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FMP: Final Evaluation

The content of Annie’s poetry motivated my design decisions as well as research surrounding existing poetry collections. My illustrations were informed by artists research and existing illustrated book designs.

The content of my poetry book evolved drastically as I refined poems to include based on the themes explored within them.

My time management throughout the unit was poor as I should have begun illustrations much earlier on in the project and spent more time on the editorial design aspect of the project.

I believe I responded well to feedback from both tutors and peers, as I listened to their response to my presentations and work as it progressed and applied changes as best I could.

One area of my design process that needs improvement is my experimentation and development, as I feel I didn’t explore many variations of the illustrations in my book.

This unit of study has greatly improved my knowledge of editorial design as well as my illustration skills.

To improve my final outcome, I would include a glossary containing words which are unique to Guernsey. I would also include some form of background information about some of the places and people mentioned throughout Annie’s poems so readers can have a better understanding of the context.

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FMP: Final Outcome Photos 

I decided to try several different background colours when taking photographs of my final outcome and found that the red background really made the book stand out. 

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FMP: Final Print & Binding 

Throughout my research, the most common binding method for poetry collections was perfect binding. I decided to use this method for my own work as it also gives a high quality finish. I booked an open access session in the bindery and with guidance from Joesph, I perfect bound my final book. 

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FMP: Trial Print 

After finalising my design, I decided to do another test print to ensure any changes I made worked well. I experienced many paper jams and printing errors whilst trying to print this test print which was very frustrating.

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FMP: Final Chapter 4 Spreads 

Sources:

Poems written by Annie Hopkins

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FMP: Final Chapter 3 Spreads

Sources:

Poems written by Annie Hopkins

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FMP: Final Chapter 2 Spreads 

Sources: 

Poems written by Annie Hopkins 

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FMP: Final Chapter 1 Spreads

Sources:

Poems written by Annie Hopkins

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FMP: Final Cover Design 

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FMP: Background Colour Development 

Experimenting with a printed background colour instead of the raw paper stock. Added colour feels warmer and looks more inviting to read.

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FMP: Paper Stock 

After looking through the GF Smith paper samples, I chose an off-white 135 gsm paper. This gave a warmer tone to the printed illustrations and made my design more welcoming to read. The uncoated finish also provided a professional finish.

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FMP: First Test Print 

I decided to do a test print to check the legibility of the type, placement and quality of my illustrations once printed. The 9pt body type was legible on a light background but the weight needed to be increased on the darker backgrounds in order to reduce the bleed around it and make it more legible. I also realised decided to change the typeface for the poem titles to Brandon Grotesque to match the chapter title pages to be more coherent. On the back page, I wanted there to be more typographic hierarchy. 

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FMP: Autumn at Chouet Spread Development 

In my research, quite a few poetry collections used blue body type to set themselves aside from the standard, black text on white page which the majority of poetry books use. I tried this out on my work but decided that this didn’t sit well with the illustrations. Instead of just using black text however, I opted to use the darkest tone of green from my colour palette. This looked much more coherent. I also began exploring adding a coloured background to make the design look warmer by removing the white background. I think this works well with the colour palette I have selected. 

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FMP: Chapter Title Spread Development 

I didn’t like the use of Caslon typeface for the chapter title page and so I began to explore using Brandon Grotesque instead. I thought this looked much more professional and modern. 

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FMP: Typeface Exploration 

I tried several typefaces before deciding to use Adobe Caslon for the body type. This revival designed by Carol Twombly is popular in book design. I then conducted research to find a sans serif typeface which pairs well with Caslon and decided to use Brandon Grotesque. When experimenting typefaces for poem titles, Caslon appeared too outdated when combined with my illustrations. Brandon Grotesque Bold worked much more successfully. 

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FMP: Final Illustrations 

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FMP: Final Illustrations

After deciding to follow the illustration style I used in the ‘Autumn at Chouet’ initial illustration, I applied the same colour palette to the rest of my storyboard ideas. This process was quite difficult, as I had to plan ahead in order to ensure the illustration would only require two main colours.