Author: millylozinski

For the final assignment of this unit, I was given the choice between three briefs. When completing the unit exercises, I specifically chose to complete the exercises that matched the topics explored in each brief. From pretty early on, I was certain I wanted to complete the first brief – book design – but I was torn. The second brief – promotional design – touches on an area of design I have previously enjoyed a lot – advertising – and requires you to research and draw inspiration from the 1970s era, which I already do a lot of in my work. I loved the idea of this theme, but I was less excited about the editorial designs required. 

I didn’t even consider the third brief: charity work. That is, until the final exercise, in which I discovered just how fun the branding experience was. For this reason, I was very conflicted when I reached Assignment 5. I had been thinking about how to approach the book design brief for several weeks at this point and I had my heart set on it. But, coming off the back of a great branding project, I was feeling inspired. I re-read both briefs and considered my approaches, the time I had to complete the work in, and which brief I connected with the most. In the end, I still chose the book design brief.

The key factor in my choice here was that I had already spent so much time thinking over my approach to the first brief. The third brief would be totally new to me, meaning that I would have to complete it without any prior planning and mental processing. It also felt like a lot more content was required for the third brief, where multiple aspects of branding had to be made, along with a large annual review. In comparison, the first brief asked for three book covers and some inner content.

Book cover design was also relatively new to me in this unit, so I thought it would be good to take the chance to focus on it for this Assignment. I explored branding and advertising thoroughly in previous units, and based my Assignment 5 brief in Key Steps in Illustration on seven perfume bottle designs. I felt it was more important to my development as a designer at this stage to try something different rather than repeat a topic, and I was ready to move on to something fairly new. 

Brief one for Assignment 5 asked that I design a new house style for Penguin Books. The style would be used for a series of books about design aimed at children and young people. To begin with, three titles were being published: Typography, Colour, and Photographs. I was tasked with creating the full jacket for each of these titles, front, back, and spine, as well as producing an introductory chapter for the Typography book titled ‘A is for…’. The brief specified that the books needed to be recognisable as a collection but also appreciated on their own. Lastly, the introductory chapter needed to encourage young people to buy the book and learn more about the subject. 

As usual, I began by dissecting the brief, identifying which areas I intended to research, and made note of any key information I needed to include. I hoped to reflect on my own work throughout the unit, particularly the areas of colour and typography where I did multiple projects exploring the different aspects and uses for both. I also wanted to research Penguin’s existing house styles, as well as finding out how books in this genre are generally designed. 

I started by visiting the Penguin website and collating imagery from their existing children’s non-fiction publications. I was looking specifically at collections of books, as well as things I felt related to the brief, rather than one-off or biographical books. It was quite difficult to find books that felt relevant to the brief and I spent a long time clicking through options on the site before feeling like I had a good collection of images to reference. Before finishing this part of my research, I looked through their adult audience non-fiction books, but I found that even more difficult to navigate. I ultimately browsed Amazon for some examples of books in the genre I am designing for instead. 

References collected of Penguin’s Non-Fiction Childrens books

References collected of general adult audience design books

Throughout my degree so far I have built up quite the impressive collection of reference books that span the world of arts and design. However, as none of these are aimed specifically at young people, I felt a little reluctant to reference them directly. I did add some of them to my ‘adult design book’ collection of research material, as they related to the genre, but I felt it was important to prioritise finding reference material that fit both the brief and the target audience better. Not having access to in-person books made finding these references somewhat harder. 

After collating the reference material, I began breaking down each of the topics I would be designing for. Throughout Part Two of Key Steps in Illustration, I was taught a variety of different techniques for idea generation. One that I found useful for more open briefs such as this one is writing down as many things as I can think of that relate to the topic at hand. From there, I look at dictionary and thesaurus entries for the topic or related topics, and I ask friends to tell me what it makes them think of. I also Google the subject and scroll through Google Images, writing down anything further I hadn’t thought of previously. 

In the original exercises, this task was performed in a mindmapping format. However, I find lists much easier to process visually, so I wrote out three lists in my sketchbook: one each for Colour, Typography, and Photographs. My friends shared some interesting perspectives on the three subjects which helped me to round out the ends of the lists. This already had my mind churning over ideas for content for each of the covers, so I decided to begin thumbnailing possible compositions. 

The brief emphasises that I am to design a ‘new house style’ – this being a new standard of design for book covers that any designer can follow when creating their own design. House styles allow publishing houses to have a consistent look and feel across their publications no matter who has been working on the project, as well as supporting designers to easily transition between projects. There are usually multiple regulations within a publishing house; some styles regulate how the inside of a book looks and some are used for one-off projects. 

Penguin have a very distinctive central house style that is recognisable to most Brits: the cream and orange striped book featuring the Gill Sans title front and centre is immediately identifiable and offers strong brand recognition. They have several other styles in use, however, such as the recent (and popular) Clothbound Classics covers, or the Green Ideas series. In their children’s work, I noticed a handful of specific styles showing up, such as the Ladybird books featuring multiple images of the subject in question with a minimalistic sans title, or the ‘Do You Know?’ books which felt a bit more dated. 

As the brief describes, a style must be recognisable across the board, while each book is still able to stand out in its own right. There must be consistency in the guidelines that are followed by each designer to show uniformity, which is the whole purpose of having a house style. For example, the Clothbound Classics collection have a clear style guide:

• Two colours in the palette;
• A repeating pattern of motifs relevant to the book in a hexagonal pattern layout;
• A fixed border around said pattern of the same size on each cover;
• The title centred within the border at the top of the book;
• The author’s name centred at the bottom.*

*Both the book title and author name seem to be presented in the typeface ITC Founders Caslon Roman. 

My focus when considering the covers’ composition and thumbnailing possible design options was how I was going to create this repetition and consistency across each of the covers, whilst still allowing the room for other designers to replicate on other subjects. Using the ‘Colour’ title as a guide, I began by thumbnailing nine different composition ideas that I felt were easily repeatable but that would also allow each of the covers to still hold their own. I took a lot of inspiration from the existing house styles, particularly from the Ladybird book covers which I really enjoyed. 

I felt good about my composition ideas, but it was hard to narrow all of these options down. I decided to begin thumbnailing for the other two covers using the same compositions to see if this helped at all, and narrowed it down to four basic concepts. Next, I decided it would be best to begin mocking them up digitally to explore further what composition would work best. Ever since Exercise 9, I have enjoyed utilising digital exploration processes in identifying the best composition for my pieces. Because of that, I wanted to use these processes for Assignment 5.

Initially, I was pretty confident in a concept where I would have the title take up 100% of the page, with each letter in its own ‘block’. For Colour, each letter would be in a different colour block. Similarly for Typography, each letter would be a different typeface. Lastly, for Photographs, each letter would be made up of a photographed letter or letter-looking object (e.g. a fence that looks like the letter T). I began sourcing some imagery to make this concept work and I struggled a little with it. So, I instead opened up a Photoshop file at the size given in the brief and began mocking up my thumbnail ideas. 

I started with the Colour book as I had sketched out with this as my guide. I was quite rough and playful with exploring different ways of working within the various compositions I had sketched out on paper and looked at ways to use the space. I also took this opportunity to pick out a typeface for the designs. I wanted to use a sans-serif typeface like I had seen across my research, but not one that’s currently used by Penguin in their house styles. I used my If The Face Fits PDF and ended up choosing Century Gothic. I was a little concerned this would look cliche as it’s a relatively popular and well-used typeface, however it worked fantastically with the minimalistic compositions I was exploring. I increased the kerning quite a bit on the title as I feel stylistically this looks fantastic. 

Once I felt I had thoroughly explored the concepts, I started following the same process for the typography cover. Despite feeling so strongly about the large title concept, once I had laid everything out I felt that some of the other designs were even more effective. I didn’t explore the typeface concept much as a result, and instead focused more on the other composition ideas. I also had a second file open where I was laying out the Colour and Typography concepts side by side to see how everything worked as a set. This helped me to figure out which new directions I could go in, or think of new content to explore. 

As typography is a bit more vague of a concept visually than colour is, I was leaning heavily on my list of words to find content for this cover. When I personally think about typography, I think of it from a more digital, technical perspective. However, every person I spoke to mentioned traditional methods of printing and typeface design, such as calligraphy and typewriters. It was nice being able to explore multiple different viewpoints of the subject in my research: the concept of type and letters, the digital and technical side of things, and the more traditional too. 

Whilst working, I was making sure to keep in mind the advice I learnt in the previous exercise – that each decision you make when designing should be done with your audience in mind. For that reason, I formed these works around a few questions: Was this image suitable and appealing to teens? Would children be drawn to this colour combination? How easy was this layout to understand for a younger brain? Would someone completely new to this field understand what this is? 

Exploring the Typography covers with the above questions in mind helped me a lot to further narrow down the strongest compositions, especially in terms of choosing which ones are easiest to repeat across multiple different subject matters. However, this method was harder to use properly when I moved on to the Photographs title. I felt I had two strong options: a central graphic with the title below, also centred, and a left aligned title with a graphic positioned on the right of the cover ‘falling into’  frame. However, choosing graphic content for this cover was much harder, as ‘Photographs’ rather than ‘Photography’ is a unique and slightly abstract topic for a book. 

The title may have been a typo in the brief, and if I was working with a client I would be sure to ask them whether it’s correct, as it is so unusual. Despite that, I really enjoyed the challenge and the concept of the book, especially from a design perspective. Often as a designer, you aren’t taking the photographs yourself, but you do need to understand how to source and work with them. I felt it would be better to use various photographs and related objects in the covers, rather than the typical camera imagery. I thought this would help the book to stand out compared to others about photography by reflecting the slightly more uncommon subject.

While developing the concepts for this cover and comparing it with the previous explorations, it became clear quickly that the left aligned title and right aligned graphic was the easiest to manipulate for literally any concept. It was basic enough in its restrictions that you could add a lot to it for each piece, but also similar enough that you could set the three covers side by side and know they’re part of a collection. I thought that was useful considering the brief’s focus on creating a house style. I added the image of the leopard with various different intense editing effects overlaid, and scanned in my own film to use as detailing. 

Despite ultimately coming to a conclusion on which of the covers was most effective, I found making this choice to be an extremely challenging process. Making decisions when it comes to the design process is not particularly difficult for me; I enjoy most of the process which I think is necessary to be a designer. However, choosing the ‘best’ design does not feel like my job, nor within my capabilities.

This brief is very client focused, and in reality I would be presenting my ideas at multiple different stages and getting feedback from said client. I would be getting direction on what they liked, disliked, what they had in mind and how that compares to my work, and ultimately I would have a good idea of where to go next from there. Developing a design without that input was really challenging.

Without that direct client feedback, I’m left with an infinite source of ideas in my brain and no way to know whether any of them are ‘correct’ for the client (who I guess does not exist). That really stressed me out throughout the development stages of this Assignment. There wasn’t really a clear gut feeling as to what was heading in the right direction, and I still feel hesitant about my final decision. I ended up using my friends as fake clients to get at least some sort of guidance, but it still weighed me down a lot. 

Regardless of these feelings, I pushed through and put the three conceptual covers side by side one last time. I did this to check how they worked as a set and whether I was happy with their general designs. I did feel good at this stage, so I continued on with touching them up and finalising them. This included adding the Penguin logo to each cover on the lower right hand side, adding a name for the book series, fixing the type to ensure it was consistent and readable, and editing some of the imagery to fit it all together perfectly. I also tried changing the ink spills on the Typography cover to be in colour, rather than black, as I felt the black wasn’t as eye-catching and appealing to the younger audience. I prefer the black-and-white look personally, but I do think this is more suited to young people. 

As I worked solely in Photoshop for these cover designs, I did not make full use of a grid layout or any of the more technical capabilities I would have had using InDesign. I found it really stressful switching between InDesign and Photoshop in the previous book design exercise, and I felt it really held my design capabilities back. I still utilised the information I had learnt from using grid layouts when considering the designs’ composition, even if I didn’t strictly build a grid, and I think this helped a lot. 

The spines were fairly straightforward to design. I began by looking at the bookshelf in my studio which contains all my art and design reference books to see how each spine was laid out and what details they included. After that, I opened a new Photoshop file and copied the titles from the front covers across. I placed them in the centre of each spine, reading horizontally, and added the Penguin logo at the bottom too.

For each spine, I added some imagery to tie it back to the front cover – the film strips for the Photographs spine, ink splashes for the Typography spine, and CMYK circles for the Colour spine. To mark that the books are a part of a series, I added the ‘A Penguin young peoples’ guide’ subtitle from the front cover. This fit nicely into the space that was left. Finally, I added an orange bar to separate the graphic elements out a little. I felt this tied in really well with the logo colour. 

Despite having designed back covers before, I wasn’t really sure what information was necessary to include on one. As it’s an educational book aimed at young people, I felt that quotes from reviews, for example, wouldn’t be appropriate content. I searched for some guides on what to include, and made a note of the things I felt were relevant. I also referenced some of my own books for this, but made sure to keep the audience in mind. Once I had done that, I sketched out some initial composition concepts, but I didn’t explore too much at this stage as I was anticipating a lot of digital exploration once again. 

I was eager to use some of my previous design concepts on the back cover where possible, and to draw from the lists I had made even further. I was also keen on the three taglines having a similar ‘voice’, so I jotted down some ideas for these. I started by developing the Colour cover, drawing from my central bars of colour concept. Instead, I chose a CMYK based colour scheme that remained bold and bright, to connect it back to the elements on the front cover. Initially, I had the bars of colour along the left of the book, and then added the textual elements on the right. However, once I had added these, the white space felt too empty. I extended some of the bars of colour and felt confident about how each part of the cover came together.

Instead of an ‘about the author’ section on the reverse, I chose to add an ‘about the series’ section. As the brief said this would be a new collection, and I had intentionally given the collection its own name, I thought an explanation would be useful. I highlighted this using the same orange colour as I had used for the bar on the spine for continuity purposes. 

Throughout the back cover, I stayed with Century Gothic as my typeface, using variations of it for different purposes and adjusting the kerning too. Once I felt good about the layout and design, I added the Penguin logo once again, a barcode, price, and finally a website for the book collection. I was worried that extending the coloured bars would make the cover look too busy, but I think it really stands out while still being readable. 

Similarly to the front cover, once I had a composition for the back cover, I largely stuck with it. However, there was a lot more variation between each of the reverse covers. I think it makes sense to have a bit more wiggle room here, as the back covers are not the main focus of a book series, and the amount of text each individual author will want to include on the reverse could differ. I kept the basic format the same: the box with the information about the book series, the logo, barcode, website, and price all in the same location, the same typefaces and weights across the page, and a similar balance of image versus text. 

The second cover I worked on was the Typography cover, where I utilised the ink splashes again and included the same Baskerville typeface as I had explored in my initial development. I felt that using such an iconic serif font against the design’s use of Century Gothic really helped showcase the different areas of typographical design. Showcasing a digital typeface alongside the more traditional typewriter and ink graphical elements emphasised the ‘handwritten type to smart technology’ line in the tagline I had written. I really like how the A, B, and C fit together like puzzle pieces here, and think that the whole cover works perfectly. 

For the final cover – Photographs – I was stuck once again. I really wasn’t sure how to further explore the concept of Photographs in the way I had previously. I had considered using more animal pictures, but I was also concerned that using too many of them would make the book look intentionally animal themed, rather than photographs more generally.

Instead, I referenced the list I had written during the idea generation stage and flicked through various stock image sites searching for several of the subjects I had noted down. I started thinking about film reels and the development processes, and collected a few film canister photos. From there, I really wanted to have some sort of dark room/red light imagery, and eventually ended up sourcing a random lightbulb picture and creating the red light effect myself. 

I positioned the red light and film canisters, the info box about the book series, and all of the other consistent details on the cover. When seeing them together, I felt that something was missing from the page. It was the blandest one yet. I wanted to use more imagery, so I went back to searching through stock image sites. I ended up finding some polaroids and thought that would be a really great addition as it expands on the variety of photographs that exist. I added this to the canvas and played around with lighting and colours until I felt like the piece worked as a whole. 

Throughout the spine and back cover development, I had a second file open where I was laying out the book jacket and ensuring each piece fit together and made sense as a whole. This really helped me to see where I needed to make changes or where things didn’t quite flow together. Considering each part of the covers together as a whole helped with making sure there was cohesion across the entire design.

I am really proud of these covers. There is a slight feeling that they aren’t the ‘right’ covers for the brief still, and I really wish I had the ability to have that client feedback experience, but I think they are fantastic. I can imagine seeing them in a book shop very easily, and I think that I would have loved to have them as a kid. I can imagine the white of the covers being matte, and the print being glossy, and running my hands over each part, excited to explore the work inside. 

I am a little concerned I haven’t met the requirements for the market. But, I also think that young people interested in the world of design would love these books. As I said, I feel like I would’ve loved them when I was a kid, and I can see them being gifted at Christmas to that one arty 12-year-old in the family. I think they’re modernised and relevant to current design trends, as well as keeping in mind how young people access media – and I think including the info box on the reverse helps connect to parents who might be buying the books for their children. 

Frustratingly, despite searching for quite a while, I was unable to find a book mock-up that was appropriate for the file size required. Although I often use mock-ups that are slightly off, it doesn’t usually impact the design much. However, the spacing on the front cover is so relevant to the design that distorting it just looks awful. I feel really disappointed that I wasn’t able to present my work in this way, as I love seeing the real-life representation of my pieces. 

I also have not completed the inner pages for the Typography book. I did try to make a start on the research and development for this, but I was quite overwhelmed by the lack of resources I had available to research with, combined with the feelings previously mentioned about the lack of a client. I really felt like I just had to pull ideas out from thin air, which made me feel stressed and unconfident. Due to my health conditions, it’s not always possible for me to leave the house to do primary research, which probably would’ve benefited this brief quite a lot. 

Regardless, I feel very proud of my outcome for this brief, and for how it has collated all that I have learnt throughout this unit. I have thoroughly enjoyed working through the content in Graphic Design Core Concepts and I learnt so much about my own processes and preferences within the design world. My health has been rough throughout the course of the unit and that has made it pretty tricky to keep on top of things, but the work I was doing never stopped being fun. I am looking forward to merging my illustrative practice with my design skills as I continue, and narrowing down which areas of visual communication I want to work in.

For this exercise, I was asked to develop brand imagery for a housing association. Specifically, the association wanted a logo that was easily reproducible to use on their stationary, in advertisements, and on official legal documents. The company – called Chance Housing Association – wanted to be seen as modern, helpful, and welcoming to their audience or market of first-time buyers. 

To start, I read through the brief and wrote down any key information. I also watched this YouTube video which discussed what makes a good logo, which I found really helpful to get me into the right headspace. One of the things mentioned in the video is that when designing a logo, you should make every decision with your target market in mind. For this brief, the market was young people looking to get on the housing ladder, so I made sure to consider where they might encounter the brand for the first time, and what is directly appealing to them. 

Next, I began researching existing housing companies and how they market themselves. I looked on their websites at their colour schemes, logos, and typefaces, mostly to consider which ones felt more modern and which felt more outdated. I noticed some trends across the board: the majority of typefaces used were Sans-serif, which felt more welcoming and modern. The few that used serif typefaces felt aimed at older audiences or simply in need of rebranding. The colours used were consistently shades of blue, green, or purple, with a few outliers. Any graphic elements in the logo were minimalistic and very easily reproduced. 

I decided to do some visual mind-mapping, sketching out different elements that I felt were related to the housing market and new buyers specifically. I explored different visual elements inspired by another YouTube video I had watched – specifically outlines of houses, windows, doors, keys, and ladders, referencing the ‘property ladder’ turn of phrase. I also explored typographical options and variations on each logo concept.

My research showed that logos are necessary for many different purposes, such as app icons, motion graphic elements on social media videos, and the traditional letterhead (as suggested in the brief). I needed to identify a way to create a recognisable brand image for each of these purposes. Mind-mapping helped me to make sure that each part of the branding could fit a range of different purposes and needs.

Once I felt I had some good ideas to work with, I began developing the designs further in Illustrator. Thankfully, this time around I was able to use the pen tool with ease to create the vectors – which is possibly because they’re much simpler than the vectors I have attempted to create previously. After I finished designing the logo framework, I started considering type options. I used my PDF from If The Face Fits and wrote a list of possible typefaces to use, referencing the logos I collated when researching. I then added each of these typefaces to the logo and compared them side by side. 

It was easy to narrow this down further to three options: Century Gothic, Europa, and Mr. Eaves. I sent these options to some friends and asked them which they felt suited the image best, and which they felt would catch their eye if they saw it whilst scrolling on Instagram. From these conversations, I chose Mr. Eaves to be the logo font, as I felt it was both unique as well as feeling modern and welcoming. After that, I edited the kerning and alignment of the text to ensure it fitted into the logo well and was easily readable. 

Next, I moved on to developing options for the square version of the logo. I felt this would be seen more regularly on social media in places such as profile pictures,  and I wanted it to feel like it fitted into the existing environment. I tried a few different options before ultimately settling on the rounded design. I felt like this tied in well with the rectangular version of the logo, almost looking like one was a dissected version of the other. 

I felt good about how the black-and-white versions of the logo looked, and wanted to move on to exploring potential colour schemes for the brand and how they could be used for the logo. I used Procreate to select some possible colours based on my research. Then, using Illustrator, I recoloured each logo using four of the colours I liked best. I tested out each colour on both white and black backgrounds, as it’s now popular to use a ‘dark mode’ theme when browsing online. Because of that, it’s important that any brand design can fit into this. I then pushed this further by testing out gradients of some of the colours as I had seen them used throughout the websites I had researched. I think subtle gradients are quite common now in branding design and can be found on almost any app icon. 

When testing out the gradients I ran into some issues with Illustrator. It was really hard to get the gradient to flow over the whole logo in one go, and I got quite frustrated as I couldn’t find a solution anywhere for this. Once again, I sent the gradient options, as well as the solid colour options, to some friends and asked them for their input. The gradient was overwhelmingly seen as effective, with the issues I was worried about going unnoticed. The flat colours were also enjoyed, and their usefulness was commented on.

I decided to take the blue-purple gradient option as the ‘main’ logo colour scheme, but also to supply the flat colour logos in the same scheme as the gradient. That meant that the best logo for the purpose could be chosen, while still fitting into the overarching brand theme. I also chose two colours – #F7FCFD and #031E1F – as brand alternatives to white and black. It’s often encouraged to not use pure white or pure black if you can avoid it, as they can be harsh on the eyes. Using slightly off-colours is a little nicer.

The brief asked me to put together a presentation pack for the client showcasing their brand imagery. At first, I considered using an existing template for this, as I’m quite pressed for time. Instead, I used the templates I found as a basis for designing my own pack and sketched out a rough guide for what I wanted to include in my presentation. The brief asked specifically for business card mockups, a letterhead mockup, and a newspaper advert. I felt this was a bit dated and decided instead I wanted to create a social media post advertising the brand. I would also explain the brand colours, include a brand pattern, and potentially explore the typeface used. 

I created an InDesign file of 10in x 7.5in – the standard size of a PowerPoint presentation – and began fitting together what I already had available. After that, I identified what I needed to design to add to the presentation and got to work on the pattern. I used Illustrator’s pattern maker tool for this as it was a relatively simple design: the door motif repeated across the page, showcased in different colourways on different backgrounds. I then added this to the presentation and began working on the business card. 

I collected some reference material for the business card and sketched out some ideas. However, I honestly felt that this was really dated too. I don’t remember the last time I even saw a business card, let alone took one; you typically just follow someone on social media there and then if you want to keep up with their company. I wasn’t sure how to make a business card that looked modern and relevant when the medium itself felt pretty dated, and all the reference material I gathered was much the same. 

I tried mocking up my concepts in InDesign in the hopes this would push me towards something I liked. Thankfully, this idea worked well. I used both logo designs, putting the square one on the front of the design and the rectangular one on the reverse. I also used ChatGPT to develop a (rather cheesy) slogan, which I added to the reverse of the card. I invented a phone number, website, and address for the card, and kept it within the branding guidelines I had already created for the presentation. Lastly, I added the designs to a business card mockup and I felt pretty good about them. 

At this stage, unfortunately, I only have a couple of weeks to complete the whole of Part Five. I was really enjoying this project and probably put a little too much work into it and ended up running out of time. I have to move on to the Assignment or else I won’t have enough time for it, which means I haven’t been able to complete the letterhead or social media mockups. I went back over my presentation one last time to ensure it flows well, looks visually consistent, and I also explained some of my branding choices. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and I hope I can add more before Assessment. 

I was actually dreading this exercise. I’ve done logo design and branding before, and I usually find it a little too easy, and in turn pretty boring. I felt like the brief was quite dull too, and I wasn’t excited about the company I had to design for. I was very shocked when I started working on it and I actually found myself super excited!

I thoroughly enjoyed every step of this exercise, and I can’t really put my finger on why it was different to other times. Maybe it being easy made it feel a bit more like I could just creatively explore and use the ‘fun’ parts of design, rather than feeling like I was having to learn new stuff and figure everything out as I went along. It also felt like I was working on an actual branding project for a real-life client, which maybe made it feel a bit more invigorating.

It’s really nice to be finishing off the unit with something that brought me so much joy, and that I feel so proud of! I think it really showed me how much I have developed my skills and abilities as a designer over the course of Core Concepts. I’m now looking forward to seeing how I approach Assignment 5!

For this exercise, I was asked to create an A3 poster and an A6 flyer both advertising an event for a singing course run by SingOut. The final pieces would be reproduced using a black-and-white photocopier, so the designs had to be suitable for this purpose. Some copy was provided to feature on both the poster and flyer, and it was advised that there should be continuity between the two designs. 

I began by dissecting the brief and identifying where to start. I also wrote out all of the provided copy so I had it to hand when researching and exploring options. I was quite excited to work within the constraints of this brief, as I find limited colour projects to be a lot of fun. The black-and-white photocopier mentioned in the brief made me think of the resurgence of photocopier zines in recent years, as well as the punk posters of the 1970s, which I felt I could really lean into with the music-themed brief. 

I collated some reference material from these two genres, and in the process discovered a whole art form called Xerox Art. I had never heard of this before, but I loved the concept and the work produced within the genre. I have, without intentionally knowing it, created art before that would be considered Xerox Art, though I had never seen the worth of it before and thought it was just a bit of silly fun. I was excited by what this could mean for this exercise. 

Reference material gathered for this exercise

I wanted to use some imagery in my designs, so I thought it would be best to collect some before I began idea generation. I used Unsplash and searched for ‘singer’, ‘microphone’, and ‘music’, saving any pictures I felt I could utilise. I then edited a handful in Photoshop by turning them black-and-white, using the threshold command, and playing with the exposure and contrast. I wanted the images to be bold, stark, and eye-catching, even when reproduced. I felt this was especially important given that designs can look faded or washed-out when they’re printed, scanned, or photocopied.

Next, I started to consider typography options. At this point, I realised it would be most logical for me to produce the bulk of the design non-digitally, using collage and traditional doodling to create the DIY effect I was aiming for. I wanted a typeface that was striking enough to stand out against the page, and that I could cut out in quite a choppy way – similar to what I saw when collecting the 70s punk posters. I chose Berlin Sans, Eras, Fat Frank, and TW Cen MT Condensed, and increased the kerning on them so there was plenty of space to cut out each letter. I wrote out ‘SingOut’ in all caps four times, once in each font, then saved them as a PNG. 

I added the PNG to a new A4 file at multiple different sizes so I had options for my design. I also added the images I had edited, once again in a range of sizes. I then printed this off and began considering the composition of my piece, and how to organise the information. I started by sketching out some initial ideas, but I quickly realised that it would be a lot easier to just play around with the physical pieces of paper instead. With this in mind, I grabbed an A4 piece of paper to use as my workspace and began cutting out the lettering and images I wanted to use.

Once printed, I really felt that Eras was the best typeface for this design, so I began by working with the cut-outs of this title. I also cut out the images I had printed and started writing out some of the copy onto spare pieces of printer paper to add as well. I tried out a few different ways of writing this, like using all caps, a neater version versus a messier version, and cutting out the paper in different ways.

I thought that the all lowercase neater ‘Do you love to sing?’ was the best of the four, so I moved on to the other information. I decided to cut out a piece of lined paper as a speech bubble as if the person singing was saying what was on it. I thought that maybe using a different type of paper could help add visual interest and hierarchy to the piece. 

To the lined paper I added the location, price, date, and time. I also intentionally left the blue lines from cutting out the paper, as I thought it added to the DIY vibes. I then used a Sharpie to write out the phone number and website and added them in the space below the microphone.

Using several different types of pens – a biro, Sharpie, and drawing pen – to write different information was a great way to break up the page without having access to colour or actual typefaces. The lineweights mean your eye is drawn to the bolder things first: the organisation name, the question ‘Do you love to sing?’, and where to find more information if interested. The details are there for anyone who wants to look further or who has been drawn in by the other parts of the poster, without creating clutter. 

I wasn’t sure how to add the paragraph of text provided without overwhelming the piece. I also wanted to use crayons to add details with variation of texture, and in order to do that I had to commit to the piece. I decided to scan in all of the cutout pieces so I had a back-up digitally just in case I changed my mind. I used a piece of black card for this so that the pieces stood out.

Once scanned, I realised the poster would maybe benefit from having this black background entirely, so I decided to do two copies. The first version I would complete by placing each piece of paper onto the scanner, then adding the black card and scanning. The second I would complete by sticking the paper to the A4 sheet and adding details there. I added digital details to the black option and compared the two when printed to see which I preferred. 

I cut out a large piece of paper to fill the space in the black poster, which I would later add the paragraph text to digitally. Next, I placed each piece of paper in the machine, ensured they lined up perfectly, and then scanned to check it. I continuously tweaked the paper until I felt happy with the scan outcome. There are still some areas that I think could be improved, but with how hard it is to do this upside down and back to front, I think I did a pretty good job!

When I was done with scanning the poster, I opened the file in Procreate and began adding text and editing. I used the typefaces Thonburi and Cat Cafe for the paragraph text and ‘no experience needed’ elements, and then used a coloured pencil brush to add some doodles around the page. 

After that, I went back to my A4 sheet of paper and stuck the elements down. Instead of the larger piece of paper for the paragraph text, I wrote directly on the page using a drawing pen. I outlined it using a crayon, and along with a biro added some similar doodles to the piece as I had in Procreate. Next, I scanned this in and printed both versions off to see how they reproduced. I think they both work fantastically, but I personally prefer the black-and-white version. Everything stands out so much more and it’s really eye-catching, like I’d hoped. 

Before continuing, I decided to find some photocopier textures to apply to my digital files so that they had the same feeling as the printed versions. This really elevated the pieces and helped them feel more ‘real’. I was already very excited about how my vision was playing out and felt like the posters had the DIY punk zine vibe I was aiming for. 

For the flyer, I largely repeated the same process. There was some difficulty with navigating layout, however, as A6 is really small. I cut out an A6-size sheet to work with to make sure I understood just how tiny this would be, which helped a lot when navigating the placement of information. I copied similar techniques to the poster but changed what information was placed where. For example, there’s still a speech bubble of lined paper on the front of the flyer, but this time it just says ‘Do you love to sing?’ instead of having the details. The details are on the reverse instead, this time with greater hierarchy than the paragraph text. 

I utilised the lined paper here too, this time creating more interesting shapes to help the information stand out more. The front of the flyer has the most important information: the organisation name, the contact details, where to find more info, and a call to action. The reverse has extra details and the paragraph text, so those who are interested can read further. I feel like the flyer especially benefits from the addition of digital type for the paragraph text, as on such a small scale the handwritten copy goes beyond DIY to just ‘messy’ and unreadable. 

As before, I edited the black flyer in Procreate to add details and type, before adding the photocopier texture to both flyers. The flyer was a lot harder to scan than the poster because I was working on such a smaller scale. My scanner is a little bigger than A4, so it’s pretty easy to figure out where everything belongs in that space. It’s harder when you need to organise within a smaller space, so that was challenging. 

The brief for this exercise mentions that you can use coloured paper if you’d like to. I don’t have coloured paper to hand to print on, but I did see that zines are often printed on pastel-toned paper, so I wanted to test how my designs would look in these contexts. I added pale purple, blue, and green colours to the white poster and flyer and used blending modes to show the black design against the ‘coloured paper’. I love how this looks, and I think the coloured options are way better than the white option. I still prefer the black overall, but having coloured paper really elevates the design. 

Finally, I used some poster and flyer mockup files I found on Freepik to see my designs in action. I think they look incredible and very successful! I was happy with the outcome and it was nice to see my designs in practice.

I really enjoyed how this exercise made me think about how to organise information in very different formats. I’ve made posters more times than I can count now, so I have a pretty good handle on how to organise information within this space. Moving from that to a much smaller, 2-sided space was really interesting and helped me think about the hierarchy of information in a new way. Furthermore, the restrictions of both working traditionally in a DIY type set-up and working with limited (or no) colour helped me re-frame how I see visual hierarchy to find new ways to create visual interest in a piece of work. 

I am happy with how I managed to connect the poster and flyer in the designs I made, and I think they flow together nicely. It’s clear that they’re for the same event, and I also think they’re unique and recognisable as advertisements for the SingOut organisation. I really enjoyed working in a more playful way throughout the exercise, and found the collage aspects to be a lot more intuitive than they were back when I did Abstract Cities. 

Overall, I feel really proud of my work and the outcome of this exercise. I’m excited to see how I can use this medium and format more moving forwards!

For this exercise, I was asked to design two different covers for a book I am familiar with – one using photographs or illustrations, and one using only typography. I had to design the entire cover including the spine and reverse, and I was asked to critique my work once completed. 

I recently finished reading A Class Act by Rob Beckett, so I decided to use that as it was so fresh in my mind. I dissected the brief for the exercise in my sketchbook, identifying what each of the two covers needed, what information I had to include in my design, and what action points to follow. I started by identifying themes from the book that I felt I wanted to represent through my design to inform the reader of what they are buying. 

Rob Beckett is a British comedian who was raised in south-east London. A Class Act is his autobiographical assessment of the class divide, and how it became extremely apparent to him as he began mixing with others in the comedy industry, rubbing shoulders with celebrities, marrying an upper-class woman, and having kids of his own. He explores his own relationship with class, what he has noticed since becoming more middle class, and how this continues to impact his mental health to this day. It manages to be a very funny book whilst touching on some really deep and difficult topics. As a working-class person myself, it was very relatable. 

I knew I wanted to keep the designs light, funny, and obviously autobiographical, as well as trying to communicate the class divide that’s discussed within the book. Before exploring my own ideas, though, I wanted to collect as many books by other comedians as possible to give me a good idea of the trends and patterns used throughout. I searched through Amazon’s comedy and autobiographical sections to collate a wide range of inspiration. I noticed some very clear and interesting trends throughout, such as portraits of the comedian being front and centre on almost all of the covers. 

Initial research collected for this exercise, and the original cover for the book I chose.

The colours used across the covers were very similar too, with a lot of white and blue showing up, and a few instances of orange or red. The covers were mostly minimalistic, with the images of the author and the author’s name dominating the page. The author’s name was, in most cases, given more visual priority than the title of the book. It’s likely that this is due to the autobiographical nature of the books; whoever has written it takes priority over what it is called. The typefaces used were relatively simple, with mostly sans serif used, although some serif was used too. There were a lot of instances of handwritten or script fonts throughout, likely because this gives a ‘personal’ feel to the page as if the author has directly written on the book themselves. 

I wanted to start with my photographic cover as I felt this would be a lot easier to accomplish for this book. I was already a bit concerned about how I would approach the type-only cover as this was very uncommon in the genre, so I felt that beginning with a familiar style would be a good place to start. Before I began thumbnailing, I wanted to collect imagery that I planned to use on the cover, so I knew what I was working with. I grabbed a bunch of photographs of Rob Beckett in various contexts from Google Images and thought about the various contexts I could use them in. Some shared background colours or were from the same shoot, and so they were easier to pair up. Others took a little more thinking, and further research to find images that fit. 

I then sketched out various options for the front cover. My favourite images were the one of Rob sitting on a chair in a suit in front of a red velvet curtain, and the photo of him in front of an orange background – which paired nicely with another from the same shoot of him on a children’s bike. I liked how the seated image gave an air of luxury and higher class, but that he still looked a bit lost in that position. My favourite initial concepts were one utilising balloons as text, and one with a comically giant martini glass with the text inside. I very roughly mocked these up in Photoshop to make a digital sketch. I did this to see how I felt about the composition of each and what work would be involved to create the design. 

I really liked the imagery of Rob sitting on the chair in front of the curtain, almost cowering from a giant imposing martini glass. However, I felt it would be way too much work to try to get this piece to look polished. I also wasn’t super confident about the other image choices to use for the back cover, whereas the orange portrait had a great existing image for the back cover. Having to work with images found online, rather than being able to request a photoshoot with the author, was hard. I also thought the original cover was really, really good. I felt a bit like nothing I could personally come up with would compare to how fantastic this cover is – it’s a really admirable piece of design work. 

Next, I found the typical size of a paperback book in the UK and created a canvas of that size in InDesign. For the rest of the design process, I switched back and forth between Photoshop and InDesign to create various assets and then lay them out in an organised way. This was enormously stressful, and I really do not enjoy having to use two different pieces of software in this way. InDesign is fantastic for layouts, but having to go back into Photoshop to edit images repeatedly rather than being able to do this within InDesign itself is so frustrating! I am very used to having everything in one place. 

In Photoshop, I followed a guide found on youtube to create a smart object for balloon text. This was a fantastic tutorial and it was really eye-opening to how different effects in Photoshop can work together to create such realistic-looking assets. I furthered this process by changing some of the effects to look more in line with my goal, rather than this very generic and digital balloon-like appearance. I used the typeface Grenadine for the balloon text as it felt playful and childlike, which aided the balloons’ impact. I made a bunch of different colour options for the cover and then moved back to InDesign to fit the text to the image. 

I used a simple 3×3 grid as I remembered reading that the intersection of these points is where the eye is naturally drawn. Because of that, I tried to ensure important aspects of the design met these intersections. I placed the image of Rob in the centre of the page and added the balloon text. I then went back into Photoshop and created simple balloons with A, C, and T written on them using Sketchnote, which I added to the main image. For the author’s name, I used a variant of the Sketchnote type family as I felt it tied in with the existing usage, and it worked really well with the rest of the page. 

I finally added a soft gradient to the whole image to tie in the existing shadows in the portrait. The balloons felt a bit weird just ‘hanging’ there in midair, so I spent quite a while trying to make some ‘strings’. This is where my limitations – not having access to Rob himself to do a literal photoshoot, and having to switch back and forth between software – became a huge issue. Relying on photos that were already available meant that I was limited by the resources I could use, and switching software made creating the design more complicated. In the end, I opted for the midair suspension and added a review from BM Mag which I found online. 

I felt really confident about the front cover overall, so I moved on to the spine and back cover. For the spine, I used the same type family, with identical author lettering, and the same font as on the silver balloons for the title of the book. I also added the publisher’s logo and a border to help the spine feel more complete and centred. On the back cover, I added the picture of Rob on the children’s bike, then added a blurb around him. I’m really pleased with how this turned out, and I feel like the whole jacket flows together seamlessly. 

I found a book mock-up that displayed the front and back of the cover and added the design. It was then that I realised I had accidentally created the design backwards, and that the front cover should be on the right-hand side of the page. This meant there was some misalignment in the spine imagery, but it isn’t super noticeable. This mockup also has a weird amount of exposure applied to the image, so it’s slightly washed out. I still like seeing the cover in context, and it makes me feel super happy about how it turned out. 

For the typography-only cover, I initially wanted to follow a very minimalistic design inspired by one of my thumbnails for the photographic cover. I decided to explore further, just to be sure there wasn’t more I could do, and came up with the idea of engravings on marble with graffiti’d text scrawled over it. I began by setting up my grid and guidelines, ensuring this time to create the front of the cover on the right-hand side. I followed another guide on how to create a text engraving effect in InDesign itself so I didn’t have to keep switching back to Photoshop this time. I played around with this until I felt it looked more like an expensive upper-class carving. 

This process was really difficult, as I think it just doesn’t look as good on a screen as it would when printed. I would imagine using a metallic gold colour embossed on the actual cover would look fantastic. It’s very flat on the screen in comparison and it feels a bit crap. I used Sketchnote again for the graffiti effect, which I think could probably be done more effectively. I used Los Feliz for the author’s name, which I had also used in the photographic piece. This time, I changed the author’s name and tagline to a deep brown shade to help create some hierarchy in the piece. 

The spine was designed in a very similar way to the first cover, utilising the assets I had already created. On the reverse, I added more graffiti and intended to create the same engraving effect for the first line of the text. I couldn’t remember exactly how I had managed to create the effect on the front cover however, and I felt quite demotivated by this design. I left it as it was and hoped it communicated my intentions well enough. 

I thought the concept behind this design was really fun and fitting for the book, but overall it just fell a bit flat. I’m sure there are ways I could improve it that I just can’t see right now, but I also think that ultimately for a book like this, a text-only design is always going to be hard and may be a bad fit. Had I gone with the minimalistic cover option, it would probably look a lot more visually appealing. It seems sort of cluttered and chaotic right now. I found it difficult to choose colours in this context, and as mentioned earlier, I think it would look a lot better printed compared to on-screen. 

When I put the image onto my mockup, my opinion of it changed. This brought it to life in more ways than one, as this embossed effect I was going for kinda looked more realistic and effective! I feel more confident in the design seeing it in this context, but I still think the photographic design is more suited to the genre.

I really enjoyed this whole exercise, even if I don’t feel like both covers were a success. I think that making two very different covers taught me a lot about how to fit design to a certain genre or brief. I have found designing for books very enjoyable so far and I regret not choosing Creative Book Design as my third unit for level one. I think I would have had a much more enjoyable time than I did on Illustration Sketchbooks. I hope I have more opportunities to explore book design as I progress through my degree. 

This exercise followed on from the work in Part Four, with a specific focus on using grids. I was asked to study grids, then choose a magazine and identify which grid was used for the page layouts. I then had to recreate this myself, as in Exercise 16, and explore ways of using this layout for different purposes. 

To start, I dissected the brief in my sketchbook. I decided I wanted to use a copy of the Pokemon magazine because the market is children, which is a new market for me to explore within editorial publications. I wrote down the key information I needed to find, as well as a to-do list for the exercise. I decided to reproduce the magazine pages for a very different audience to see how this impacted the way I used the grid. 

I chose four different pages of the magazine and measured the grids, making notes as I went. The first page was the introductory page which featured an editor’s note and more information on the content within the magazine. This used an asymmetrical grid, splitting the page in two. It used three columns, including the editor’s note, with an 8mm margin around the whole page. The asymmetrical grid system was very effective at creating a visual hierarchy, especially as it’s necessary to keep the graphics simple for the audience.

The second and third pages made up part of a series of comics in the magazine. They used two columns with a 5mm gutter, a 10mm margin on the left and right sides of the page, and an 8mm margin on the top and bottom. Each page was organised to fit a pattern, with two boxes featuring art and text, followed by a singular long box with the same features. Two images on the pages broke this format, drawing the eye immediately to them. 

Finally, I measured out a competition announcement and form. This also utilised two columns, a 5mm gutter, and 8mm margins. I noticed that the grid used was followed to some degree for the placement of images and text on the top half of the page, and not just when adding the form and extra information on the lower half. 

On all of the pages, the grids were kept very simple. I found in my research that this is how to achieve good readability and create an effective hierarchy in a layout, which especially makes sense due to the magazine’s audience. No more than two columns are used at any time throughout the magazine, which helps young readers follow information. There’s a focus on imagery, and image placement is very carefully chosen based on the importance of the image itself. Large text is used throughout, which again aids and guides young readers. If more columns were used, this would become visually crowded and overwhelming. 

Next, I moved on to identifying the typefaces used throughout the magazine. For this, I used Identifont. This was a bit tricky, especially when it came to the various accent and header fonts. The header typefaces are very similar but definitely different, which made it difficult to differentiate and identify them. The accent font is used pretty infrequently and there wasn’t enough information to get an accurate match. However, I managed to identify the exact body typeface used, which was Museo, and I found some similar header typeface matches such as Samo Sans. 

I also noted that bold colours, minimalistic graphics, smaller quantities of large text, and ‘off-grid’ objects were found on almost every page of the magazine. I think the combination of these elements is appealing to children, as they may struggle to understand more complicated designs. At this point, I knew I wanted to recreate the pages for adults, and maybe for an older teen audience, for educational purposes. I felt these would look very different to the magazine I had been studying, making the exercise creatively challenging. 

I decided to recreate the two-page spread that featured a section from the comic for a different target audience. I thought the spread would be fun to reimagine because of its interesting use of the grid format and other design choices.

To start my mockup, I measured the magazine page and created a document of the same size in InDesign. I added the margins previously measured and laid out guides for the rest of the grid. Next, I began filling the grid with tinted boxes to make placeholders for text and imagery. Once I was happy with their placement, I added dummy text similar to the printed pages, and changed the background to an orange colour. I sourced images similar to those used in the original magazine and placed them in similar locations, then made and added the ‘continued on…’ graphic. 

I found it quite hard to work with the text within the ‘continued on…’ graphic. I am curious as to how the magazine designer managed to make it work on the original spread because mine just would not behave. I also struggled a little with getting the text to wrap correctly around the image on the bottom right page. However, I think this is a good representation and accurate recreation of the grid used. 

After that, I used the same grid and content to create a spread suitable for an adult audience. I made use of my previous knowledge from researching various publications to create a newspaper-style spread. I started by moving around the images to be more appropriate for the layout. Next, I split the page into various text boxes based on where I wanted the body text, headline, subheader, and quotes to be. I then referenced previous research and my If The Face Fits sample book to identify three suitable typefaces: Bodoni MT for the headline, Californian FB for the body, and Corbel for the subheading and quotes. I coloured the subheading and quotes in a navy blue to help them stand out whilst still maintaining appropriateness for the audience. I played around with the text wrapping and other paragraph characteristics before exporting my work. 

I feel very happy with the outcome of this design! I didn’t really change much about the grid, which goes to show how big of a deal typeface is in the presentation of a layout. I do feel like the way I used images is more suited to a magazine article than a newspaper, which I didn’t think too much about when creating the layout. 

Next, I designed a spread for an educational context. My idea was that this was in a science magazine or textbook for an audience of 11-14 year olds, so it should be accessible and enjoyable to look at while communicating information and knowledge well. I began by creating a pie chart and sticking it right in the centre of the page. This completely ignored the grid I had been previously using, but it felt like a fantastic asset. I tried to continue using the grid around the pie chart, adding text boxes for the headline and body text, and once again changing how other imagery was placed on the page. I also swapped out one of the images. 

For this piece, I used Mr Eaves for the headline, Europa for the subheader, and Mostra Nuova for the body. Once again, I referenced previous research and my sample book to decide on these fonts. I found it hard to organise the headline, but I managed it in the end. I was quite focused on making my vision fit the page, so I didn’t really stop to think about how it looked and what grid it was utilising. In the end, I think there’s a lot that could be done to improve the layout. 

The text on the right-hand side of the page should really be in two columns if not one smaller column. There is too much in one go, making it quite difficult to read. I also think the text begins too high up on the page and should be lowered, which is what leads me to wonder if it should just be one column further on the right, as any lower and two columns would look daft. I also think it’s a bit plain, despite the graphics and colour changes, and maybe less exciting for younger audiences. The page should be a different colour, or feature a border, to make it more eye-catching. I don’t know if I hit the target of 11-14 with this! 

Despite those problems, I really enjoyed this exercise. I had a lot of fun experimenting with different layouts, typefaces, and graphics. I find editorial design so enjoyable and exciting to engage with that it’s hard for me to not come away feeling like I succeeded every time. This exercise also really showed me how vital the grid system is when laying out a page, and I have a much deeper appreciation for it than I did before. 

I finished all Part Four exercises in mid-July, and eagerly began this assignment hoping to finish before the end of the month. I then almost immediately entered an awful health flare that I’m still somewhat recovering from. I tried hard to continue working during this time, but ultimately this resulted in a rollercoaster of emotions, lowering my expectations, and grieving. I do not have long left with this unit, so I must finish the work as quickly as possible, and with my health causing such huge issues, I had to let go of the things I wanted to explore.

My health means I am very unlikely to ever work, even as a self-employed designer, part-time from home. I do this degree for myself, for fun, because I simply love the world of art and design and engaging with it gives me a sense of purpose. I found it very hard throughout this assignment to let go of the things that I loved for the sake of ‘getting it done’, as this felt counterproductive to the reason I wanted to study. I don’t want to just do it, I want to love it, and I want to be excited and fulfilled. It is hard to feel excited and fulfilled when you are so unwell.

I think I have discussed before in my learning logs that one of my biggest takeaways from this unit has been learning to set better boundaries with myself. Finding the limits I am willing to reach before moving on, and sticking to that, has helped me enormously throughout Part Four. I felt more confident and capable than ever before! However, as I was so excited about this assignment, I set basically zero boundaries. I now realise that was foolish, and led to a lot of frustration. I continuously went back and forth on what I would even do for my final piece, and maybe I would have found it less overwhelming had I set some limits for myself before beginning.

I have a very short amount of time to dedicate to Part Five, and I hope that this lesson helps me there. I can’t make my health behave, no matter how hard I try, and I have to work with it even on my worst days. All I can do is change the expectations I have of myself and of my work.

I don’t typically do introductions like this to my logs, as I prefer to talk about the feelings in a more natural way as they come up throughout the process. But I have avoided writing this log for weeks as I am so frustrated and hurting over how this Assignment played out. I wanted to be upfront with that, sharing that this has been tough, and writing this is hard. The intersection of creativity, academia, and disability, will always be a challenge.

Anyway, here’s moving on to my typical formal introduction and learning log! Thanks for sticking it out with me.

——-

Assignment 4 asked me to design the font for use on the cover of a magazine called ‘type’. I also had to write a short article for the magazine using a range of typefaces and typographical illustrations to showcase all I learned throughout Part Four. I was advised to research type foundries, create a mock-up of the magazine cover, and ensure the article was attractive and interesting to read.

I began this assignment by exploring the brief in my sketchbook. I identified key areas I wanted to research, and methods I wanted to use when designing my typeface. I also sketched out some ideas for the cover of the magazine, which I wanted to paint onto a canvas and then photograph. During this research process, I collected a wealth of examples of magazine covers and reflected on the typefaces, colours, images, and designs used across them.

I was extremely excited to create my own font, as discussed throughout Part Four. I wanted to create a variable serif font, used for both the cover as requested and for the body text in the article. The variations of the font would hopefully create visual interest between these two uses. I underwent a lot of research here, starting with the identifont website. This helped me get a sense of how I wanted each of my letters to look and feel, and identify the ‘voice’ of my typeface.

Next, I attempted to sketch out each letter in different styles but quickly became overwhelmed by how much there was to do. I moved to Procreate, where I sketched out a basic concept for each letter, including numbers and punctuation. I referenced the research I had undertaken previously in my sketchbook and used the Adobe Fonts website to explore existing portrayals of the letter I was working on. I felt really good about the concept behind my font and how it flowed at this stage, though it was very rough.

My next step was to take the procreate sketch files and turn them all into vectorised images ready for exporting as a typeface. As mentioned before in this unit, I don’t have much experience using vectors, and at this point, I was very unwell. I installed Adobe Illustrator and watched multiple tutorials on the basics of the pen tool and creating vectors. Each time I tried to engage with this, however, I would end up very unwell after only a short time. It was extremely difficult for me to learn how this tool and software worked whilst my brain was malfunctioning so greatly.

After days of attempting to make this work, I decided it wouldn’t be possible to make the whole font. I went back and forth on whether to design the front cover text and ultimately decided it wasn’t worth putting my brain through this. I felt extremely disappointed in myself and distressed by this decision and contemplated whether I could even continue with my degree in this state.

From here, I naturally struggled to find a direction for my work. I spent several weeks trying out different things when my health allowed and kept going in circles regarding what I would do for my final piece. I eventually decided to paint, as planned, as this was what I truly wanted to do for the front cover. I really wanted to showcase as many different fonts as possible in a celebration of typography. To do this, I selected the most ‘interesting’ letters with a lot of variables, such as a, g, and w.

Usually, I mix my paints based on what feels interesting in the moment, but for this piece, I decided to use Adobe Color to create a colour scheme for my painting. I then mixed the colours using acrylic paint as close as possible to those I selected. Then, I used an abstract technique to layer the colours on the canvas, creating visual interest and depth. This took a few days and several layers of paint, but I feel really happy with the overall finished look.

For the lettering, I chose typefaces at random that I felt represented the breadth of options out there, and put them all together in InDesign. I used a much bigger file than my canvas, intending to have the letters overflowing from the edges of the canvas. I then split the file into 9 A4 files and printed these to transfer to the canvas.

Once printed, I pieced the pages together, and then I laid them out on my canvas to mark the edges so I knew where to transfer. I then used a B2 pencil to blacken the reverse of the design. Next, I stuck down the paper so it was wrapped firmly around the canvas, and I used a biro to go over each of the letters, leaving a faint black outline on the canvas.

Originally, I had wanted to paint each letter by hand, as I have done so in the past, but with the constraints of my health (and time), I used POSCA markers to colour them. I think this looks fantastic and it does feel like a celebration of type.

I managed to arrange to use the local college’s photography space to photograph my canvas for the cover of the magazine. I made sure to take plenty of photos from different angles and perspectives. My aim was to have the images look like they were taken in an art gallery with the work hanging on the wall. I then edited the photos in Lightroom to enhance the colours and add some warmth to the pieces, as the white felt too stark for me.

My health necessitated that I have more time off from the project at this point, and when I came back I wanted to do something different as I was tired of thinking about the same issues and having no real progress. I looked at the topics needed for the article inside the magazine and sketched out some ideas for typographic illustrations that would go alongside them. I was quite excited by these ideas, though not well enough to explore them fully at this stage.

When I finally had a bit more energy, I decided to focus on getting the front cover finished. I used the PDF from If The Face Fits for this and selected typefaces that were similar to my goal when creating my own. This was difficult, as none of them felt ‘right’. I realised quickly this was because the only one that would match my vision would be the one I wanted to design myself. I laid them out on a Photoshop canvas to see which I favoured and chose Essonnes for the final design.

Alongside Essonnes, I used Franklin Gothic as a complementary font. I explored different possible layouts for the cover in my sketchbook, then again in InDesign, and mocked up two of them. I picked colours from the painting that I felt complemented the overall piece, and I referenced my previously gathered magazine research to ensure I had what was needed – such as a barcode, price, date, and information on what was inside. I then placed the images on magazine mockups to see how they’d look in the real world.

As usual, I sent my mockups to fellow students and friends, and the reception was very mixed. I think my favourite is the one without a border, but many people preferred the one with a border as it looked cleaner and easier to read. I do think the green shade looks harder to read in the magazine mockup than in the JPEG, and it would be worth exploring more options here. Despite how hard it was to reach this point, I feel good about how the magazine covers look. I am disappointed to not be using my own typeface, but trying to give myself grace knowing how much I was trying to do with so little energy and capacity.

Over the past few weeks, I have struggled to decide whether to design the article spread. I loved the exercises focused on this, and really enjoy mocking up a layout. However, I think due to the toll this has taken on me, and the need for me to complete Part Five in a short time, I need to move on. I got a lot of experience doing editorial work throughout Part Four, and I really hope I can use that in Assignment 5 to showcase how far I have come in this unit.

I have mixed emotions finishing Part Four. I truly loved the exercises, and I felt so excited about the work I was doing. I also feel a lot of disappointment and shame that I couldn’t produce the work I wanted to for the Assignment. I feel like I have let myself down, and like I don’t have anything to show for assessment now. Writing this learning log was really hard. I am usually comfortable being honest and open about my experiences, but this felt like admitting failure on a whole new level.

Looking ahead to the exercises in Part Five, I can see I have more opportunities to showcase the skills learned in Part Four, and I really hope I can do so in a more productive way. I also have decided to take an extended break when I finish this unit before I start the next, in the hopes doing this will give my body some space and time to recover.

For the final exercise of Part Four, I was asked to design three different pages using dummy text. The first, an interview with a TV actor in a listings magazine entitled: Will Sheila Tell the Naked Truth?, the second, a book review in a newspaper’s weekend edition, and the third a review of a new piece of hardware or software in a specialist computer magazine. I was asked to research the different types of publications and identify three different combinations of typefaces suitable for my designs, using the typefaces to explain why I chose them. I then had to create all three designs.

The unit guide discussed the concept of hierarchy in graphic design before the exercise, but I wanted to dive deeper into this and how I could use the concept effectively in my work. I looked at the Interaction Design Foundation website which has short articles about various design principles and their relevance to UX and UI design – which I felt I could apply to other areas of design too. I read this article about visual hierarchy and took some notes on effective tools, and then read this article about Gestalt Principles and how they can be utilised when designing. 

Once I felt like I had a really solid understanding of how to work with visual hierarchy in both traditional and nonconformative ways, I moved on to working through each of the three briefs. 

Will Sheila tell the naked truth?

To start, I headed out to the shops to buy some research material. I initially tried googling and using digital resources, but for TV guides this proved difficult. I bought two different brands of TV magazines – TV Week and TV Choice – and began to make notes on what graphic features were consistent throughout. Both used a lot of bold, bright, and primary colours alongside heavier weighted sans serif fonts which were often all-caps for headlines. These pages felt very chaotic for me, and almost satirically opposed the research I had just done on visual hierarchy. I struggled to make sense of each page and every element was competing with each other. 

I felt a bit overwhelmed about having to replicate this as it felt against my natural desire for visual ‘neatness’ and readability. My preference for minimalism and clean-looking designs was being challenged! Regardless, I sketched out a few ideas for layouts and began looking at font options. I needed a bold sans serif font for headlines and an easy-to-read complementary sans typeface for the body text. I used my PDF from If the Face Fits and selected four options for each, then opened a blank Photoshop document to experiment with combinations within. 

My process in Photoshop was to write each header font choice four times, pair each with a body font option, and then pick which one I felt was strongest. I then put all four selections together and chose the three strongest to fulfil the brief. At this point, I chose subheadings for each pair, which I knew I wanted to be a variant of either the header or body font as is consistent within the magazines. My three final choices were Franklin Heavy paired with Europa and Europa Bold, Ebrima Bold paired with Candara and Candara Bold, and Segoe UI used as both a header and subheading, paired with Europa for the body text. 

I felt the strongest set of the three choices was the Segoe UI and Europa combination, so I highlighted this in my sketchbook and moved into InDesign to begin exploring layout ideas. I realised quickly I needed to source some imagery to make this piece come alive, so headed over to Unsplash and downloaded a few I felt fit the brief. I then explored ways of using the imagery alongside text and other elements to create an eye-catching and attractive piece. I reflected on the four options and felt the swimsuit layout was best. 

I began to work on this layout in a similar way to how I worked on my replica designs in the previous exercise, building a foundation and adding text around that, then finishing off with graphic elements and choosing colours. I had a difficult time navigating the image manipulation and going back and forth between Photoshop and spent hours trying to figure out how to position everything and make the piece look exactly how I envisioned it. I learned so much about how to use InDesign in this process and despite it being quite stressful at the time, I’m grateful for the experience. 

I chose colours that complimented the image as well as reflected the bright primary colours used in the magazines I bought. I also referenced both magazines repeatedly throughout to look at how the text was organised, what sort of shapes were used in graphic elements, and what effects were used to make the text easier to read. I was especially interested in the fact a soft background glow had been applied to lettering over images, rather than a drop shadow, and I was impressed by how effective this was when I used it in my own work. 

I used several variations of both Europa and Segoe UI throughout the design, and I feel they were an effective choice. I am so proud of how this page came together. I do think it feels too minimal compared to the magazines, but I pushed myself to be more chaotic where possible and I love how it looks. I think it looks just like a piece from an actual TV magazine! I had some issues with the text formatting as I couldn’t quite get 3 even columns for the body, and I think this is something I could’ve explored further. Overall, I am really happy with the design. 

Newspaper Book Review

For the next design, I mostly had to rely on digital research, though I did have a copy of the i newspaper to hand. This didn’t feature any book reviews but did have various other reviews and sections that I could take inspiration from and get a general feel for how newspapers are designed. I took some notes from this to be a foundation for my page – noting that soft earth-toned colours were frequently used, with more of an emphasis on the text rather than imagery as in the TV magazines. Headlines used bold serif fonts, with sans serif subheadings and a subtle serif body text. I also noted that reviews typically featured a star rating, where to buy, and the cost of the product being reviewed. 

I attempted to do some digital research of newspaper book reviews but found this very hard. Digital articles are laid out very differently from printed publications, and the requirements in terms of readability are different. There’s also a growing issue of newspapers paywalling their digital content, and I simply can’t afford to pay to access articles just for research purposes. Existing paywall dodging services unfortunately alter the design of pages, rendering them useless for research anyway. So, I continued with my printed newspaper, trying to also use my mental bank of research alongside. 

Once again I turned to my If the Face Fits PDF to identify three header, subheading, and body typeface options. I then repeated the same process of elimination to narrow down three combination options: Lucida Demibold with Corbel as a subheader and Californian FB as body text, Georgia Black with Candara as a subheader and Sitka as a body text, and Bookman Bold with Calibri as a subheader and Corbel as a body text. The first, featuring Lucida, was my favourite of the three. 

I hadn’t sketched any layout ideas yet and decided to go straight into InDesign to play around and test out different ideas. I was feeling a bit demotivated at this point in the exercise due to the lack of resources available, and I just wanted to get on with finishing it. I sourced an image for the author’s photo and both books and worked to create an eye-catching page. Once I felt good about the layout, I decided to build a guide to ensure everything was even and I could avoid the issues I faced with the TV guide brief. I split the page evenly into 4 columns and used this to place all images and text. 

This process was a lot easier than the previous one, mostly because I already had an understanding of the software and had already navigated any potential issues. However, I felt a lot less positive about the outcome of this piece. Something about it just didn’t sit well with me the whole time, and I can’t put my finger on what. I shared it with friends, and everybody complimented me and said it looks exactly like a newspaper article, but to me, something isn’t right. Maybe I just didn’t do enough research, so I feel I have nothing to pull it back to. I also wish I’d taken more screenshots! It’s hard to explain my process when I don’t have them to hand. 

Specialist Magazine Tech Review 

For the final brief, I decided to use some amateur photography magazines I have from 2006 as a basis for my research. I did briefly do some online research on more modern magazines, but as mentioned in the previous brief, this isn’t quite the same as printed work. I felt like despite being outdated, the general concepts were still there for these magazines, and I could use them as a launchpad. I noted down what features I needed to include in my review layout – photos of the product, specifications, price and where to buy – as well as identifying that all fonts used were compressed or condensed versions of fonts, with a large heavy-weighted header, and a light-weighted body text. 

I decided to sketch some potential layouts for this brief, as I wasn’t quite sure what direction to go in. I then used the PDF from If the Face Fits to identify 5 potential header typefaces and 4 potential body typefaces. The subheadings throughout the magazines used either the body or the headline typeface in a different weighting or variation, so I planned on playing around and seeing which of these worked best when I experimented in Photoshop. My final three combinations for this brief were Futura Condensed Extra Bold and Regular paired with Ingra Condensed as a body text, Condor Bold paired with Mr Eaves Narrow for both subheading and body text, and Ingra Condensed Extra Bold and Book paired with Mr Eaves Narrow Light as the body text. 

My favourite font combination jumped out at me for the previous two designs, but I had a harder time with this one. I felt the first and last were particularly strong, and after some discussion with a friend I decided to proceed with the Ingra Condensed headline combo. I then visited the Curry’s website to find a product to feature in my review and chose the Lenovo Tab P11 as it was advertised a lot on the front page of the website. I found a handful of images of the tablet to use in my design and headed over to InDesign to begin plotting out my layout. 

I once again used a 4-column grid system for this design as I loved how it worked in the previous one. This was the first thing I did once I set the margins for the document, and I think I will continue with this for future designs. Some research I did at the start of the exercise said ‘Build your own grid’ and it stuck with me. 

I followed the same process again, starting with images, then headers and any ‘stand-out’ text, then body text, and then little details. I like to plot everything out using filler shapes just to see where everything should sit before I start nitpicking at details and filling in text. Once I feel happy with the layout, I tweak everything until it looks perfect. I then selected colours and I was very intentional about this process. The magazines I had referenced were quite plain, and I wanted something that popped. I researched ‘tech colours’ and saw that blue is most often associated with technology, so I used Adobe Color to create a colour palette for the piece. I really like how the orange highlights complement the blue header, and the image used in the top right of the page. 

I feel really happy with this design, especially after feeling less confident about my newspaper spread. It looks exactly like a tech magazine to me, and those I sought feedback from agreed. I also felt like this piece was an accumulation of all I learned through the previous two, and the exercise before, as I was able to put all the work into place effortlessly and intuitively. 

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I feel so excited about the work I produced for this exercise. I knew going into it that I would have fun, but I completely exceeded my own expectations. I can’t wait for the assignment and to produce a magazine layout for it, and hopefully to continue exploring editorial work and where I can take my portfolio in this area. 

Prior to this exercise, I was asked to collect examples of leaflets, brochures, magazines, and various other printed materials to reference and learn from. I have a large collection of these things to hand already and often bring home an assortment of printed ephemera whenever I leave the house. For the exercise itself, I was asked to select two designs from this collection that I like and think work. I was then challenged to try to copy the layout and design as closely as possible, using dummy text where necessary. The brief advised I measure the margins and column widths and use a typeface that is as close as possible to the one featured in the design.

I began by looking through the magazines I had to hand as I was eager to try copying one. I selected a layout from Elle Decoration – an interior design magazine – which I felt was effective in being both eye-catching and presenting the information within. I then wanted to challenge myself by choosing a very different type of publication and layout for my second design, and I chose a brochure from a funeral directors which I received in the post.

As I learned in my previous exercise, InDesign is a much better software to use for editorial design than Photoshop, so I installed the program and began identifying the typefaces in my first design. I began by writing down where each typeface was used, then I used the Identifont website to give me a good starting place for which ones I could use. As I didn’t have access to all of the fonts listed on Identifont, I used its comparison feature to find similar ones which were available on Adobe Fonts. The fonts I used were Kepler 3 for the ‘Style Scout’ header, Futura for the ‘Laura Jackson’ header and the image descriptions, and Nimbus Roman for the body text.

Next, I measured out the size of the magazine page and opened an InDesign document. I began by adjusting the margins to fit the existing layout, then marking out the divider between the main body of text and the images below. I felt like establishing this foundation would make it easier to build around. I then used the rectangle tool to mark out where I wanted the body text to go and then mirrored it to the other side of the page. I merged the rectangles which allowed me to use them as one large text box, which was very helpful!

Next, I added the ‘Style Scout’ heading and positioned it slightly outside of the margins as it was in the layout. I edited the body text to be justified and non-hyphenated, then began working on the image gallery below. I was careful to position each tinted box in the same position as shown in the magazine and added more dummy text where each description was positioned.

Throughout this whole process, I used a ruler to measure each element and ensure it was accurately portrayed in the document. Using the guides that InDesign has was extremely helpful for this. I was also learning how to use InDesign as I went through this first piece, having never used the software before. It felt mostly intuitive, but there were quite a few issues I had to troubleshoot. As I was so focused on this, I failed to take a lot of screenshots showing my progress.

Once finished, I saved my copied design as both a JPEG and a PDF. The JPEG is significantly lower quality than the PDF, so I have included both and advise you to look at the PDF too! I had so much fun doing this piece, I love editorial work and this heightened that love so much more. I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed this aspect of editorial work specifically, as my previous experience has been mostly in illustration and less in the design aspects. I would love to work in this field!

I moved on to the funeral brochure next, and repeated the same steps to set up my document, measuring the pages and the margins. I again used Identifont to select suitable fonts – and I ended up finding the exact font that was used as header text, Meta Serif. I chose Segoe UI for the body text which was not exact but felt close enough. I started on the first page by adding both images including a border and drop shadow on the foreground image, then began adding text. I did attempt to recreate the logo, but it felt a bit too perfectionist of me, and after struggling for half an hour I gave up and focused on the layout again.

Whilst I was designing these pages, I couldn’t help but think about how an actual graphic designer was hired to sit and produce these pages. This made me feel so inspired and excited for my potential future as a designer, which feels like a weird thing to say about a funeral brochure. I really enjoyed putting together the second page, as by this point I had a good understanding of both how InDesign works and also of the qualities of an editorial piece. Measuring became intuitive and I was able to guesstimate quite accurately the space between things.

Again, I saved this as both a JPEG and a PDF and I recommend viewing the PDF for the best quality reproduction. Choosing to do two pages for the second layout was really helpful as I got to think about how the pages interact with each other and how to make the whole brochure cohesive. I enjoyed this just as much as the magazine layout and feel good about how both designs turned out. They both look very accurate which I feel so proud of.

This exercise got me thinking about my future as a designer and where I want to go with my degree. I always said I was interested in editorial work but I had not seen this angle of it before, and it has only made me more passionate. I even went to look at available editorial positions with varying companies to see what sort of jobs are out there where I could utilise these skills. I still am passionate about branding/advertising and gallery work, and I feel like editorial production is dying out in the age of digital media, which makes me feel apprehensive about dedicating time to this. It makes me feel so happy though, and excited to work!

I enjoyed this exercise more than any other yet in this unit. I hope I can take what I’ve learned into the next exercise and assignment, and keep coming back to this going forward!

This exercise had two parts to it. Part one asked me to go through my digital software and sort all of the fonts I had available to me into five categories: serif, sans-serif, decorative, script, and fixed-width. I was then asked to create a sample book featuring all of the typefaces, something I could easily refer back to in future when selecting fonts for my work. Part two was putting this sample book into use, identifying suitable fonts for four different briefs and trying them out in practice. I was also asked to make notes on how changing these fonts changed the feeling of each mockup.

To start with, I decided to do some brief research into existing sample books, and I went straight to Behance for this. Behance is a great website for seeing other designers’ projects and work, and I found five sample books that I really enjoyed the feeling of. They all explored one typeface and its qualities, uses, and complementing typefaces, in a very creative and illustrative way. The five typefaces are Playfair Display, Dalloway, Aeonik Pro, Bodoni, and Warnock Pro. This approach is slightly different to what I wanted to do for my own sample book, as I would be demonstrating many different typefaces at once, but it did help as a starting point to get me thinking about what I needed to show throughout my book. 

I wasn’t aiming to create something print-perfect or for my portfolio, I wanted something that was for me – something I enjoyed looking at, but that was ultimately very functional. A book I could easily flip through and pay attention to the typefaces within and how I would apply them in the project I was working on. I decided I would display each typeface including variants on a white page, with black text, and have a paragraph of dummy text featured too, so I could see the font in various uses. I then began to look at the fonts I had available to me. 

My digital work is in a bit of limbo currently – split between Procreate on my iPad and Adobe Suite on my laptop. I am enjoying exploring the Adobe Suite and what it offers, but I think I will always come back to Procreate for more illustrative work. Having access to my Apple Pencil is a game-changer for drawing, compared to a mouse on my laptop! The Adobe Suite subscription gives me access to Adobe Fonts, which I have used very briefly but never really gone through completely. I took this opportunity to download every font that was appealing to me from the site, ensuring I got a wide range of both serif and sans options. 

One difficulty here is that the fonts I have available in Procreate are different to the fonts available in the Adobe Suite. Some of these are downloaded from 1001fonts, and I could download them to my laptop too. But some are simply unavailable on my laptop without purchasing, and vice versa. I briefly considered making two sample books – one for Photoshop and one for Procreate – but quickly realised the Procreate sample book would be a side project for revisiting later. It was simply too much work! 

Initially, I thought it would be nice to have a printed copy of this book to hand, so I referenced available printing services to decide the size of the book. I wanted a landscape format and eventually settled on A5. I then began designing a cover for my book. I had this idea to use a mix of different typefaces to illustrate the purpose of the book, and named it ‘My little sample book’. I found choosing colours difficult. I have my go-to colour palettes available in Procreate, and there’s a huge amount of options for colour picking and matching within the app. I don’t quite understand Photoshop’s colour pickers just yet, and it took a while to find something I felt good with. I ended up importing one of my favourite colour palettes from Procreate and tweaking it a little until it looked good. 

I added ‘The Photoshop Edition’ as a little bit of encouragement for me to make ‘The Procreate Edition’ later down the line, and applied a lovely texture to the whole piece to finish it up. I love this grainy, messy, painterly feeling to the texture. Before moving on, I removed all text and graphics, leaving behind the texture and background colour, and added some text along the bottom. This became the back cover. 

I then started creating each introduction page – describing the category of fonts within the next chapter and what they are used for. I began with serifs, then modelled each page on this. I used the same style as the cover, this time featuring only that category of fonts, and Futura as an accent font. I kept the same colour scheme and used the same texture as on the cover to tie it all together. I like how all of these pages turned out and how the book feels – I can see my vintage inspiration coming through in all of these designs and I definitely enjoy looking at them! 

Now I had to begin displaying all of my typefaces. This was a massive task. I could have spent weeks on this, but as I have limited time to complete this unit, I had to work fast. I deleted layers once I was satisfied with how a typeface was presented so that my laptop wouldn’t slow down or overheat, and tried to not be too precious about details. This was also hard, as I am very much a perfectionist, and I was acutely aware this was not my best work. Halfway through I became very aware that this was the wrong software to be using, too, and I would’ve had a much easier time in InDesign. 

I had hundreds of fonts to work through, so I just had to keep reminding myself that this was just for me to look at. It’s just for me to reference, to pick typefaces from, and to use as an individual. I do not need each page to be perfect, I just need each page to be functional and work for the purpose required. This was helpful and pulled me out of a lot of stressful scenarios throughout this process. 

Initially, I allocated three days for this exercise, which was a major underestimation. I don’t think I was aware of how many fonts I had available to me, and how much work it would take to lay them all out. I also had a lot of problems to solve as I worked, and couldn’t quite follow the same format for every font as I had initially planned. At first, I was displaying the typeface name and all variations in 60pt, with a paragraph of dummy text alongside at 24pt. I felt it was important to maintain this throughout the book so that typefaces could be equally compared, but it just wasn’t possible. I made very slight changes – 22pt or 58pt for the text and headers – to accommodate varying typeface sizes, widths, and idiosyncrasies. 

I also had to play around with the leading quite a bit and adjust the layout of each page for almost every new typeface. Those with a lot of variations were particularly tricky to navigate. It took a while for me to find quicker solutions for the issues I was encountering, but I think towards the middle of the process I was in a good flow as I’d already encountered almost all of the possible issues. I also made sure to consider how the book would be laid out for print and how to utilise each page with this in mind. This is another way using InDesign would have helped a lot more than Photoshop, and I intend to use it for any layouts I have to create in future. 

Once I had finished laying out each font, I used Adobe Acrobat to piece it together to make a PDF. This was tricky, as I had to make sure each typeface was together and the flow of the book made sense, and when uploading the pages they were organised completely randomly. It was satisfying seeing it all coming together, however, and I love how the final PDF looks. I do feel a sense of disappointment knowing I could do better, and I can see so many places I could improve the layout, but I have to keep reminding myself that this is just for me to reference, and I can do it again if I want it to look perfect some other time. 

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Once my PDF was complete, I moved on to the second part of the exercise. I started by reading over each of the four briefs and annotating the unit guide to indicate what category of font I believed would be suitable for each, and where potential research was needed. I began with the church advertisement brief as I felt this would be the easiest and a good introduction to this part of the exercise. 

Originally I wrote ‘sans serif variable’ as the font that would be suitable for this brief, but when I looked through my PDF I realised several decorative fonts would work perfectly. I noted down Harrington, Cooper, Lust, and Bely to try out, then opened up an A6 document in Photoshop. I tried to focus purely on font combinations and layouts, rather than thinking about colours, images, and embellishments, and tried out several different combinations. I used the chosen decorative fonts to create an eye-catching headline, and Corbel and Futura as complementary body text. 

Changing the headline font especially made a huge difference to how the advert looked. I think my favourite one is Cooper Black paired with Corbel. I’m not sure if the layout of this is very good, definitely could use more work, but the fonts look lovely and suitable for the context. I wanted a bold and decorative font for this setting as the advert is seeking creative people, I felt ‘artistic flourish’ needed emphasis with the font choice. 

Next, I began working on the boys club poster. I decided to use a decorative font again here for the heading, and a serif font for the body text. Whilst looking through the PDF, I selected Mikrobe, Sketchnote, Goudy, Mr. Eaves, and Grenadine for these purposes. I then began mocking up a poster and trying out different layouts and font combinations in Photoshop. 

I used filled rectangles here to indicate where potential images would go. I think one of the first two – where I used Mikrobe as a header with Mr. Eaves as body text, and Sketchnote as both the header and body – is most effective here. I really like how Mr. Eaves complements Mikrobe, and I feel Mikrobe fits the context well and feels eye-catching and fun. Using Sketchnote’s different font options for both the header and body text feels very cohesive and again eye-catching and fun, though my personal opinion on the body text is that it’s a bit dated as a typeface. 

I moved on to the magazine page next. I began with some research as I don’t feel overly familiar with this genre of magazine, and I looked mostly at the Glamour website. Most articles used bold decorative serif headers, and unique – though easier to read – serif typefaces for their body text. With this in mind, I revisited the PDF and chose a wide range of options: Bely, Book Antiqua, Constantia, and Californian FB for the body text, and Ivy Mode, Mostra Nuova, Lust, Elephant, Bely, and Blenny for the headline. 

I also selected an image from Unsplash to work around for this layout, as I had an image in my head of the text flowing around it, and this would’ve been hard to achieve with just a rectangle to stand in. I edited and positioned the image to start with, then began playing around with different text layouts and typefaces. 

I enjoyed this brief and felt like my explorations were mostly very effective. Bely or Californian FB were my favourite body text options, and I felt they paired nicely with Ivy Mode and Lust as the headers. It was also really fun being able to explore the different formatting options for the type and trying to fit it around the image I chose. I feel really good about how these look! 

The final brief was a bit tricky for me. I felt the provided copy was a bit excessive, and the idea of making a club night poster as an engagement party invitation was bemusing. I also don’t really have a strong sense of what club night posters look like, so I began with research. I struggled to find much to reference, but I started to build a basic idea of the kind of typefaces used. I picked out Colonna MT, Brim Narrow, Magneto, Mostra Nuova, BC Ludva, Condor, and Sinter from the PDF, and began playing with the layout and font options. 

I absolutely think the final one is the most effective – using Magneto as a decorative header and Condor as the body text. They work really well together in this context and I feel like I’ve gotten the ‘club night’ vibe nailed down. I think this one was especially hard to create when focusing solely on type and not colour, imagery, graphics etc. Club night posters looked very busy and full of colour, so these all feel a bit bland. I coloured the ampersand in yellow to show that it was behind the names, and I think this addition is effective. 

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I had more fun identifying fonts for these briefs than I anticipated, and it has shown me immediately how useful and effective my sample book is! Seeing everything laid out like this – even digitally – is immensely helpful to compare how fonts function in different contexts. I’m really glad I added the dummy text paragraphs too, I used these a lot when selecting body texts. I also feel like I’m getting a stronger idea of how fonts work together and how to use them effectively. Despite feeling like my sample book is on the rough side, I learned a lot about my process and how to utilise different software – I will definitely be exploring InDesign in the future for editorial work. 

This was a long and tricky exercise, but I am really happy that I produced some meaningful and useful work from it. I look forward to seeing how I use my sample book PDF for future exercises, and potentially reworking it later down the line! 

For this exercise, I was asked to print off a page featuring the typeface Baskerville which had been deconstructed so it only contained the strokes, serifs, and bowls. I then had to use tracing paper to piece back together each letter and write out ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’ – a commonly used pangram containing all letters of the alphabet. The idea was that doing this would get me to look closer at the typeface and features of each letter and how they all fit together.

I was really looking forward to this exercise right from when I saw it back when I began the unit. I am a jigsaw fan in general and combining this with my love of typography sounded super fun! I decided to use my lightboard for this as I felt it would be the most accurate and easiest way to complete the exercise. I printed off the page given and stuck it in place so I could work on top of it. I chose some drafting paper and two pencils to use for the exercise – a 2B for the lettering and a red Faber-Castell Polychromos pencil for the guides.

I then measured the provided strokes in order to identify a baseline and x-height. I frustratingly took the concept of ‘x-height’ a bit too literally here and tried to figure out exactly how tall an X would be, without realising there was an E and an S on the page which I could’ve used as a guide. This unfortunately meant my x-height was a little too small for my first guide. I also only drew out one guide to start with, as I figured I would need to measure the ascender and descender lines to draw out the remaining guides.

Once I had my first set of guides, I jumped straight into tracing out each letter. As I was so excited, I forgot to take photos during each step of the process, but I ensured to get some showing my work before I shaded it!

The unit PDF gave an example of the sentence written in a serif font within the exercise brief. Frustratingly, this did not actually match the deconstructed type given. It was a good reference point, but for example, the text shown in the PDF has ball serifs and the jigsaw pieces do not. It was a little annoying not being able to accurately recreate what I was looking at, but I feel I managed to figure it out the best I could. I spent a lot of time referencing the ‘anatomy of a typeface’ section of the unit PDF throughout, checking how my recreation matched the outline of how a typeface looks.

It was so much fun looking at each letter and figuring out where each bit goes, and also learning from the previous letters I had done. Having just completed the research using the identifont website the day before, I was already tuned in to what sort of serifs go on which letters, how things might look, and what to pay attention to when trying to recreate the font. I wish I could repeat this exercise using a variation of typefaces, as I had so much fun! I think doing this really improves my appreciation of the typeface too.

I definitely made a couple of mistakes, but I think overall I was accurate and did a good job completing the sentence. It was nice arriving at letters I had already completed and intuitively being able to trace them out. I would love to do more hand-printed lettering in a similar way to this – it’s almost meditative in its process. Once completed, I shaded in each letter using the 2B pencil to give it the completed Baskerville appearance.

This exercise got me thinking a lot about designing my own fonts, especially ahead of Assignment 4. A line in the exercise brief says ‘If you do get it wrong then you might have ended up designing your first typeface!’ which stuck with me throughout the process. I began to think of how I could deconstruct and work from existing fonts in the process of creating my own, and what aspects of fonts I would like to include in any I create. I will likely use an exercise like this – along with the identifont website – to identify how I want my own font to look.

All of the exercises in Part 4 so far have deepened my appreciation of typography hugely, and this is no exception. I am really excited to see where the rest of Part 4 goes and what I end up producing in the Assignment!