I have mentioned numerous times the module 147 DVA Design in Context 1, the brief for this module is to design a book cover along with a discussion of a quote by Beatrice Warde about the 'transparency' in objects and people in terms of design. This is also the chance to put forward our work for the Penguin Design Award. In this post I will focus on the book cover and the specific requirements, my inspirations and progress so far.
I begin my deconstructing the brief and researching images and ideas for both stories which are the adults - The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandlers and the children's book prize - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
I wanted to have a strong connection the the imagery I used so I decided to go out and take photos relating the imagery I conjure in my imagination when I think of the story and the countryside settings.
I chose use my own photos of flowers and butterflies for a personal connection to my designs, this would also prevent any plagiarism from google images and working photographers. With these photos I created some Sellotape and masking tape experiments - Sellotape Tutorial shows how I created these (you can substitute the Sellotape for masking tape for a more aged tone).
Playing around with compositions, I like how the flowers could frame the book and set the scene and tone of the story inside.
Whilst in the rooms, I came across some interesting fabrics in a draw which I felt could be effective in a children's illustration form the interesting textures and patterns. In the lecture on Children's book designs the subject of Alice in Wonderland and its very dreamy and 'trippy' underlying tone came about, this could be a very unusual concept to view the story of Mr. Toad, badger, mole and ratty becoming like people and carrying out humanised activities such as driving and rowing.
I liked the very 60's inspired patterns of the fabric - I plan to experiment by printing on the fabric, scanning the fabric, photocopying fabrics - using them as sections for collages. I feel trying to integrate this movement and imagery of my favourite era will give a new light on the story and connect to my essay which I plan to concentrate on with this movement in mind.
Today I also got my grade and feedback for the 149 DVA Typography project, I was very proud to find out that I received a mark of 75%. My feedback from my tutor gave me a few pointers to improve upon which I plan to be more aware of throughout my future projects, these were to be more critical of my actual final piece as a whole product not the produce of the project. Finally to concentrate on my typography with the use of columns and typesetting, a suggestion of mixing up the text with different fonts, weights and sizes could create further interest in the design. A positive note about my sketchbook, which I always take pride in, being a 'delight' reassured me in how I present my thought processes and how I communicate to an audience without me being there in person to discuss and explain my ideas more in depth. I hope to achieve a higher mark in my other modules to show that I have improved and took notice of these points.
NAP x
I begin my deconstructing the brief and researching images and ideas for both stories which are the adults - The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandlers and the children's book prize - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
Research of Penguin and Puffin book designs, logos and logo development.
Drawings from a secondary source, mood board of possible materials, drawing styles etc
I wanted to have a strong connection the the imagery I used so I decided to go out and take photos relating the imagery I conjure in my imagination when I think of the story and the countryside settings.
My first contextual link I chose to look at was Ben Giles (which I recently featured in my
Sunday Run-down post). The pastel colour palette and strong use of flowers and insects immediately made my mind make a connection to spring and the idealistic view of the countryside.
I chose use my own photos of flowers and butterflies for a personal connection to my designs, this would also prevent any plagiarism from google images and working photographers. With these photos I created some Sellotape and masking tape experiments - Sellotape Tutorial shows how I created these (you can substitute the Sellotape for masking tape for a more aged tone).
Playing around with compositions, I like how the flowers could frame the book and set the scene and tone of the story inside.
My results from today's seminar - quick sketches fof ideas, compositions, materials for book covers. I choose to design for both today as Simon our tutor was on hand to guide us. I thought that by doing this with simon's help he could determine which ideas were stronger and which to carry on developing and push further.
(Sorry the sketches are so light in these pictures)
Above - designs for The Big Sleep
I wanted to try and steer away from the cliche and typical images of a detective, smokey room, cigarettes and drink and move more into the conceptual or metaphorical side. I picked up on a few angles I could take such as the beauty of orchids and their mention at the beginning of the story. I also picked up on a a quote by The General saying how he was like a new born spider relying on heat for survival. I wanted to create a new interaction with the book and the reader so chose to turn he whole book cover on its side to be viewed unconventionally.
How could I represent the orchids? Black and white photography? a print/transfer for texture and a sense of decay? an etching or mono print? - things to experiment to push this idea further.
Another quote that seemed to stick in mind was 'So many guns about town, so little brains' by the character Phillip Marlowe. I think it may be a good idea to show a quote on the front on the book to set the tone of the book and interest people, this quote show a witty and funny side to the violent theme throughout the whole book. How would this quote fit with the titles required on the cover? In one of my sketches I came up with the idea of flowers being shot out of the gun instead of a bullet, you can tell the hand holding the gun is female by the long painted nails - this could represent the powerful women of today and how easy they were manipulated and dominated the family matters in this story.
Below - design for The Wind in the Willows
Influenced by the artwork of Ben Giles I played around with different uses for the flowers such as hills for the boat to be banked upon, the river for the boat to float upon and the exhaust fumes from Toads car. i rather like how the exhaust is transformed into flowers and insects representing the idealistic view of the countryside with its clean and fresh air. I chose to wrap this image around the book sleeve to connect the front, spine and back for continuity in my design and a sense of fun for children to follow the flowers around the book and interact.
A life sized sketch of my design discussed above. I feel this design is very strong and wish to continue developing this idea with different materials.
Whilst in the rooms, I came across some interesting fabrics in a draw which I felt could be effective in a children's illustration form the interesting textures and patterns. In the lecture on Children's book designs the subject of Alice in Wonderland and its very dreamy and 'trippy' underlying tone came about, this could be a very unusual concept to view the story of Mr. Toad, badger, mole and ratty becoming like people and carrying out humanised activities such as driving and rowing.
I liked the very 60's inspired patterns of the fabric - I plan to experiment by printing on the fabric, scanning the fabric, photocopying fabrics - using them as sections for collages. I feel trying to integrate this movement and imagery of my favourite era will give a new light on the story and connect to my essay which I plan to concentrate on with this movement in mind.
Today I also got my grade and feedback for the 149 DVA Typography project, I was very proud to find out that I received a mark of 75%. My feedback from my tutor gave me a few pointers to improve upon which I plan to be more aware of throughout my future projects, these were to be more critical of my actual final piece as a whole product not the produce of the project. Finally to concentrate on my typography with the use of columns and typesetting, a suggestion of mixing up the text with different fonts, weights and sizes could create further interest in the design. A positive note about my sketchbook, which I always take pride in, being a 'delight' reassured me in how I present my thought processes and how I communicate to an audience without me being there in person to discuss and explain my ideas more in depth. I hope to achieve a higher mark in my other modules to show that I have improved and took notice of these points.
NAP x
No comments:
Post a Comment