Evaluation of AF101

Overall I really enjoyed this project and the development process my designs underwent. The main thing I enjoyed was the ability to use the skills I acquired on Illustrator for a different purpose and incorporating Photoshop into the process. I also learnt how to use InDesign which was a challenge but hopefully I can develop my understanding of it a bit more in the future. 

Working on a live brief was also quite exciting as it gave me the opportunity to see how what I was designing would be viewed in a real-world scenario. Working to very specific constrains within the brief also kept my focus on the overall objectives a bit more than it otherwise would've. The increased compatibility and cross-program issues were also a good eye-opener for me when it comes to working on different designs for the same project.

I think my increased understanding of the software I used has been very beneficial to me and I think that my furthered understanding translates into the overall quality of my final designs.   

Written Statement

Overall I believe that my design fulfills the criteria outlined in the Competition Brief by Penguin. In the brief they say that they’re looking for a fresh angle because the story is so well known, my choice to include Art Deco styling is how I set about achieving this. I feel that it sets off enough visual cues in the target audience to place the book firmly in its time period, while also retaining relevancy. It also says to give the clear message that ‘there are many layers and themes within the book. Read it and discover what the book means to you.’ By choosing to have the figure of the woman (representing several characters) across the spine of the book and not entirely visible from the front I tried to create an air of  mystery and intrigue, compelling the reader to read the book to find out the intentions of the characters. This feeling of mystery an suspense was very important to my design as its at the core of the whole book itself.

In terms of Semiotics, the placement of the two characters on the cover (Marlowe pursuing the woman from a distance as she walks away,) bring about connotations of some hidden relationship dynamic between them, further increasing the feeling of mystery for the observer. The narrative set-piece of a man pursuing a woman is also something people will be able to relate to on a certain level as its been used in many plots before, and has subsequently become a part of popular culture. The clothing and other signifiers within the design also point clearly to the genre and period of the book, giving rise to significant intertextuality which lets the viewer easily understand the overall mood of the book (gritty hard-boiled detective novel) before they even need to read the blurb. I believe this juxtaposition of the style and content to be very important in enabling me to use the stereotypical imagery of the genre (smoking, femme fatale, trench coat and hat etc.) while maintaining a fresh angle on the design. The inclusion of one male and one female on the cover also maintains gender neutrality, ensuring the cover will appeal to male and female readers as outlined in the Penguin brief.

The consistent colour scheme of blue also brings together all the elements of the front, back and spine, helping them work together as a cohesive design. When compared to other designs in the competition, I think my simplistic use of colour and unusual Art Deco styling should set it apart from the majority of the other entries. I feel that I’ve maintained consistency throughout my design in terms of style as the fonts used make a direct reference to the era the  visual content has been drawn from. I think the visual relevancy of the Art Deco styling is also very strong as it is making a resurgence in popular culture at this time. With big films like ‘Gangster Squad’ (same time period and themes as The Big Sleep) making heavy use of Art Deco inspired graphic design and layouts I think my design should fit very well with current trends, without compromising the heritage and integrity of the content.

Testing My Design

As part of my written statement about the effectiveness of my design, I thought it might be useful to Photoshop my cover over the existing cover in a book shop environment:

Overall I think my design sits nicely in its target environment, but I'll go into more detail about my thoughts in my written statement.

Branding Guidlines

After being set the task of drawing up some branding guidelines for my poster and book cover I thought I'd look at some existing branding guidelines for some inspiration and research. The first comprehensive one I found was for Starbucks. I like their example because even though its only for a logo and tag line, they cover every aspect of its potential usage. Here are a few example pages I picked out:

 

Post Crit Changes

 After the Crit I made a few changes to my book cover and poster. On my book cover, I changed the colour of Marlowe's trousers to match the colour on the poster, as the general opinion was that it looked much better. I also added a drop shadow to the title as I was worried that the title didn't really stand out enough. The female characters hair was also darkened to match the trousers on Marlowe because it frames the whole cover better, I asked around the class and most people seemed to agree, which I believe validates my choice.

On my poster I changed the title to match the one on the book, including the drop shadow. I believe this will increase the brand continuity, leading to better recognition by the public. No other changes were made as the rest of the poster was already pretty simple.

Pre Crit Design

These are my pre-crit designs, since my last update I've added the figure of the detective and the necessary text on the front and back. Overall I think I've stuck to my planned aesthetic, with the detective novel meets 40s Deco idea. I've also added a dress to the woman with a subtle gradient on her legs. The path and opacity was also adjusted to make it look like Marlowe was being led by it.

 

With my poster, I tried to keep a very simple and clean look as it has to attract attention right away. I chose to use the isolated character of Marlowe on the poster because he's very isolated in the story and is also the main focus of the book.

More Typography Inspiration

In order to get a little bit more inspiration for the typography in my cover I visited Waterstones and had a look at the Crime/Thriller section for some covers and typography that I Iiked:

Using Photoshop

As I had done the layout for the title in greyscale I thought I should add some blue to the design. My first step was to paste the design into Photoshop as a Smart Object. I then rasterised the object so that I could use filters with it. It was rasterised at 5000 pixels wide at 300dpi to ensure total clarity once it was brought back into Illustrator.

 

 

I then applied a photo filter of the same base colour of my design (CMYK based), this was to make sure all colour corrections would fit visually when added to my design in Illustrator. After making the first change, I copied the title and used the 'Place' function in Illustrator to add it to my design. This meant that Illustrator would reference the image that was being changed in Photoshop after each save. This meant that I didn't have to insert and resize the design every time I changed it, making comparisons between much easier. Once I settled on a final version, I unlinked the image so I would be fully embedded in the document without any referencing, this means that it will display correctly even if the original image is moved/deleted/altered.

 After first Photo Filter:

 

Second Photo Filter at a higher intensity:

 Brightness/Contrast/Vibrancy all edited:

Manual 3D Title

After deciding to change the title font to Zingende Regular, because I think it's a lot more dynamic and interesting, I tried to add a 3d effect in Illustrator with little success. I thought the lighting wasn't looking right despite many adjustments so I decided to manually draw out the 3d forms of the letters, using a copy of the title of a guide and the gradient function to add shading. 

I found this to be a very time consuming task and in future if I need a 3d effect I will probably try to find a better way of doing it.
 

Further Developement

I've added the Authors name down the spine and added the cigarette/smoke. At the moment I think the ends of the smoke need changing as the shapes look slightly odd.

First Bits of Layout

Finished the first few bits of my first layout with the title, authors name and some artwork from my sketchbook scanned in and traced. The font I ended up using for the title was Market Deco, which I think suits the era, while keeping it interesting by added a different edge to it. The authors name uses the font Carrosserie, which is quite easy to read while keeping the Art Deco feel with its subtly lowered mean line. 

I'm still not 100% convinced on the colours as I'm not sure where to introduce any greys/oranges and per my decided colour palette. 

Visual Styles

I found these posters for the National Park service during my research which has really inspired and informed the style of my book cover. They're all from the early 40s so the era matches when the book was set, but I feel that they have a much more modern feel then most of the graphic design of the time, ensuring any visual cues I take from them won't be too dated. 

In particular, I like the very constricted colour palette that minimises the amount of colours, while keeping enough of a varitey to add contrast. This is something that I hope I can effectively carry over into my final design. 

 

 

Film Noir Title Cards

 
Seeing as The Big Sleep has themes in common with Film Noir, as well as a film adaption that fits very well into the genre, I thought I'd look at some Film Noir title cards for inspiration with my typographic choices.

The natural place for me to start would be the 2 title cards I managed to find for the film version of the book. Both have typefaces very typical of the era (serif with shadowing) but seem to feel very dated and fixed to that period, leaving its use for a current book cover very limited. 

One thing I have noted from the title cards is the use of quotation marks around the title of the film. This is common of the period and something I might consider working into my design.

Research into Previous Book Covers

 This cover is the first edition version of the book cover. I personally don't like it very much, the shadowing of the title seems very awkward and greatly reduces the legibility of the word "THE." The choice of colour also seems quite jarring. I do like the rough texture though, as it reflects the gritty subject matter and storyline of the book.

 

 This cover was used for the book in the 1980s. I feel like this cover is much stronger visually, although not as good as it could be. The typeface for the title of the book seems to have a very 50s feel to it, which is a decade late for the novel. The image of the man however, has a very strong visual impact in the way it has been cut off, creating an air of mystery, matching the tone of the book.

 

 This is the current cover of the book used by Penguin. I think the use of silhouettes is very effective, creating a very unique atmosphere. The Saul Bass inspired typography also gives it an unusual and interesting feel. I'm not the biggest fan of the colours used but it make sure it stands out against the crowd. 

Choosing a Book

After some thought, I've decided to choose The Big Sleep as my book to design a cover for. I feel like it has very strong imagery and mood to it, which should help me gather much more concepts for my final design. Gritty crime novels are also something I'm not very familiar with so I think it will not only provide a challenge, but also allow me to approach the design with an open mind. 

The Penguin Complete version of the cover.

 

The next step for my project will be to finish reading the book and then generate some initial designs. 

 

AF101: Visual Communication

The Brief:

"Design a book cover following a supplied competition brief (The Penguin Design Award) Then adapt this design into an A2 Poster, advertising the re-launch of a book."

For the competition there is a choice of 2 books:

            The Big Sleep: The Big Sleep is an American mystery novel from 1939, written by  Raymond Chandler.  

‘The Big Sleep is a story of sex, drugs, blackmail and high society narrated by a cynical tough guy, Philip Marlowe. As such, it provides the template for much of the urban crime fiction which came after, as well as most modern Hollywood thrillers.'

            The Wind in the Willows: The Wind in the Willows is a classic children's book first released in 1908. It follows the lives of Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mole and the adventures they get up to.

I've started to read both books and look forward to working on a live brief.