LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS
The layout designs above are my final ones which I started to design some on Indesign.They all work with the imagery I have and mostly focus on large imagery on left with body text on right. I’m planning to use 6 columns and 6mm as gutter.
The design above is one of the first layouts I designed which focuses on large imagery on left side which is positioned in the centre and body text on the right. I think this design worked well together as the colour scheme makes certain elements such as imagery, headlines stand out which helps the visual hierarchy. In this design there’s a merge between two pages, the first page focuses on perpetual and second page I only added present which creates the image as it’s one big page. I’m not sure on the position of the body text, they’re not lined equally which creates a messy look and harder to follow the text. I didn’t like this layout as much as the imagery isn’t strong visually as I want it to be. I think it looks a lot on the page so for this I won’t be using this design.
Another layout which in this one I really like the imagery. Personally, that’s what stands out the most to me and I wasn’t sure on how to position the headlines. So the first design on the left is what I made first, I got told it looks to heavy on page with mixture of orange and white colours. Also, I think the size of the headline should’ve been smaller as the page looks really busy with the big imagery on the left. So for this, I made a more simple and tidy version which only focuses on smaller point size and just used white as the colour. Second one works together much better than the other one. For the body text, I used them as 3 columns point size 10. I feel like I won’t be using them as they’re not visually strong as I want them to be.
The other designs I think I was using very heavy imagery and black background wasn’t working out well. So I decided to try orange as background colour. I chose this imagery of letters missing from the ‘perpetual’ print as the main imagery on left. I positioned it so it fits the whole page, to have the main focus on the image. For the second page, the word present is positioned the top left near the perpetual print in thick bold font which is Geometr231 Hv BT and is consistent in all designs. However, I used perpetual on the right side of the page vertically in a thinner san serif font. I don’t think it works together as headline. I used two blocks of text, and a callout in thicker font above a paragraph. I think the body text looks messy and it needs to be aligned on the same line. The second version is more developed which I got rid of the perpetual on the second page and focused on ‘present’ increasing the size to fill more space on the page. Also, I positioned the body text near each other and a small callout which is bolder and bigger in size on the right to create stronger hierarchy. I used 6 columns in this design because I think this way, I can focus on body text. I don’t plan to have heavy paragraphs on each page. I tried 5 columns but the text had to be wider which filled up more space.
In this version, I changed the layout of the title to fit the whole page, I used the whole title on the right page rather than just using present. I think this layout looks much better than the rest. I think the body text needs to be lined together as it doesn’t look right when one is below the other one. I’m very happy with the imagery on the left, some parts go off the page which looks good. I used the same font as before in all words, I think it needs to changes maybe ‘In a’ should be in a different font to have the ‘perpetual present’ as the main focus of the page.
This layout is I think looks the best compared to the other ones. I changed the position of few things which I didn’t like on the design before. Firstly, I increased the headline point size bigger and positioned them under each other. I think this way it creates a better hierarchy visually your eye focuses the headline. As detailing, the body copy is all justified line positioned in the centre of the page in two main blocks. I added a callout on top of the first body text to help the hierarchy and something to stand out before the body text. It’s in bigger point size with a bolder font which emphases the phrase from the article. This was when the reader reads the callout, it could make them more interested the article as I chose a phrase which people would find it interesting and make them want to read more.
This is the final design I like the most. I think the headline looks well together I used the full article name as I believe this would make it easier for reader to understand the article. The small paragraph in the gap under the headline is to fill the same as it would have looked empty. I think that works well as the hierarchy of each elements goes from headline to the small paragraph then to body text. The leading is 14, I think this is suitable as I don’t have much text on the page so if the leading was smaller then it would look all cramped. I think this page is a good start to the editorial, gives a sense of what the article is about, keeping the font and body copy layout simple and clean allowed the imagery to be the main focus. Body copy has line break which to give the reader a sense of pause and which I think this completes the layout.
SECOND DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS
For the second double page spread I knew that I wanted to have a different colour to orange, to help the pace of the editorial. If it was the same colour which is very bright and bold it could get boring. So for this, I chose to use black as a background colour. This is because the imagery I want to use in this page is not from the designs in the other post which are edited on Photoshop. I just want to use the original screen print pattern. I think this one gives the feeling of the article the most with black on orange it’s very bold and catches your eye. This section of the article to me is the most darkest part where you find other people with the same case as McKinnon. So for this, I want to create a dark tone, main focus on imagery with bold typography to give the sense of the article.
I started of using the print in different forms to see which way would work well for a editorial. My first idea was to use to print as a circle so it’s clearly seen in the page, as the original from would have to fit the whole page which is the similar to the first double page spread. I want to keep the pace dynamic. This first design was focused on imagery and playing around with how I could position certain things. I used a phrase which is in bold white font on top of the imagery. I think this idea was worked better on paper than actually designed. I think the phrase is too big, it covers most of the print. I should’ve used a different font which isn’t as bold. I used the same style as imagery on left side and text on the right place.
Tutorial with Ian- 4.3.19
I had a tutorial with Ian which I showed him the first two double page spread. I had some positive feedback. I showed him all of the variations for the first double page spread. He suggested I should use the last design with orange imagery. He also suggested for the second page I should position the circle in the centre of the page with the body copy wrapped around the circle. I liked that idea because it would create a more dynamic layout than same style in every page. He also suggested for detailing I should have gutter between 5 or 6mm. The tutorial was very useful as I saw I needed to work on detailing and develop my second page. As the next step, I’m going to design the wrapped text around the circle to see what it looks like. Also, focus on detailing, changing gutter size to 6mm and leading to 14.Â
DEVELOPING SECOND DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD
I changed the layout of the body copy and wrapped it around the circle. I think it’s a good style to use as a layout because I’ve used similar layouts for the body copy because I just like to keep it simple and clean. But, this layout makes it more dynamic, helps the pace it’s different from the other page making it interesting to look at and read from. The two callouts above the paragraphs has emphasised the body copy drawing attention to them. I think the size and position of them are good. I used Geometri231 Hv BT as the font which is san serif, bold , geometric font which goes really well with the other font I have used for the header. I want to show David my designs so I could get his feedback as well.
After talking to David, I showed him my layouts and he didn’t like the wrapped text around the circle. He also said he’s not sure about the print being a circle, he said I should just use the print as it is without cropping it. I think I like that idea as well as the wrapped text doesn’t fit in with the style of other pages.
I started off with placing the print so it covers both pages, I think this way it looks better as I don’t want to do the same style as the other pages. I also want to use the extra marks from the printing which adds an effect and I was thinking to use that line to place the phrase. I think the block of body text is too big, it doesn’t look right with the other pages I need to cut some parts. Also, the biggest challenge is the background. I don’t want to use white background as it doesn’t give the effect I want. If I use black on the left side for body text and keep the image on the right it could look better. The phrase is slanted under the imagery with a bold font. I personally don’t think it works well, it looks awkward on the page as it’s too big.
I’ve been playing around with the imagery placing it in different parts of the page in different forms and I came to conclusion that using the imagery fit into one whole page works the best. I believe by this way you can clearly see the division between imagery and body copy. I knew I had make some changes in the layout as it would look too similar the first page so I decided to use the image on right and body text on left with black background to make the body copy stand out. I think this is a simple layout but the tone of it is dark. I also used the phrase in orange next to the imagery to find a place for it. But I think it just doesn’t look right.
In this one, I made few small changes just to see how it would look. I flipped the imagery so it overlaps the first page and used the slanted phrase next to the imagery. I think The image being slanted and over lapping creates a playful sense where it’s not just fit into a page perfectly. I think this adds some feeling to the design which I like.
This is the final layout of the second double page spreads. I again went for the simple but clean body copy layout. Using Cresta Regular for all body copy I think this font is compliments the other fonts I’ve used for headlines and callouts. The line which overlaps the first page near the body text really does add an effect because it’s not perfect. It’s not made on Photoshop, it’s part of the print which looks like it’s made to be there. I added a line break in the first paragraph so it doesn’t look like blocks. I think as a whole this page works well together gives a good sense of the article, also I wanted these pages to be in a dark tone as I believe this part of the article is where author talks about other cases and you get the understand the McKinnons condition.
THIRD DOUBLE PAGE SPREADS
For the third double page spread, I used this design of the word remember distorted as it goes on. I used that on the left side of the page. The background colour is orange which works well with the imagery and ties everything together for each page. I used the most amount of text on the last page. Used columns to fit into 2 blocks in the centre of the page.The body copy in both designs are aligned left which creates a messy look, I added some breaks in them to not have it text heavy. Adding a phrase above the body copy to add some hierarchy to the page. I might add another phrase under the body copy. The gutter is too big in the first design and much better on the second one.
I wasn’t sure on the imagery I got told it wasn’t strong as other designs so I decided to use the imagery above of distorted article and blurred phrase. I think this imagery is very strong in the message it’s giving to the reader. There’s both distortion and blur which both work really well together. I placed the image in the centre of the page. The last page is mainly focused on body copy. I cleaned up the body copy by justifying all lines to create a clean look. There’s line breaks which helps the layout.
I also had this imagery which I also think is visually very strong. I’m not sure on which imagery to use both very similar but this imagery has more distortion and I believe gives the sense of the article the best. I want talk to David and get his feedback. Personally I think, this imagery suits the theme I went for and suits the tone of the article.
FEEDBACK FROM DAVID
After speaking to David, he suggested that I should use the final design for the first double page spread which has the full article name. He said the layout of it looks stronger than any others which I agree. He also said he doesn’t like the wrapped text around the circle as he suggested I created new layouts using the prints as it’s original form. He said said I could change the pages around so it’s not the same as other pages. As this could improve the pace as it would feel like it’s the same thing on each page. Also, he suggested I should do some changes on the last page on the body copy layout adding phrases between the paragraphs breaks. Overall, his feedback was very positive, I know the areas I need to make changes and I think once I correct them I will be finished.
Busra Yildiz 