FINAL CRIT (BOOK COVER)

- have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the book 

- be competently executed with strong use of typography

- appeal to a contemporary readership

- show a good understanding of the marketplace(Penguin) 
- have a point of difference from other covers for same book

Is the rationale clear? If not, what is missing?

The followings are the comments and feedback from people in the final crit. I did some final refinements according to the suggestions that they gave. 

main problems:
- words above the eye are too small, might not be legible 
- gap between WNDER nad the O is too big, make the gaps smaller to make the design look visually better
- title on fromt cover and spine might be too big, make them smaller
- the Os look all the same, might change them into different handwritten Os, however I am still thinking whether to change them or not as the O represents Auggie and it i guees the Os should be all the same instead?
- i missed out the O in the quote on the front cover

REFINEMENTS DONE AFTER CRIT

things i did well:
- imaginative concept
- did well in using typographic content
- simplistic and effective content
- visually strong
- good choice of colours

things i think i should improve:
- try to create more collages
- use real objects for designs
- might be too stubborn when it comes to certain specific ideas? 
- should be more experimental 

After the final crit, looking at others work, I realized that people did a good job in making use of existing objects. They did well in cooperating real objects with digitally made elements and I think this is one of my weaknesses. 

This was the work of one of the course mates that I gave feedback on in the crit. I really like how he made use of the collaging method with existing objects and typefaces to creates his own design. He edited the existing objects digitally and made them look less raw which made the design look really good. He also made use of different textures and edited them to fit the theme. I think that the methods he used to create his design are what I should really learn from, as collaging might be the most efficient yet effective way to create a design and a good idea. 

LAST CRIT WITH PAT

Today, we had a quick crit with Pat and the group. As there were 2 final designs that I have no idea which one to choose from, I showed them in the crit and asked people for advice on which one to choose from and what could be refined in terms of the layout.

final design1

 final design2

SUGGESTIONS AND ADVICE

1. Having the space spared out for the Os narrower.

2. The Os on the back cover wasn't really legible. Could be in dark blue like the other letters.

3. "MY NAME IS AUGUST" was repeated. The quote under the eye could arc like the text on top. So that the text would be like wrapping around the eye to make the layout less cliche.

4. The Os on the front cover could be turning into more like a cloud each time when repeated. 

This was the final outcome after all the refinements. 

The final outcome was finally done today and I will proceed to the design boards. I have been working on the design boards lately and was waiting for the final outcome to be completed to finish my design development page and final outcome page. I will finish my design board today and tomorrow so that I will be able to get prepared for printing on Monday morning before the final crit. 

TYPE N LAYOUT REFINEMENT (DEVELOPMENT)

After a quick chat with Ben, some layout refinement is suggested to make the whole design look more cohesive. 

As the text on the back looked too boring if placed in the normal way, Ben suggested to place the "My name is August" on the eye, so that the image can incorporate with the words, also, it can also have readers interpret the eye as Auggie. 

Originally, I was thinking of only having the Os handwritten and other words would be typed out digitally. However, For the "MY NAME IS AUGUST" inside the eye, a handwritten version looked a lot better than the digitally typed out one. It made the design look less flat and more interesting. Therefore, I decided to handwrite the "MY NAME IS AUGUST".

After the crit on Thursday, I tried out the idea of applying all handwritten Os on the back cover. I replaced the original Os with 4 spaces and the hand written O. It turned out really good that the Os can stand out from the text and catch people's attention easily. At first, the Os are in blue, but then I realised that turning them white can make them stand out even more. It also can strengthen the idea behind of how unique and special Auggie was. 

As the text is originally in white, if the Os are in white as well, they won't stand out. Therefore, I ended up using yellow for the Os in the front cover. 

As the thinking bubble aligns with the eye at the back, the idea of turning it into a handwritten O will break the rule. 

Therefore, both of them are being turned into the handwritten O in order to make the front and back cover go well with each other. 

OUGD405 SUBMISSION BRIEF

OUGD405: design process

SB1- micro-genre

-      Final crit on Monday 10am (outcome and design boards)

SB2- penguin book cover 

-      Research, Initial ideas, Design development done by this weekend 

-      Refine final outcome next week 

Deadline: thurs 31^stJanuary (1:30-3:00)

Full submission:

-      Blog 405 (upload on estudio)

-      6 design boards

-      Practical work (flag, packaging, book cover design) (book cover: actual size)

-      Sketchbook

Blog:

Act on feedback 

Aim higher grade

Improve your blog 

Design boards:

Right terminology

Improve research (analyze ideas and reasons behind the work) (not only looking at them visually) (don’t only describe it, find some info on it) 

Talk about crits on design boards àfinal outcome page 

Production of outcomes:

Professional standard 

Should be well made, not like mockups and test pieces 

Digital print: overlay them 

DESIGN BOARDS:

Knowledge and understanding (research and analyze)

-      Range of approaches to research, communication 

-      Describe + analyze 

-      Analyze research using the terminology as approach (look for hanglines, grids, columns…)

RATIONALE: SB1

-      Explain your idea

-      Explain how you used visual language to comm your idea

-      Justify design decisions by linking them to your research 

-      Explain how you used design principles 

Images of:

Front cover only (in actual size)

Cognitive skills (conceptual development and idea generation)

INITIAL IDEAS:SB1

-      Analyse intentions and ideas be.hind experiments 

Practical and professional skills

Practical and profession skills (selection resolution and presentation)

Key/ transferable skills 

CRIT ON BOOK COVERS (DEVELOPMENT)

People really like the idea of

The idea of Auggie breaking apart and turning into something even more beautiful. Pat suggested that the black block below could be turned into triangles and the back cover would be a whole page of triangles pattern. Some also suggested to add some colour onto the design to make it less boring and match with the childrens book theme. Others suggested that the elements could be turned into white. I myself really like the idea behind this design but the visual outcome just isn't pleasing, and that is why i kind of abandoned this design. However, after hearing everyone's idea after the crit on how to refine the design, I decided to pick this design to develop further.

People really like the typeface and the colours used in this design. I personally liked this design a lot as i really like how the elements came out acting well with each other. However, the concept might not be as strong as the one mentioned above.

I picked this design to be further developed and people really like this design as well. 

Pat suggested that in order to make the idea more positive, the Os should be positioned going up instead of going down(which is what I did in the development). 

Also, it could changed into only having one WONDER with the O hand written to make the O stand out, instead of repeating the word WONDER. The O can then extended into a lot of Os n then into a thinking bubble. The thinking bubble will be hand drawn as well in a shape of a cloud, it will then be filled yellow and the text(quote) will be in dark blue. The cloud can then be applied to the back cover to incorporate with text. 

The hand written O could be applied too all Os for the back cover text in order to strengthen the idea of Auggie standing out and being unique. 

As for the author's name, it could be placed arced next to the thinking bubble. Some also suggested that the colours of the spine can be swapped and blue will be on the left and yellow on the right to make the contrast bigger. 

Another idea from the crit is that the O from WONDER could be repeated at the same spot with different sizes to make it look how planets orbit. This is to match with the universe theme.

One of them also suggested that the front and back cover could actually be two separate designs. 

Throughout the crit, Pat also asked me to look at Marion Deuchars's work to see how she uses simple colours and shapes. This can then be added to the artist research section for the design board. 

The above was the development I did after receiving comments from the crit. I changed the O of WONDER into increasing ovals to make it look like planet orbits. They did not turn out good as they didn't match well with the thinking bubble.  

I tried the idea of using the thinking bubble as the back cover as well. I made the words fir the bible by adjusting their sizes. This idea was provoked by the Marion Deucahrs research. It turned out to be really messy. I did the text digitally instead of hand writing them because I would like to only hand write the Os to make the Os stand out. However, the outcome did no work well. The text is hard to read and the it looked messy visually. 

SILENT CRIT ON INTIAL IDEAS (DEVELOPMENT)

- like the use of type that is playful which links well with the childrens book

- eye as an O works really well

- using only the type in front with a closed eye at the back would look good and tie all elements together

Galaxy ripped idea:

- most unique meaning behind 

- use illustration of the same style as the back instead of an image for the front

- bigger rip would be better and more impactful

Dandelion idea:

- use a different font for the back cover as they are hard to read
- the circles diagram idea: circles could be used to reflect the 27 surgeries that Auggie has done

- weakest
- too flat and simple
- approach in a different way
- try photographing real objects to represent "breaking apart"

Rainbow idea:
- colourful: imaginative child-like nature
- head being covered: leaves it open to interpretations as to what he looks like
- text on the back are obscured by some colours--> text could be aligned vertically

Blue astronaut cover:
- favourite
- nice use of bold colours
- hand drawn elements are too dark

- effective illustrations (blackened to symbolise self-consciousness)
- strongest concept as well as visually

Text cover:
- darken meaning could have another interpretation
- the Os look like a thinking bubble --> opportunity to include more imagery

I am really happy that people liked the handwritten WONDER type as it reflects the childish style of childrens book. The closed eye idea for the back cover will be good but i couldn't think of a meaning behind that.

Someone suggested that the font that i used for the dandelion idea is hard to read. The font that I used is WAITING FOR MY GIRL DEMO REGULAR and i downloaded it from dafont.com. Maybe i will handwrite the text at the back to match the title type? The dandelion idea was also said to be too flat and simple, I personally think that the design is a bit too cramped by the text and the the text didn't work well with the diagram. Someone suggested to photograph objects to represent the breaking apart idea, however, I couldn't think of anything that can represent the design, maybe in order to make it less flat, I can add colours to it to make it less simple?

I personally think that the rainbow idea is bit too obvious and with little meaning behind, however people really like how the colourful theme matches all with the childrens book cover. It is true that it can be further developed with a vertical alignment of text for the back cover.

I myself really like the blue astronaut cover visually. The colourful title worked well with the famous WONDER blue. However, compared to the text cover, it has a weaker concept, yet not the weakest I would say?

I really like the text cover as the meaning behind is something I would really want to focus on. (How Auggie is being hurt by the bullies" The three Os are said to be looking like a thinking bubble. It think that this idea could be further developed as the speech bubble could make the cover with only text less dull and boring and match it with the childrens theme.

The modified cover after crit

I used dark blue as the background to symbolise the universe that Auggie likes a lot as well as to make it look more different from the original book cover. Yellow is being replaced to make the O stand out from the contrasting blue. The left one is the modified into a thinking bubble with the Os. The right one is modified into an eye with a big O to represent Auggie. Using only an eye to represent Auggie can keep it open to people's perception on Auggie's face. It also symbolises the hope that Auggie has in his eyes, that he would really like to blend in like the other kids in class.

design refinement and trying out on template

EXPERIMENTING WITH TEXT (DEVELOPMENT)

After staring at the word WONDER for a while, I realised that the O in the word is the only one letter with no strokes. It is made by a closed counter which is like Auggie who tends to trap himself inside a hole, avoiding interactions with people and never coming out. I decided to interpret the O as Auggie and the other letters as the bullies. The bullies are packed and isolating Auggie which the O is placed further away from the W and NDER.  

I then came up with the idea of having the word WONDER repeated with the O becoming smaller each time. This is to symbolise how Auggie is being hurt each time being bullied and that he is becoming smaller and smaller, bounding himself with the circle tighter and tighter. 

Iterations were done with different styles of typeface. I really like the one on the left as the O stands out which visualises the quote "You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out."

It was a productive day today and I felt motivated. The idea above could be the 5th initial idea. I have also added a lot onto the contextual research part and I linked the research to my own design. This was my weakness in Module 403 that I wasn't quite sure how to link my research to my own work. I feel like things are getting better and more on track and I am improving gradually. After all the effort done today, I will be continue working on the back cover of the above design as well as finishing up the design board of Brief 1 which I have been adding on things bit by bit every day.

CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH

WONDER BOOK COVERS

colours

The colour light blue is widely used in the book covers of Wonder. 

Blue in general is a colour that conveys a sense of trust, loyalty, cleanliness, and understanding and it fully expresses the themes of the story of Auggie. Blue portraits the friendship between Auggie and Summer and Jack and shows that trust and loyalty is essential in establishing friendship. Understanding is also another main theme of the story. Auggie's sister understands how Auggie should be specially being taken care of with extra devotion of their parents, Jack finally understands how friendship should be well-established, and of course people's understanding of Auggie is what we should be aware of. This explains why the colour blue is being chosen as the book cover. The blue used is a lighter blue which also dilutes the sadness that the colour blue has given and with the brighter blue, it seems that hope is being added to the colour.

A small proportion of yellow is also being used to create a contrast between the blue. It helps to attract people's attention and make the cover look more interesting and less dull.

Colour red is used in the other version of the book cover. 

Red is one of the top two favorite colors of all people. There may be a reason that the illustrator would like to raise the popularity and the sales of the book as the colour red is highly awarded by people and customers. Red also captures attention it is one of the most visible colors. It also symbolises how Auggie captures people's attention by being unique and different. On the other hand, red conveys anger. Throughout the story, Auggie is being angry and hateful by his own appearance and that he doesn't like his own face. 

typeface

As seen in the above photos, the designer is being clever in using the right typeface. The typeface used on the covers are mostly with a childish vibe and look like they are hand written. Some words are even being crossed out with pencil. This method of using hand written fonts is children friendly and they look like as if they were written by kids. Even with the illustration, the whole aesthetic that the cover gives is attractive to kids(target audience). 

OTHER CHILDREN BOOK COVERS

                           

It is significant that most children book covers are going for a illustration approach. The covers are often hand drawn with many different colours to catch kids' attention. Some typeface are of a hand written style to fit in the raw feeling of the drawings. While others are of a unique style that look interesting and eye-catching. The titles are always centred to make it clear and significant. 

I realised that there is another style of children book covers. They are clean and going for a simplistic and minimal style. I think think is another way of attracting people's attention by only focusing on one object. Only simple outlines of the object is drawn on the covers and this is what makes them eye-catching. It is easy for people to get what the drawings are and gives people a mysterious feeling that they would like to purchase the book in order to know what happens. I believe this simplistic style not only attracts children, but also I wider range of audiences and customers. Putting myself into  the book company's shoe, I believe that attracting as much customers as possible will be one of the biggest goal to achieve. Therefore, not only attracting children, but other ranges of readers is also an important point to think of. Like the book Wonder, children of course is the target audience, however, we should also consider readers of other ranges in order to maximise the sales of the book.

2018 PENGUIN'S CHILDREN'S COVER AWARD WINNERS

I also looked at last year's award winners and found out that they made good use of the typeface that they created. The cover is fully handrawn with illustrations and hand written typeface. The front and the back have words being squeezed into the drawn characters. It shows a very wise method of coperating text and images together as without the text, the image won't be formed. This wise method of placing text and images can be used in my designs for better use of space.

my design provoked by the mentioned method:

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This design made use of the method of photographing. The designer took a photo of a bunch of tied paper slips. The whole design is using the idea of placing words on the paper slips. This methods made the design looks more interesting and less boring. This design is totally different from the first one as there is no hand written or new typeface created, even element is derived from existing objects. Also, the 3 orange slips are extended to the back cover and this could be a good way to attract people's attention and curiosity to the content at the back. This method of extending elements from the front to back can be used in my own design.

my design provoked by the mentioned method:

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This design is quite different from the other two. It combines hand drawn elements and digital elements well to form a cohesive visual outcome. A lot of textures are used -- ripped and folded paper, chalk, fingerprints, water marks, highlight... Although these elements seem to be raw, the digital elements worked well with them after all the editing process. This method of combining hand drawn marks and digital elements could be used in my design to create a rich textured outcome.

                                                             my design provoked by the mentioned method:

THE DESIGNER-- TAD CARPENTER

"You’re able to control what you want the audience to see and feel much more successfully than you might be able to with photography, for example. We create a lot of brand identity systems with illustrative backbones—illustration libraries give such flexibility to who the brand wants to become and how they want to convey a message. It allows you to approach gender, race, age, location, and various other variables in a very natural and easily digestible way."

Tad Carpenter is the designer of the Wonder book cover. He is a designer, illustrator, author and teacher. Tad has illustrated over twenty children’s books on the market today as well as designing over 200 gig posters for musicians, bands and tours. Wonder is one of the most famous covers he designed. The underlying theme is one of joy: bright colors, funny characters, and a whimsical, illustrative style. His design style heavily relies on illustration.  Commenting on his own WONDER book cover design, "From the get-go we knew we wanted to have Auggie on the cover of the jacket in some way, but the challenge was how much of Auggie do we show? We believe that the book itself should be what paints the picture of this captivating character and so we approached the Wonder jacket in more abstract terms. With Auggie’s appearance being such an integral part of the Wonder story, our choice was to abstract the character as to not influence the readers’ perception of who Auggie is, while also creating a metaphor for his facial abnormality."

The idea of not showing the whole face of Auggie is interesting. Tad didn't want the cover to shape how people picture Auggie and I think is the most challenging part of design the cover. How can I create an  Auggie without shaping people's perception on his appearance?  Use other objects to represent Auggie? Astronaut? Planet?

MARION DEUCHAR

This design uses exactly the colours that I would like to use for the thinking bubble idea. The way how Marion placed simple drawings and text together is worth looking at. It is simple, yet eye catching. 

I really like how the text filled the back cover. The drawing from the front cove was used on the back cover as well to make the whole design cohesive. This idea could be used for my thinking bubble design, with the text hand written inside the think bubble in the back cover.