Publishing Design - Task 1

23.9.2024 - 03.1.2025 / Week 1- Week 13
Publsihing Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Aliah Farhana Binti Mohd Fauzi / 0357957

Task 1 - Exercises

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LECTURES

Week 01|  Formats

The Book

• The book is one of the most important and influential as most important advances in publishing were centred around the book.
• The book is a medium to document and share ideas, knowledge, record, history and etc.
• Designing a book requires a comprehensive understanding of typography, good sense of a space, an eye for details, and a good understanding of a publishing software.

Week 3 | Typography Redux

Typography

Typography is very crucial to a graphic designer as if it's an oxygen. It is the most important area in graphic design to master in order to acquit with a good standard. Typography is the art or arranging and composing text, it is also a medium for expression and most importantly communication. It plays a central role in any design work.

Character in a typeface

• Small Caps
• Numerals
• Fractions
• Ligatures
• Punctuations
• Mathematical signs
• Symbols 
• Non aligning figures

Legibility / Special style

• Small Caps & All Caps: Small caps are good for subheads or for the first line of a paragraph. Text set in All Caps should be used in short headlines or subheads. All Caps should never be used for long sentences and for emphasis.
• Special-Purpose Style: Many formatting styles exist within software's for making footnotes, references, and mathematical formulas. These tend to be embedded or nested within the tools sections and a lay user may not be aware of its functions.
• Text Scalling: Some program allow for the user to create a pseudo-condense or pseudo-extended font by horizontally or vertically squeezing or stretching a font. This distorts the original design of the font.
• Outline & Shadow: Another style that tends to be abused a lot is the outline or shadow styles. Thus happens when deluded individuals through a flick of a mouse, and the aid of a software, think they can do magical things. Its takes many years of practice and many more years of experience before one can format text beautifully and effectively. Please avoid outline and shadow as far as possible.

Legibility / type size, line length & line spacing

Text that flow naturally when read, is achieved when a harmonious relationship exists between type size, line length, and spaces between lines of type (line spacing or leading). There are some major factors to consider:

• The font used — some fonts require more line spacing than others to keep their ascenders and descenders from touching.
• The line length — longer lines require more leading for easier reading.
• The type size — the larger the type size, the more line spacing is needed. 

Legibility / character & word space

Kerning: Inter-character spacing, known as kerning, creates a more pleasing look to the text. Most word processors do not allow kerning adjustments and most page-layout programs apply kerning automatically, however, certain letter combinations may require manual adjustments. 

Word spacing: Factors that determine correct word spacing includes typeface which is chosen, the size and weight of the type. Consitent word spacing provides an even typographic "colour" a term referring to the overall lightness and darkness of the text.

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INSTRUCTION

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Exercise 01: Text-Formatting

For our book we were tasked to write 3000 words of material.

Figure 2.1 Dream in a jar, PDF

Exercise 02: Mock-up Making

In order to do this exercise we have to watch a tutorial video by Mr Vinod in YouTube. Therefore, we were asked to explore 3 different kinds of sizes of paper that are bigger than A5 but smaller than A4.

The three sizes that I've decided:

1. 270mm x 170mm
2. 250mm x 200mm
3. 240mm x 180mm

Figure 2.2 Book size exploration

I ended up choosing the book size of 240mm x 180mm as I felt I want my book to be slightly smaller yet wider dimension.

Figure 2.3 The final cutout

I've cut a new paper size following the chosen size as a mock-up and overlay it on the Figure 2.2.

Exercise 03: Signature Folding system (8+8=16)

For this task Mr Vinod has provide us with an insights on how the signature of the book's works. Thus, we were tasked with folding a paper and labeled each of the folding with a number as a page number.

Figure 2.4 Flat lay

Figure 2.5 Folded System with Labels

Exercise 04: Van De Graff

For this exercise we were asked to do it in adobe Indesign.

Figure 2.6 Screenshot of Indesign exercise

Figure 2.7 Van De Graff on Indesign with Guides, PDF

Figure 2.8 Van De Graff with Sample Text and without guides, PDF

Exercise 05: Determining Grid

 

Figure 2.9 Determining Grids with Text,PDF

This exercise was made in the class with Mr Hijjaz, thus, he also has provides me with feedbacks upon the layout like,

"All the pages no need to require the page number"

"The banner on the top left can lower the opacity as it kinda of distracting"

Thus, with this feedback has given I'll follow and improve and apply it for my final submission. 

Exercise 06: Form & Movement Exercises

Figure 2.10 Form & Movement by Mr Vinod, PDF

Figure 2.11 Form & Movement Black n white w guides, PDF

Figure 2.12 Form & Movement Black n white w/o guides, PDF

Figure 2.13 Form & Movement Colour + Images w/o guides, PDF

Figure 2.14 Form & Movement Colour + Images + Text w guides, PDF

Figure 2.14 Form & Movement Colour + Images + Text w/o guides, PDF

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REFLECTIONS

Experience

Throughout the first half of the semester, I engaged in a series of book design exercises, including text formatting, mock-up making, signature folding systems, classical grid structures, determining grids, and form and movement exercises. The text formatting exercise introduced me to the complexities of managing typographic hierarchy and maintaining consistency. Mock-up making required precision, especially when cutting and folding materials to create physical prototypes. Working on signature folding systems (8+8=16) involved learning how to construct and sequence booklets accurately, while classical grid structure exercises emphasized the importance of precise layout setup. When determining grids, I experimented with different structures to suit varied content, and the form and movement exercises challenged me to balance colors, images, and text cohesively.

Observations

I noticed that even minor variations in text formatting could greatly affect readability and the overall design's visual appeal. During mock-up making, I observed that high-quality materials and accurate measurements were crucial to achieving a clean and professional look. Signature folding systems highlighted how misalignments could disrupt the reading flow, and classical grid structures provided balance and harmony, ensuring each design element fit seamlessly into the layout. In determining grids, I observed that flexibility was key, as some designs required adjustments to accommodate different content types. The form and movement exercises revealed the impact of color, image, and text combinations on visual movement, emphasizing how each element must work together to create a cohesive and engaging composition.

Findings

From these exercises, I learned the importance of maintaining a clear typographic hierarchy and consistent alignment to enhance readability and design quality. Mock-up making taught me the value of precision and material selection, while the signature folding system exercise emphasized attention to detail in achieving a smooth, functional booklet. Classical grid structures underscored the necessity of balance in layout design, and determining grids highlighted the importance of adaptability to organize content effectively. Finally, the form and movement exercises demonstrated that a well-balanced use of form, color, and imagery is essential for guiding the viewer's eye and creating a visually impactful design. Thank you to Mr. Hijjaz for the valuable feedback that helped me refine my approach and understanding throughout these exercises.