:

Overall the final print was successful, however carelessness when trimming the pages meant that I decreased the professional value of my publication.

OUGD504 - Design for Print - Preparation for Final Print

In order to prepare my InDesign document correctly for print:

Images

• Using the 'Edit with' tool allows me to edit my images with Photoshop which is then linked with InDesign.
• All images need to be 300PPI
• Actual and Effective PPI
• Convert to CMYK/Greyscale

Typefaces

• Univers was not supported therefor I used the create outlines tool to turn the type into a shape. I then transferred this back to my InDesign file.

Final stock choices

• Using red stock instead of the navy blue is appropriate because it is more prominent on the crest and also contrasts with the white stock.
• Cutting the paper down before printing to save time.
• Preparing the paper for print - GF Smith paper is often rolled up to make it easier to transport, however the printers don't cope well with the curved stock, therefor I will flatten the stock over night. 
• Printing the zine all green 

Document Packaging

Separate documents:

• Main content
• Intro
• Zine

These considerations are really important for sending to an external printers which I am likely to do in the future. 

OUGD504 - Design for Print - Engaging Target Audience

In order to engage Bristolian's throughout the publication, I used various techniques such as the quotations and combined photographic subjects over double page spreads.

In order to portray Bristol's rebellious charm, I combined Fuller's negative quote alongside a Bristolian's common saying:

Once the audience reads the quote with 'inconsistencies' strikethrough they are then exposed to the bold quotation, offering a humorous and informal tone of voice, juxtaposed next to the traditional typeface. Repeating the 'R' imitates the phonological

Highlighting the security camera using a box frame further supports Bristol's inconsistencies as the image captures the beautiful architecture, juxtaposed with modern technology. It is also reminiscent of Banksy's artwork which Bristolian's will recognise.

Post box covered in promotional stickers and graffiti alongside the old and worn traditional typography. 'Not Sundays' creates humour next to the postbox as the postal service doesn't run on Sundays:

Stickers

Every other bin, letterbox and wall is covered with a plethora of stickers advertising DJs, artists and online podcasts, etc. I can utilise this unique addition to cities by creating a sticker to promote my publication and give it more shelf presence.

Researched into promotional stickers to identify the trends:

• Circular sticker
• Comic Sans - Friendly/Unprofessional
• Red contrast well with white to draw attention

• Range of colours and typography finishes
• Red seems to be a common theme
• Change in scale/finish of typefaces
• Typesetting at an angle is more emotive and leads the eye. 
• Emotives such as exclamation marks 

Aiming for my sticker to be grotesque and distasteful by using vibrant and contrasting colours in order to draw the audiences attention to my publication:

Typing on a circular path allows me to take advantage of the available space so that I can fit in all the relevant content:

• Free Zine
• LTD Edition
• Contributions

Experimented with the hierarchy of the information and colour palette:

• Pink will contrast well against the dull grey board
• Green influenced by environmental considerations
• Helvetica Bold - Easily legible on small scale 
• Comic Sans - Influenced by my research - Playful and friendly
• Contrast in colours is playful
• Doesn't take itself seriously
• Even though 'Free Zine' isn't at the top of the page, the fact that it is in bold oblique and contrasting with the background attracts the audiences eye so it's the first thing they see - Highlighting USP.

I printed out variations of sizes and colour to cut out and test on the front of my publication:

Immediately noticed the darker more vibrant shade of pink is more contrasting with the grey board and green typeface. 

Usually, the sticker is placed in the top right corner of the publication/vinyl so that it is the first thing the audience can see:

However, I aim for the title to be in the top right corner of the publication which is appropriate for the small typeface as the two edges of the grey board act as a frame so doesn't get lost.

To overcome this I can print numerous stickers of different sizes, each with their own specific content:

This distracts the audience from the title of the publication. To get a better idea of the layout of the front cover, I roughly letter pressed my title into its original position and asked for feedback on where the sticker would be most appropriate.

It became apparent that the sticker can be placed on the cover randomly, making each publication unique with its own placement. Sticking the sticker at an angle also makes each publication unique and reflects the natural, inconsistent placement of stickers found around the city.

The pink contrasts well with the grey board and almost diverts the audiences attention away from the title, however this is appropriate for a publication based on Bristol because it represents my findings. The playful and inconsistent sticker will be eye catching and ultimately give my publication more shelf presence.

The digital print services at the college provide the facilities to print these stickers in matt or gloss. A glossy finish will contrast with the matt, grainy grey board.

Concept Review

After producing test prints and exploring where the sticker would be placed, I received contradicting feedback about how relevant the sticker would be. Although it makes the cover more eye catching, providing the book with more shelf presence, people thought it ruined the minimal cover. Although the concept is well informed by my research, I made the decision not to include the stickers on the final resolution because it could be perceived as careless which is something I have been aiming to avoid.

OUGD504 - Design for Print - Shelf Presence

The front cover of my publication is extremely simple due to the small point type and large amount of white space on the grey board. Therefor my publication may get lost on a shelf full of books. Even though my original concept for the cover is to be minimal, I aim to devise a solution to make my publication stand out so that people want to pick it up and explore the unique content.

Edward Rajewski - 'Stand Out—Three Key Steps To Improving Shelf Presence'

Director, Strategy & Relationships at Resource Integrated Ltd

LinkedIn

The article is aimed at creating a new brand/packaging for a product so that it sells, however I still managed to identify some key points that can help add commercial value to my publication:

'Be Fearless

By fearless, I mean that you should take creative risks and be bold when developing a private label brand. If your products appear weak on the shelf, consumers won’t consider them. Shoppers are more willing now than ever to try new products, particularly in today’s economic climate.'

Relates to my vibrant pink and green colour scheme - Vibrant and contrasting making them stand out. 

'Communicate Confidently

To be truly authoritative, a private label brand should have character and it should communicate confidently.'

Textured grey board and monochrome text will contrast with the vibrant sticker - communicating Bristol's eccentric culture.

'Develop a Personality

Finally, develop a personality. If your packaging doesn’t already have a personality, create one through in-store marketing programs.'

Reflecting Bristol's personality through the production and content.

Village Bookstore 

Referring back to my visit to Village Bookstore, I noticed all the publications were stacked behind each other so that only the tops and sides of the publications at the back could be seen/recognised. As my title is at the top right, the audience will be able to see this and potentially pick it up. In order to further entice the consumer, a sticker would inform the audience on the special content of the book so they want to open it and find it for themselves.