process book 2

coverfinalindesign.indd 1 4/17/10 8:56:01 PM


EDUCATION MFA Candidate (2010 - present)SavannahCollegeofArtandDesignGraphicDesign,3.5GPA

BFA (2009) UniversityofSouthAlabama Primary-GraphicDesign,Secondary-Painting.3.98GPA,SummaCumLaude

WORK EXPERIENCE Graphic Designer (June 2009 - present) Crown Products Responsibilitiesincludethedesignofallelectronicmediaincludingwebbannersand

graphics,e-mailmarketingandsocialmediamanagement.Additionally,Icreatespecialtyitemsincludingcustomdirectmarketingpiecesandhigh-endcatalogs.Otherdutiesincludeproductphotographyandproductdevelopmentdesign.

Art Director (June 2007 - present)Negative Capability Press Responsibilitiesincludeinteriorandexteriordesignandtypesettingofbooks.Additionally,

Iamresponsibleformostofthecompany’smarketingduties.

Student Assistant (June 2006 - May 2009)University of South Alabama Responsibilitiesincludedassistingstudentsandtroubleshootinggraphicdesignsoft-wareandMachardware.IalsooperatedseverallargeformatEpsonprinters.

ACHIEVEMENTS Silver Addy® Award(2010) PrintCollateral CrownProducts,AAFMobileBay

Silver Addy® Award (2010) InteractiveWebDesign(w/B.Davis) CrownProducts,AAFMobileBay

Progress Through Ideas Award(2010) EbscoIndustries Employee of the Quarter(2010) CrownProducts

SCAD Honors Scholarship Recipient

AFFILIATIONSAIGAAAFMobileBayGoldenKeyHonourSocietyPhiKappaPhiHonorSociety

TECHNICAL SKILLSAdobePhotoshopCS5AdobeIllustratorCS5AdobeInDesignCS5AdobeDreamweaverCS5AdobeFlashCS5AdobeAcrobatCS5XHTML/CSS

ADDITIONAL SKILLSCatalog&bookproductionWebsiteproductionE-blastcreationDigitalillustrationProductphotography&designCompetitiveanalysisCopywritingSocialmediamanagementQRcodedesign&optimizationResearch

Referencesavailableuponrequest.//M

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6711 Overlook Road // Mobile, Alabama // 36618 // 251 454 7510 // [email protected]

Megan Cary | GRDS 709-OL | Project B | Process BookProject B: Book Cover Redesign

PROCESS BOOK 02


PROCESS BOOKcoverfinalindesign.indd 1 4/17/10 8:56:01 PM


3

Assignment 4

Topic 5

Visual Research 6

Brainstorming 8

Thumbnail Sketches 9

Rough Sketches 12

Type Studies 14

Digital Comps 15

Revised Comps 16

Analysis 18

Final Design Solution 19

CONTENTS


4

ASSIGNMENT

Overview: You will utilize the design principles reviewed last week—color, unity, Gestalt, space, dominance, hierarchy, and balance—as well as the knowledge you have acquired about type selection, to create a book-cover design. The design must be primarily typographic in nature.

Process:You will design a full-color, wrap-around book cover of your choice, including the front and back covers, spine, and both flaps. The design solution must be primarily typographic, with the title a minimum of three words. Visuals may be used to enhance the design, but they must be secondary to the typography, the primary focus of the assignment.

The choice of book is up to you, but it must be previously published, since you will be required to post both your redesign and the book’s original design.

Please scan the original front cover at 72 dpi, approximately 1” x 2”. Keep the file size under 15 KB.

As an example, the design of a book on the American Wild West could feature a hot-metal, serif typeface typical of the era and complement it with a more modern sans serif for the byline. A book on cooking or entertaining might use a typeface with a calligraphed flourish, and a book on urban habitat could incorporate a grunge or graffiti-like scrawl.

You will need to lay out the template using either InDesign or QuarkX-Press. The layout should be accurate and should include crop marks and bleeds. All imagery used should be original work. Additionally, all five surfaces must be designed.

You will submit a JPEG file of each one of the panels, plus one of the whole jacket. The maximum size should be 550 pixels wide for the flat version. The panels should be saved at apx.100 pixels wide.


5

TOPIC

I began the research and topic selection process by exploring my extensive book collection. I have always been an avid reader and own thousands of books from all types of genres. I selected several different books that I have read – a serious book, a science fiction novel and a fun mystery.

I sat down and really thought about my choices. I knew that a seri-ous book would involve serious subject matter and fonts. As I began to think about the science fiction novel all of my initial design ideas were based on imagery. The mystery novel however, brought nu-merous typographic ideas to my mind. After careful consideration I decided to choose the more light-hearted book because I felt I could explore many more typographic choices.

The mystery novel I chose was Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination. Wikipedia summarizes the plot as a book that “delves into the world of espionage as it follows the adventures of freelance journalist-turned spy, Olivia Joules. While covering a face cream launch in Miami, Olivia meets the alluring international playboy, Pierre Feramo. Suspicious that he is an international terrorist, she follows him to Los Angeles, Honduras, and the Sudan, while he is under the impression that she is falling in love with him.”


6

VISUAL RESEARCH

After selecting my topic, I began to research various book cover designs. To the right are some interesting examples I found of type-based book cover designs.

On the second page are some standard mystery novel designs. I found that most of them relied on imagery rather than type to convey their message. At the bottom of the second page are some more examples of typo-graphic book cover designs.

These examples of visual research were also followed up by a visit to my local bookstore where I examined many books in the mystery section. I also browsed around the store for more interesting examples of ty-pographic designs. Afterwards, I felt that I had a good foundation to move forward in the design process.


7

VISUAL RESEARCH


8

BRAINSTORMING

brainstorming word list


9

THUMBNAIL SKETCHES


10

THUMBNAIL SKETCHES


11

THUMBNAIL SKETCHES


12

ROUGH SKETCHES


13

ROUGH SKETCHES


14

Type Studies

Type studies done in preparation for the digital comps. Ultimately Hand of Sean and American Typewriter were chosen.


Olivia Joules and the overactive imagination(toms handwritten new)

Olivia Joules and the

Overactive Imagination

(Inkburrow)

Olivia Joules and theOveractive Imagination(Hand of Sean)Olivia Joules and theOveractive Imagination(Handwriting - Dakota)

Praise ForOlivia Joules and The...(Courier Regular)

Praise ForOlivia Joules and The...(Courier Std Medium)

Praise ForOlivia Joules and The...(American Typewriter)

Praise ForOlivia Joules and The...(Century Regular)

Praise ForOlivia Joules and The...(Times)

15

DIGITAL COMPS


The first digital comp I posted to the discussion forum.

16

REVISED COMPS


After posting my initial digital comp to the discussion I received some helpful feedback from my professor and my peers, including blocking off parts of the text on the back to enhance the mystery of the novel.

The other students also suggested moving the title text more to the center of the page and encouraged me to mock up the flap information so that I could repost re-vised comps for more feedback.

On the right and the next page are examples of my the revised comps that I reposted for final feedback.

Below are the changes that I made to the final design after receiving final feedback on these comps:

• Kerning for all type over 18pts

• handwritten type was brightened

• black elements were removed to keep a more consis- tent red-marker look

• the spine width was reduced because of a measure- ment error and the back publisher logo was removed.

• general imagery tweeks and leading were also checked and fixed.

17

REVISED COMPS

The final digital comp posted to the dicussion forum.Blue lines indicate the folds of the cover.


18

ANALYSIS

What is the purpose of this design? The purpose of this design is to redesign a full-color, wrap-around book cover of my choice, including the front and back covers, spine, and both flaps. The design solution must be primarily typographic, with the title a minimum of three words. Visuals may be used to enhance the design, but they must be secondary to the typography, which is the primary focus of the assignment.

What did the research process consist of?I began the research process by exploring my extensive book collec-tion. I have always been an avid reader and own thousands of books of all types of genres. I selected several different books – a serious book, a science fiction novel and a fun mystery. After careful consid-eration I decided to choose the more light-hearted book because I felt I could explore more typographic choices.

What are the goals and objectives of the design?My goal for this design solution was to create a unique and intriguing design that would entice a potential buyer to purchase this book. I wanted the type to reflect both a stark type-writer and a hastily hand-written note. I wanted the design to be fun and, at the same time, somewhat mysterious.

What are the elements of your layout and development?My final solution is layed out in a 21” x 9.5” area. The flaps are each 4” x 9.5,” the spine is 1” x 9.5 and the front and back covers are 6” x 9.5.” These measurements are the same as the original cover. I chose Hand of Sean as a display type because of its bold, thick, handwritten strokes and I also used American Typewriter because of its similarity to a classic type-writer face. My color palette is primar-ily white and black (paper and text) with red marker accents to grab the viewer’s attention. The woodgrain background and manila folder colors are both neutral and accent the main palette. The design was built in Adobe InDesign and the background images (folders and wood) were manipulated in Adobe Photoshop.

What type of production does this design require?This design would be printed on a matte finish cover stock and a gloss spot varnish would accent the red elements and the author’s photo to create hierarchy.

Did you achieve the project and design goals?I believe that I did. The solutions meets the requirements of the as-signment and is light-hearted, fun, mysterious. I feel the imagery ul-timately supports the typography and does not overpower it. Overall it is well-balanced and dynamic.


19

FINAL DESIGN SOLUTION

Final cover design (trim size)


20

FINAL DESIGN SOLUTION


Final cover design (with bleeds/registration marks)


process book 2

Documents

bookcover design

choice of book

design principles

final design solution

books original design

contentsmegan cary grds

davis crownproducts

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