Week 1-Week 7
Wang Shengxiao/0369380
Bachelor of Design(Honours) in Creative Media
Publishing Design / Final Compilation & Reflection
TABLE OF THE CONTENT
- Lecture
- Instruction
- Process
- Task 1: Exercise
- Task 2: Content Generation
- Task 3: Book & Ebook
- Submission
- Feedback
- Reflections
- Further Reading
Lecture
Week 1 LectureLecture 1 - Formats (Publication Format)
Publishing design combines font layout, layout design and visual
presentation.
Common types of publishing include: books, newspapers, magazines, electronic
journals, etc. As designers, we create these works for mass communication.
Books are one of the oldest and most influential forms of publishing.
Designing a book is not merely about typesetting; it demands that designers
possess an understanding of font layout, a sense of space, and an extremely
high sensitivity to details. In addition, the use of professional design
software is also indispensable.
The format of books mainly includes: binding method, paper type, font size
and size.
Early book forms in various regions:
The Mesopotamian civilization: The earliest writing system originated from
counting marks and later developed into complex pictographic symbols,
engraved on clay tablets.
The Indus Valley civilization: Less written information has been preserved,
but it is known that they also used cuneiform script, which was engraved on
soft clay.
Egyptian civilization: Only "clerks" could read and write hieroglyphics, and
they used papyrus to record.
In the Han Dynasty of China, the earliest Chinese characters were written
vertically on bamboo slips and connected with strings. Later, reel printing
was developed.
Turkey and Europe: Turkey invented parchment and it spread to Europe. In
Europe, folding paper is used, woodblock printing is employed, and the paper
is sewn into volumes.
Lecture 2 - Print History
In China, from the 2nd to the 8th century AD: During the Eastern Han
Dynasty, the emperor ordered Confucian classics to be engraved on stone
tablets, and scholars preserved the characters through rubbing.
In South Korea, in 750 AD, the world's earliest printed matter - a one-page
Buddhist scripture - emerged.
During the Nara period in Japan, the empress ordered a large number of
amulets to be printed, which was said to be as many as one million.
The world's earliest printed book: The Vajracchedika Sutra scroll from the
Tang Dynasty of China in 868, which is 16 feet long and contains
illustrations of Buddha statues, is the world's earliest printed illustrated
book.
Movable type printing (China) : In the 11th century, China attempted to make
reusable movable type from clay, but due to the large number of Chinese
characters and the fragility of the material, its application was limited.
Korean improvements: At the end of the 14th century, copper-cast movable
type was used, and in 1443, the Korean alphabet was created, making
typesetting more efficient.
European Development
Around 1400, woodcut printing was introduced to Europe and was first used
for religious images and playing cards.
Gutenberg invented the metal movable type printing press in 1439 and
launched the famous Gutenberg Bible in 1455, achieving efficient batch
printing.
Lecture 3 - Typography (Fundamentals of Font Design)
Font design to graphic design is like air to life; it is a core skill that
designers must master.
Common characters include: upper and lower case letters, numbers,
punctuation marks, mathematical symbols, special symbols, etc.
Legibility of fonts is of vital importance. It is recommended to use open
and common fonts such as Garamond and Bodoni.
Character typesetting involves:
ascender, x-height, descender
When using capitalized first letters, superscripts and subscripts, and
italics, attention should be paid to the usage scenarios
The font should not be stretched or deformed, nor is it recommended to
thicken the border of the font
Layout details
It is recommended that each line should not exceed 65 characters
The character spacing and line spacing should be adjusted according to the
font size
Pay attention to dealing with "widow" and "orphan"
The alignment should be chosen reasonably: left alignment is easier to read,
while center alignment is suitable for formal occasions but should not be
used too frequently
The indentation at the beginning of a paragraph should be moderate and
usually consistent with the font size
Lecture 4 - The Grid (Grid System）
The grid is a powerful tool for organizing information and a manifestation
of structuring design work.
It divides a page into multiple identical or different areas, allowing text,
images and ICONS to be arranged in an orderly manner.
Using a grid can make the page content clearer, more logical and
aesthetically pleasing at the same time.
In book typesetting, grids help us build a unified yet varied page layout.
Lecture 5 - Elements (Book Design Elements)
The main components of book design include:
Format (binding, size, layout, paper)
Visual elements (photos, graphics, colors, etc.）
Text content
When using these elements reasonably in the grid, it is necessary to avoid
monotony of the layout while maintaining overall unity.
We can achieve the effect of consistency and flexibility coexisting through
modular layout, making each page both varied and harmonious
Fig.3.1 Exercise for book size (pdf)
Signatures-Exercise 2
Fig.3.2 Exercise for signatures 1 (jpeg)
Fig.3.3 Exercise for signatures 2 (jpeg)
Van De Graff-Exercise 3
Fig.3.4 Exercise for Van De Graff (pdf)
Digi Van De Graff-Exercise 3A
Fig.3.5 Exercise for digital Van De Graff (pdf)
Determining Grids
Fig.3.6 Exercise for Determining Grids (pdf)
Form & Movement Exercises
- 1 Colour
- 2 Colour
- 2 Colours + Image
- Colour + Image + Text
Fig.3.7-3.10 Exercise for Form & Movement (jpeg)
Fig.3.11 Exercises for Form & Movement (pdf)
Task 2 / Content Generation
📘 Book Design Project Brief
Design and create a 32-page book that is smaller than A4 but larger than A5.
a: Writing
Write 3000 words in English or Malay on a topic you are familiar with.
Choose any of the following topics or something similar:
Yourself / Your family / Someone who inspires you / Your hometown / A meaningful experience, belief, or idea
Structure Requirements:
At least 3 chapters
3 to 5 subtexts (sidebars or supporting content)
1 caption per chapter
You may:
Use original writing / Use text from a credited source / Work with a real client if the project fits the criteria
Fig.3.12 The 3000 words for my story (pdf)
b: Visualisation
After completing your writing:
Identify 16 areas in your text for visual interpretation
Use any medium that suits your topic:
Illustration / Photography / Mixed media / Other creative approaches
Since my story is related to my own growth experience, I choose to visualize my words through real photos. These photos are all true records of what really happened in the story. After I found these photos, I edited and adjusted them to make them more in line with my memory stories, and I adjusted them to a blues, retro and nostalgic style.
For some of the photos, I kept the time records in the corners to enhance the authenticity of the photos, and for some others, I added a film style.
Since I have applied filters and color adjustments to the photos, raised their
dpi to 300, and exported them in tiff format, they cannot be directly added to
the blog. Instead, I have integrated them into a folder on Google Drive.
This is my color palette
Fig.3.13 The color palette for my book (jpeg)
Fig.3.14 The margins and columns for my story (jpeg)
Task 3 / Book & EBook
Fig.3.15 The 3000 words with highlight for my story (pdf)
Fig.3.16 The photography for my story (pdf)
Attempt 1
In terms of book size, I chose a wider one (200mm*230mm) because I have
always been fond of children's picture books since I was a child, and
most of them have a wider page size. I think this size can make people
feel clear and novel.
Fig.3.17 The book size for my story book (pdf)
Fig.3.18 Attempt 1 with reference lines and grids (pdf)
Fig.3.19 Attempt 1 without reference lines and grids (pdf)
Fig.3.20 The art font for title in Attempt 1 (pdf)
The main reason for the error here is that the handwritten art font
(Ananda) I initially used was suddenly banned from embedding and exporting
one day. However, both my cover and title require this handwritten font,
so I had to start making the second version.
Attempt 2
Fig.3.21 Attempt 2 (pdf)
This is my second edition of the book and also my first printed physical
book. However, the visual effect of the printed version is slightly
different from that on the computer. The font size of the titles on the
cover and table of contents needs to be reduced, and the font size of
the page numbers on each page also needs to be reduced because they are
somewhat overshadowed by the main text. The wider page size requires
more blank space. Make the visual effect appear cleaner. On this basis,
Ms. V also told me that some small materials could be added to enrich
the visual elements.
Attempt 3
Fig.3.22 Attempt 3 (pdf)
This is my third edition of the book. After comparing it with the printed
physical version, I reduced the font size of some titles and page numbers. I
changed all the main text from being placed entirely on the left to being
aligned on the left, making it look neater visually. Then I added some very
small note elements in the blank Spaces. I also followed Ms. V's suggestion
to add a closing statement on the back of the book, reduced the size of the
barcode on the back of the book, and changed it to white
Submission
Layout
Fig.4.1 The layout (pdf)
Spread Version
Fig.4.2 The spread version of the book (pdf)
Fig.4.3 The pages version of the book (pdf)
EBook
Fig.4.4 The EBook
Poster
Fig.4.5 The posters for the Book (pdf)
Physical book
Fig.4.5 The pictures for physical book (pdf)
Video for Physical book
Fig.4.6 The video for physical book
Feedback
Week 13
Finish presentation，Completed
Week 12
I showed the final printed work to Ms. V. Generally speaking, my work
was just so-so. It should be noted that for a book of my width, there
should be more blank space. Then we found that the font size of the
title of the content was too large after printing, and the position and
size of the page numbers needed to be modified. After comparing the
printed books, continue to make minor adjustments.
Week 11
We learned some knowledge about the font size of books and the layout of
materials. After completing the book design, we need to print it out.
Week 10
This week, I need to finish the cover of the book, then export the
layout of the book as a pdf, put all the pages on one page and print it
out.
Week 9
I learned about book covers. This week, I asked for leave because I was
ill.
Week 8
No classes
Week 7
The overall layout is somewhat odd. It is worth noting that the text needs
to maintain the same margins from beginning to end.
Week 6
After confirming our image materials, we need to start trying to layout
them. For the images, it is necessary to ensure that their DPI must all be
300. Modify them in ps, and the images placed in Indesign must be psd or
tiff.
Week 5
The first half of our book needs to focus the pictures on the left side to
arouse the readers' interest, while the right half places the text. This
class covers the knowledge of typesetting, and we need to complete task 2
in class.
Week 4
Ms V explained some tips on how to adjust words in Indesign. We need to
complete three exercises related to adding pictures and text.
Week 3
We completed the classroom exercise of movement in class. Ms V taught us
the knowledge about books, and then continued to complete the exercise and
found 10 pictures.
Week 2
Ms. Vitiyaa taught us a lot of professional knowledge and practice skills
about books. Next, we need to continue to improve the practice and
complete a 3,000-word story.
Week 1
Module briefing, watch the lecture videos and do the exercises.
Reflection
Overall, the learning process of this course was not very pleasant. Because
although I worked very hard and actively sought advice from my friends, the
feedback I received was still not very good, and then I felt a sense of
powerlessness. However, I have learned a great deal of book design skills from
this course. Ms. V patiently guided me that the most important thing in
designing books is to maintain symmetry and balance. I am also very grateful
to my classmates and friends for always giving me some good suggestions. And I
think this course is actually very meaningful to me. Because at this time,
both my brother and my grandmother were ill, so my mother was not in a good
mood. But when I told her that the homework for this course was about the
music stories of my childhood, although she was very concerned about my past
experiences, she was also very glad that I had included it in my homework.
Further Reading
New Page Design: Layout and Editorial Design
Paperback – August 16, 2022
by Wang Shaoqing(Editor), Jose Moreno(Foreword)
by Wang Shaoqing(Editor), Jose Moreno(Foreword)
New Page Design: Layout and Editorial Design, edited by Wang
Shaoqiang and prefaces by Jose Moreno, is a richly illustrated guide that
compiles contemporary examples of editorial layouts from magazines, posters,
catalogues, books, and booklets. This book is really perfect for designers
and those who are interested in typesetting and visual arrangement. It has
many design cases for reference.
The book begins by covering a lot of basic knowledge. The first part delves
deeply into layout principles - paper size, grid, typesetting size - and
explains how to effectively arrange fonts, images, colors, and objects on a
page. It's really useful, especially for those of us who are learning to do
projects like magazines, books, or brochures. If the foundation of
typesetting is not solid, It will be very difficult to continue from now on.
What attracts me most is the real projects from different design studios
around the world displayed at the back. For instance, works from studios in
Germany, Japan and the United States have all been included. Each example
includes insights such as interviews and layout segmentation, as well as
"tips and tricks" to demonstrate how to enhance visual hierarchy, partial
interaction, and information clarity. Not only can it be visually pleasing
to the eye, but also one can understand how they think about the layout and
how they use colors.
It's not just about showing off "beauty", but truly telling you "how to be
beautiful", which I really like. Moreover, the design styles are diverse,
some are minimalist and some are very avant-garde, which can inspire a lot
of creativity.
Overall, this book is very suitable for those who are engaged in visual
design, graphic typesetting or are interested in print publishing. It
contains both theory and reference.
Comments
Post a Comment