Final evaluation

At the beginning of this module, I was initially worried that I wouldn’t keep up the pace with my peers because I had been out the loop for 6 months (study abroad) so was a little daunted and felt like I had missed a big chunk of my degree. That being said, I felt like this module was hugely beneficial as it  really helped me to establish who I am as a designer and where I fit in in the creative industry.

I was initially convinced that I was a printmaker who worked predominantly analogue, using mono, lino and screen print. This module allowed me to explore the digital side of my art as I was introduced to Illustrator and completely fell in love with it. I was taking part in briefs which seemed most suited to the use of Illustrator, so I felt almost obliged to experiment. Because of my graphic aesthetic, this way of working was proving very successful.

This module also taught me that working to a quick deadline allows my motivation levels to maintain at a high level and I tend to create work a lot more efficiently. My efficiency on creating work for briefs has dramatically increased throughout the 3 years, something I feel is incredibly important to take away into the real world.

This module also introduced me to Book Design which is an area I hadn’t really experimented with before but was definitely something I wanted to try out. The process of reading an extract from a book, getting a real feel for what the book is trying to convey, exploring themes and motifs and then creating imagery, in an attempt to reflect the true essence of the book is something I completely fell in love with. I truly immersed myself into each book and became wrapped up in the world of fiction, allowing me to really experiment with generating ideas. The book briefs were true eye openers as I have never felt so motivated and inspired to make work before - this revelation gave me a whole new direction and potential post grad opportunity to work towards.

Talking to some alumni who have had some experience working at Penguin, whether that be a placement or work experience, was extremely useful to me and they gave me some really useful advice on what to include in my portfolio, if I were to apply for an internship.

Because of this revelation and my sheer love and enjoyment for designing book covers, I thought I’d set myself an ambitious goal of redesigning a collection of books for my final major brief. This was an opportunity to really push myself and come into my own. It was a chance for me to build a strong portfolio showcasing my skills in book design, and the style of books I enjoy making. I knew that 12 books would be a huge ask but I knew that If I really committed myself and focussed, I could achieve it. I think for me it’s about being challenged, when I am challenged my subconscious self pushes me to achieve my set goal under such a small time constraint. This project really motivated me to create further designs for merchandise as I was so inspired and excited - it allowed me to really come into my zone; my love and enjoyment throughout seems to have been reflected in the outcomes.

Overall, this module has been very successful for me as a practitioner, as it has allowed me to find some restraint and add some context to my work. I feel generally more confident and established as I have found a new pathway and a area of illustration in which I will attempt to pursue post uni.

I have tendencies to keep designing, as continuing to explore ideas can in fact be a detriment to me and hinder the development of my already existing ideas. I need to stop myself, take a step back and be more analytical - ask myself is this actually working? Turn to my peers and ask for advice. This would have definitely helped me with my major book brief, if I had acknowledged this earlier on, thinking about the project as a whole and not various individual projects.

Design boards

Book designs

• After deciding it was time to step back and stop designing to really think about the concept behind how each book would link to one another - I realised that I had to either redesign or completely scrap some of my designs as they wouldn't fit the concept
• My concept is a journey about a guy (Murakami) as he leads us (the readers)  through his mind, almost like a tour guide
• I decided on this particular colour scheme because I thought it represented the weird and wonderful magical realism present in much of his books - you wouldn't necessarily expect to see the colours used together - the odd interaction is supposed to represent the odd encounters present in the books
• I wanted to aim my books at the young adult audience (people like myself) the white negative space with the pop of colour and really modern type add well to this idea.

Difficulties:

It was incredibly difficult to read the books and try and find a concept to link each book together to create some kind of sequence. Some books definitely link better than others. Some of the books had no real content to make real interesting, impactful imagery from, and some were just completely different from the previous book or the following book.

Successes:

The books do link really well together and I think the concept was really effective. The colour scheme works really well and the use of illustrator and simple imagery throughout creates a real cohesive set of books. The overall aesthetic is a perfect representation of me as a designer which is successful in terms of building a portfolio and pitching to future employers.

Other thoughts:

During the process of making each design, I did start to miss the analogue way of making work and thought it would be interesting to perhaps add some texture - whether that being digital textures or physical - the only issue with this is I'd have to incorporate this effect with the rest of the designs otherwise they wouldn't appear as a cohesive set and some of the designs wouldn't work so well with the added texture. 

Experiments

Reflection #4

So I have finally decided my final major project for extended practice. I am currently in the process of reading and re designing 12 covers by Haruki Murakami. The 12 covers are from his collection of novels (excluding 1 novel which was published last year). I have really enjoyed immersing myself into the weird and wonderful mind of Murakami. I have currently read/analysed 6 books of his and beginning to notice some clear recurring themes and motifs which has been really interesting and is something which I can really use to my advantage. 

Key themes:

Music
Love
Loss
Journey
Cats

What I have tendencies of doing is DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN without really stepping back and REFLECTING. So far I have been reading/analysing/watching and then designing. I haven't really been considering the books as a collection and how each book connects. My current mindset is to come up with a few designs for each book and pick the best design - I am treating this project as several individual projects which puts me at risk of not creating a collection of books at all.

I just had a really helpful crit with Fred:

• Good progress on projects so far
• We talked about maybe having 3 sets of 4 Murakami books 
• What was a really interesting idea we talked about was actually visually linking each book - if all the books were laid out in front could there be some kind of story being told? Each book linking to one another
• Doesn't have to be a direct link, experiment with colour increase and decrease
• Put the book designs through different treatments
• Book designs can then turn into prints
• Think about the COLLECTION, unifying
• BE INNOVATIVE
• BE AMBITIOUS

On reflection

I think trying to visually connect all 12 books together sounds incredibly ambitious but also very exciting. It would add even more to the collectable value and create a really interesting composition. I also had another idea of connecting the back covers but maybe that is slightly too difficult. What I have noticed when reading Murakami's books is that each book seems to have a similar protagonist going through some kind of journey. Perhaps this could be incorporated in the concept of connecting the books? Maybe the man could represent Murakami and the surroundings could represent the interior of Murakami's mind - almost like the author is doing a walking tour for the viewers.

Going forward

It's time I stop designing for a minute and take a step back to really find some common themes and motifs to connect each book together. Think about this 'journey' concept and start to create each book with a similar style/way of working. Start thinking about the colour scheme needed to represent the tone of voice being portrayed. Think about the project as a whole and not 12 individual books. Start thinking about possible merchandise to create. Using my initial designs to create posters, bookmarks prints etc.



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Experiments

Book cover research

• I made a trip to Waterstones to get some first hand inspiration from book cover collections
• Collections of books are extremely popular as it encourages the reader to buy the full collection - becoming collectables
• A lot of the books I saw had very limited colour palette which of course suited my design aesthetic. Either that or each book was one singular colour
• Seeing the books on the shelf together creates such a visual statement and is what really attracts the audience.
• It would be interesting to create some kind of sequence perhaps? so when each book is placed next to each other they somehow link together.  

Mass art collaboration

• Collaborating with graphic designers and illustrators from the US 
• Created a zine about Leeds
• Our concept was based around this juxtaposition between the expensive looking buildings Leeds has (Victoria Gate and John Lewis) and the more commercial 'cheap' shops which are placed literally next door.
• This prompted the name of the zine to be 'Poundland to Pandora' - the two shops face each other through the luxury Grand Arcade.
• Working to a quick deadline was most suited to me as I work a lot more efficiently and get a lot of work done
• I learnt the whole process of making a zine
• I created the illustrations from the photographs, adding yellow and blue to represent the old/new classy/not so classy
• Collaboration is a key skill to gain especially in the creative industry - its also a really great way of learning new things about yourself and techniques in which you can apply to your own practice

Reflection #3

I have currently been doing some research into Japanese culture and literature. I have been reading a few books by Japanese authors comparing writing styles and thinking about projects in which I can incorporate Japanese literature. Norwegian Wood was such a big inspiration and the epitome of the type of book I am interested in designing. Because of my love for Haruki Murakami's writing style and themes he deals with in his novels, I thought it would be an interesting idea to explore him further and maybe read a few of his books. I know that one of my favourite illustrators, Noma Bar has already designed a collection of books for a Murakami so this potentially could be an option? Also thinking about applying the work created to merchandise/posters/postcards/clothing/bookmarks etc.

Crit feedback:

• Treat this as an 'about the author' brief
• Really study Murakami and create imagery which can be applied to numerous outcomes
• Think about the books YOU enjoy responding to
• Could also think about old book covers, rejuvenated ' '50 Watts'
• Classic covers made more modern

My crit made me reflect on a few things as the brief we did in second year 'about the author' was something which I thoroughly enjoyed. The sheer freedom to express themes and motifs using various materials and processes. This combines both the heavily research side of a project with the intense making and strong visual elements which fits perfectly with me and my aesthetic. Designing a collection of books is also something which really excites me - there are so many things to consider when re designing a series, including the type, colour scheme and tone of voice. After designing the two books for Penguin, the prospect of actually pursuing a career in the publishing industry and designing books for a living sounds like an ideal job - because of these reasons I feel like it is pivotal that I create a Portfolio showcasing my skills in book designing.

Going forward

Start reading other books by Murakami

Think about the tone of voice you want to convey

Maybe take a trip to Waterstones or other book stores - look at collections, look for recurring themes, colour palette and how each book links with each other

Potential merchandise?

Think about the importance of the back cover and how the front and back connect

Look at designers who have made book cover collections - gain inspiration

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Wedding invites

• Really enjoyed painting again! Painting flowers is something I haven't done is so many years but it was a really nice break from working so digitally.
• I decided to use the flowers which will be used for the wedding
• I also decided to make my own type as this is something I have previous experience in doing
• I think the overall design is very successful and screams sophistication which is something I really wanted to convey
• Second time working for a client and it was actually really good, she had no issues with it at all so everything went very smoothly

Norwegian Wood experiments

• I really admire Haruki Murakami's writing style and the beautiful imagery he creates through his incredibly descriptive analysis of very mundane things.
• There seemed to be a lot of replication of themes and motifs throughout the book which I thought I could use to my advantage, for example, music, love and death. I thought red would be a great colour to represent both love and death and of course Japanese culture.
• Red birds and the guitar were heavily mentioned throughout the book so I thought this would be a great idea to incorporate in the design
• I also experimented with the concept of 'Norwegian Wood' being a song by The Beatles and played around with the classic Abbey Road album cover and them walking over a zebra crossing.
• There were just so many scenes within the book which I wanted to illustrate but I needed to find some restraint and MOVE ON.
• I think I am spending too much time on this book and trying to illustrate all the designs in my head.

Refelction #2

Over the Christmas break I was trying to plan my up and coming months and trying to  figure out possible briefs I could take part in. I was commissioned to design some wedding invitations which I thought would be a nice little side project. The invitations actually took longer than expected as my client wanted a very traditional approach, one which included watercolour paintings of flowers (something i haven't done in like 4 years) so it was something I need to adapt to fairly quickly. I definitely enjoyed the analogue approach however, it was a nice bit of fresh air as I have been working so digitally recently.

I have also made a start on the 'Norwegian Wood' brief for the Penguin competition. I especially enjoyed reading this book as there was so many themes and motifs that ran throughout, making it fairly easy to create imagery from. Haruki Murakami's writing style is something that resonated so well with me - it flowed so nicely and he has such a beautiful way of describing mundane things. I was very much hooked, unaware that I was speeding through the book. This prompted a change in my approach however, as I realised I was spending so much time reading the book and not enough time actually creating the imagery. In my crits I found out that book designers don't actually read the whole books as they simply do not have the time. They read the blurb to get a real sense of the story and tone of voice which I guess is the most important thing.

I was feeling a little lost in terms of future briefs and whether or not I should do a big final major project brief so this Tutorial came at a very good time.

Reflections:

• If I want to go into publishing then I need to start actually designing book covers frequently - making a portfolio of book cover designs to show the client/employer this is what I do.
• Think about Product Range and Distribution
• Think about how the book can look online and in retail
• The physical nature of the book? the paper used? if it's a limited addition version 
• Think about creating 3 sets of books? A collection of books by Murakami for example 
• DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE

Going forward

This was an incredibly helpful crit as it gave me clear direction for the future. Me and Fred made and agreement for me to finish my current briefs and the propose 3 further projects thinking about sets of books and possible collections. I need to start thinking about the types of books i'd like to design and for what audience? Could I explore one author and design a series of books by that specific author or perhaps design 3 sets of books each with different authors.