Lewis Bartlett

EVALUATION BEFORE COMPLETION

Evaluation

Throughout this project I have created specific aims that I wanted to achieve in relation to my editorial design skills. As a whole the final product I have created I am happy with however it hasn’t been easy getting here seeing as there were lots of different processes I had to do to select the final criteria.

            Once receiving the brief I started to jot down different ideas and different initial thoughts that I could take forward in relation to each designer. Following this I did some basic research into each of them and listened to their interviews to see which one took my fancy. I decided to go with the New Zealand designer Kris Sowersby. I chose him due to the fact he is a current typographer and is probably the most successful type designer to come out of New Zealand. I didn’t specifically want to look at his work and the different styles he does because I wanted my book to reflect his personality rather than a pastiche of his work. However this wasn’t the case and my first idea really went in the wrong direction ending up making a copy of his work with a slight twist to make it my own. The typography that was produced looked aesthetically pleasing however after being ridiculed in the critique I needed to change my ideas and get back on track. To be fair I thought I could have had more help with my ideas and some more input from the tutors so I didn’t have to redo another chunk of work however off my own back I did it.

            To get my new ideas off the starting line I went back to my design sheets and researched more into New Zealand and the country that he lives in. As well as that I have also looked more into his life and the specific tings that make him unique. Whilst listening to the interview for like the fourth time I finally got a piece of information that really appealed to me. The interviewer was quite specific about routines and if he did anything that made each day unique. He stated that he adamantly he does the same 6 event routine everyday ‘without fail’ unless there was something else interfering. I find this absolutely fascinating that he does the same 6 things, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year more or less so decided to run with that.

            Imagery and the way I was going to communicate this was the next milestone I needed to overcome and not much time to do so. To focus more on the imagery I wanted to use, if any, I began to devise mind maps on the certain routine elements and what I consider to be relevant to them. In my own opinion I had different ideas about the elements so I also consulted with my peers to get the most ideas for the overall images. I then came to the decision that I wanted to illustrate each of the elements so others can also relate in a visual way. From the mind maps I moved onto some initial illustrations that depicted the traditional imagery for each stage of his routine yet tried to make them more eye catching and exciting to look at. Combining these with typography I knew this was what I wanted as my final presentation as the drawings turned out well. After the following critique I had more positive feedback about the illustrations so committed 110% to get them finalised before transferring them to the computer.

            Transferring the images to Adobe illustrator and Photoshop pulled new challenged for me, as I haven’t really done this before. Once scanned in I then used the polygon lasso tool to create the entire body of illustrations line by line so they were perfectly finished. I was incredibly happy with the outcomes as I now felt like I have achieved something worthy of submission and even portfolio ready. This flowed into my layout designs and I found this easier than I thought because I find placement of objects and curetting quite relaxing. I firstly made up mocks of the book and how I wanted the overall thing to look, which was then adapted throughout further critiques towards the end of the project.

            At this stage I felt better about my work and I felt like there was actually something to be proud of. Moving forward with this project the obvious next stage was to play around on the computer and compose the overall layouts for the book and try out different ways it could look so they weren’t all noticeably different. The finalised layout I came to shows the use of columns as well as the illustrations interacting with typography to create a well-balanced layout. After printing numerous times, there were errors that I needed to flatten out, one of my main errors was the habit to fill my pages rather than be selective. This is probably one of the best things I have learnt from this project, due to the fact I have finally realised simplicity can be better than an overcrowded mess.

            After the final alterations to the piece was finalised there was such a huge relief to have it printed and bound professionally. The feeling of having something there and a product of weeks work is definitely a good feeling. In relation to improvements I think I could have managed my time management better as well as look more in depth at the current industry around binding. Even though I have touched on these I think I now need to go back and really double check everything I have to make sure I have done myself justice for this project.