New Cover/Old Book
Do Not Try This at Home
To the untrained eye this book may look fine. But when I look at it I see a poorly bound mess.
Note the creases here.....
....and here (sort of).
And the glue here....
...which makes this bump here.
Simply pull off the cover like so...
...leaving you with something like this.
You can then remove the "binding" with the help of a scalpel.
Avoid doing this.
Pointless Remake Part One
Step by step of me creating my "burger box"
Elastic band restraints to train it not to ping open
Selection of cards I have had reprinted at the correct size
As I still haven't photographed my FMP for my portfolio and I didn't want the appalling job 'The Colour Co.' had done to exemplify my work I decided to make a few modifications to my outcome. Since it doesn't add anything to my grade it is mainly for my piece of mind and so I don't feel humiliated when I gesture people over to my work in the show. I am extremely happy with the packaging and its new 70s interior and the quality of the new cards. If I have learnt anything it is that if you want something done correctly, do it yourself.
Photo Improvements
Mash Before & After
Cake Before & After
Light Bulb Before & After
CD Before & After
Since I am reprinting I thought I would go through and fix any problems that were bothering me. This includes some of the photographs. The objects look better on the backgrounds with a strong contrast of white or lighter colours so I have tried to bring this out in some photographs. It is quite subtle but is a definite improvement. Examples above.
Patterns
Original decorative element that I shrank and repeated and overlayed
The pattern for liner sheet
The proof print of the pattern in black and white
Since I am continuing to work on my project I have decided to continue posting on my blog until the show. Here is the pattern I am planning on using on the liner sheets, inside the packaging and on the inside of the book cover.
Printed
Spreads from the book as it stands
Luckily Chris was in and I didn't have to pay full price for the work which was a massive relief since I am not that pleased with it. I spent a nerve wracking evening wondering whether the printing would go to plan and it is... fine. It isn't amazing but I am happy to hand it in. The sides of the book have been fairly poorly cut and the cover isn't attached as well as I would have liked it. They will claim it is because I brought the cover in from outside but it looks like they haven't left the glue to dry properly. The type has printed out well but the dense photographic imagery has suffered slightly.
I really enjoyed putting together this project and really would have loved more time to finish it completely. At the moment there are a few things that are not quite as well resolved as I would have liked them. I will try and get it as finished as I can for the show and printed and bound at a more professional quality so I can have multiples which can be handled. So I am going to treat this as a high quality proof.
Book
I am really happy with the size and weight of the book and the majority of the type and photographs. The cover itself looks good but the binding is poor. I would have liked to have been able to realise the narratives at the end of the book in either photographic or animatic form and visualise the 'Letters' section in a more aesthetically pleasing manner. They have also printed the wrong photo on the back of one of the numbers.
Cards
They were cut 80 x 85 mm rather than 85x85 mm losing a lot of the art work and mis-aligning the text. I have cut them down to even it out but now they no longer fit in the presentation box. To neaten this up I have used white elastic bands to bind them, which sounds naff but looks quite smart with the spot varnished cover. The quality of the photo print is poor and I would like to laminate the ones I re-do for the show. However I do really like the colour banding that is exposed by the card holder as you open it.
Card Holder
The net needs editing slightly to make it slicker and the lid to fit properly.
Poster
I like it but I think it possibly still needs folding down or a packaging method. The photos have also come out much better on this print. Spot varnished logo?
Web publication
As this is last minute I won't include it in submission and I will make it in time to display in the show.
Although I see the actual objects only as prototypes of what I would have actually liked to produce, the work and content that went into them I am extremely happy with. Although slightly self indulgent it was nice to have creative control over all the text, image and type.
Hopefully these are things I can iron out in time for my portfolio and the show.
Packaging
Me cutting and gluing the packaging
I am not entirely happy with the packaging at this stage. I should have tested it before committing to a final design. It looks fine from a distance but on close scrutiny it is riddled with flaws. I should have probably chosen a simple net rather than one with several curved edges. However I hold out hope that they will look good with the cards once they are printed.
Paranoia
Some spreads with page turn
Index
I really don't trust my printers and I won't have time to reprint if they get wrong so I have looked into creating an online publication, which may perhaps be more relevant for the audience I intend to use it. Hopefully it can be viewed here. In time for the show I hope to have a domain in order to publish it online or a USB stick to house digital copies of the publication.
Books for show
I have discovered (too late for hand in) that the company blurb create books with my exact dimensions. For a fraction of the cost that I am getting a single book printed at a probably much poorer quality. And I could get them with a hard back cover with a dust jacket with the same spot varnished finish I have had done on the soft packaging. This is a relief as I had wanted multiples for the show so the book could be handled. It is frustrating having so little time to tie up loose ends and production needs. However not knowing what I was going to produce until quite late on in the project I see this as more of a starting point where in the future I will get the book finished to the standard I would like and for my portfolio.
Poster
I had originally intended the poster to be enlargements of the illustrated narratives however not having imagery for these I thought it would be useful to publish all the images as a collective to see them next to one another, opposed to on separate sheets. As this project is aimed at the under thirty age bracket I thought having a poster as part of a mailout/magazine (like 'Don't Panic!') or similar would be appropriate looking from a promotional aspect. An experiment anyhow. The colours will hopefully appear better on printed article which I am getting printed in A2.
Book Finished
Sample spreads from book. I particularly like the swan that reflects the shape of the two.
When I say finished, it is still entirely in digital form. I am not able to pick it up it up from printers until the very last minute.
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