Similarly to the images making this tests were made a varying stages of the images being finished and so not all have all the images. I decided to keep the first batch together as the changes are minimal at first but I feel that it is important to bring them together to show the progression over from test to test.
Test 2
Evaluation of test 1:
“With the speech bubbles they don’t work well with square images and sometimes there is a disconnect with the digital images. It has also been pointed out by my peers that the repeat of the same style of speech bubble gets boring which is something I should work on when I move on to the next tests. I will also need to modify the bubbles to fit the images in which I produce.”
For this test I focused on working out these speech bubbles. I tested a few different types of bubbles but was still having issues with them matching the tone of the illustration. This test has really exposed that the speech bubble style I want to use just docent work with a wide range of mediums. This tests has been informative as I intend to move on from using the speech bubbles and focus on the layout of the images.
Test 3
In this last test I had discovered the large challenges that came with trying to make the speech bubble work consistently and work with images of different media and large sizes. In this tests I made one more attempt to make them work by experimenting with Digital versions. While the digital speech bubbles are easy to make and work with any with size, I just think they look un appealing and boring and don’t communicate the concept. I think that the double page spreads of the images on there own looks really impressive and is something that I think works well and is something I would like to focus on when I move forward.
Test 4
Following non from making the decision in the last test to move on from the speech bubbles I decided to make a test of having the images large on there individual pages. I also added numbers to start progressing the design of the book. Looking back and comparing this test to others I do think I made the right design to remove the bubbles as now there is much more focus on the images and the connection between the person and their strange place is much more intimate. I also tested changing the colour of the pages to help some images stand out but when I showed some of my peers they dint like this and said that the plain white pages work just as well if not better.
Test 5
When looking back on the last test I realised that while not having text was a really nice idea while I still had the speech bubbles now they work gone the concept pf the book was unclear and some of the images no longer had context. This is why I decided that I now need to include text and more specifically the answers to the interviews. The first font I tries was Ultra, but I really dislike hoe think it was and new imidelty that it didn’t work as it docent work with small text and it is overbearing so distracts from the images.. I also experimented with using handwritten text that I scanned in myself but ultimately I believe that this process would take way to long. Looking forward I need to find a better font and work on better layouts of text and image.
Test 6
On of the major changes from the last test is that I have switched the font to Helvetica. This allows for the focus to be on the images but is still readable and professional. I also started wrapping up the overall design of the book adding an introduction, a title page and images opposite these pages. Test 1 comment on cover “Personally when looking back at the cover I think that while the text and the overall composition is poor I do feel that it has a personal touch and is something that sets up the book quite nicely’ Since then I have decided more feedback that the cover just isn’t good enough and have decided to remove it and have put aside time to start from scratch. In test 4 I tested using different colour pages to help the images stand out and while I didn’t end up using it I started experimenting with different ways to do this. The solution I have found is to add nice colours to the backgrounds of images so that the images can stand out but the whole page colour isn’t changed.
Test 7
For test 7 I had an initial idea for the cover which I sketched on the front and following form this test I will go on to develop. Following the new cover design I decided that I will also need to develop the back cover to march the front. I decided to print out his test so that I could then go though it with a pen. One of the more thing I need to work on is the structure of the text on the pages, it was suggested that I should start looking at guides to make sure it is the same throughout. This is something that I will look into after I take a brief break to design the cover and the back cover.
Ewan Turners Blog 