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.