OUGD603 - Research led brief - Developments

For the digital development of the book I set the document up in Indesign as A5 pages. I wanted the book to be handheld and portable while being also being compact, with dense style information inside which is influenced by research into Japanese graphic design trends. As I wanted flexibility within the compositions for the mix of images and body copy, I used a 10x20 column grid with a 4mm gutter. This allowed me to experiment with how I placed various sized images on the grid, yet remaining consistent throughout. I wanted to test numerous grids at the start as it would let me apply content quickly when designing the book. This particular grid proved to be the most accommodating for the content of the book.

Establishing typography early on was also crucial as it can determine the look and feel of the book so I didn't want to design the majority of the book to then change typography which will inevitably completely change it. I knew from early on that a mix of sans serif and monospace typefaces would be my preferred style for the book. A sans serif for body copy then a monospace for titling or page numbers etc. I wanted these two types as they help create a system of order within in the book as well as giving it added character. I also kept in mind research to this point on Japanese design, and nothing really inspired typography to this point. One factor could have been an influence is mix of languages which is popular in Japanese graphic design. Yet including both English and Japanese wasn't considered as I didn't see the relevance of this. As I could only maybe use Japanese for titles and page numbers as translating English to Japanese is never straightforward.

From the selection I made I decided to choose Moderat and Tuner as these two combine the nicest I believe but also the two can work in different scales and weights, and be applied for both body copy and headline which gives them more of an offering over the other type choices.

To begin with I started placing content in to test the grid and aimed to establish a system. By creating rules it would make the designing twice as easy, as for many spreads they would just fall into place. Also making image composition templates was crucial, as again it saves time but also creates a cohesive look within the book.

I made rules within the editorial such as the title will always be aligned to the page number, while the body copy is aligned to the sections. This creates an indent between the title and body copy, but also creates a structured column throughout all the spreads. The body copy is flush left with a line length of approximately 9-10 words.