Hymn Book - Debossing the cover

From the start I always envisaged that the cover of my book would be embossed, so that it looks like a proper old hymn book. I had some off-cuts of perspex left from the Bath Uni project, so I took them down to the plastics workshop to get them laser etched, in the hope that I would end up with a debossing template to use in letterpress. Unfortunately, the end result was not usable:



The problem is that the laser is great for cutting or etching small areas, which would be fine if I was embossing the cover, whereby the text stands proud. But I wanted it debossed, so the letters are pressed into the cover, which meant that the laser had to etch away the majority of the perspex. It's not really designed to do that sort of thing, so there ended up being deep lines all over what should have been a smooth surface. Obviously these lines would also be pressed into the cover so that simply would not do. Besides, the sheer heat had caused the plate to warp too.

So, Plan B... I went and spoke to Penny in the print room and she said that the plate could be photo-etched. This was something I had not tried before and it sounded a bit like witchcraft - it's sort of like screenprinting but you end up with a metal plate that is suitable for putting through a press. I prepared the artwork onto Folex and gave it to Jane, the print technician. She exposed the artwork onto the plate:



The plate is then placed into a bath of water at exactly 25 degrees Celsius and scrubbed with a toothbrush to get rid of all the stuff that was not masked off by the artwork. Jane told me that you had to be careful not to scrub too hard or your image would also be removed, so I approached the task with extreme caution. After a while I looked at the plate and I had been too gentle, so most of the excess material was still intact. I went at it again with added vigour only to destroy some of the text!



Again, this seems to be a problem with debossing - when you take away the majority of the material, the small amount that is left is incredibly fragile. My only other viable option is to send away to get the plate made professionally. This would cost me at least £30 and I doubt it would get here prior to hand-in on May 14th, so it looks like I will have to screenprint it instead. It's a real shame but perhaps I can have another go at it after the deadline, for my portfolio. The other thing I want to try is spraying the page edges gold. Kate Holland said it was possible, providing I brushed talcum powder between all the pages first to stop them from sticking. This is not a risk I am willing to take so close to hand-in.

Hymn Book - Binding

Due to careful project management, I was able to have everything ready for a bookbinding workshop at Dartmouth Avenue. I wasn't too confident with the process, I had only done a blank sketchbook before, so I figured I would really benefit from the advice of a professional. Kate Holland gave us a lecture the day before the workshop and it was clear that she was the right person to help me get my book bound to a high standard.

With her expert guidance, I made holes in each of my sections and set to work on the sewing. It actually went really well; I took my time and made sure that I pulled the thread good and tight at the end of every section. Once all the sections were in place I placed the book block under a heavy weight and applied PVA glue liberally to the spine:



After the glue had dried, Kate and I went over and trimmed the excess on the guillotine. The edge wasn't perfect, due to the bulge at the spine because I had so many sections and therefore so much thread. I will have to sand this down in woodworking at some point to get it really flat and smooth. For now it was time to get on with the hardback cover. I selected a nice green bookbinding cloth and trimmed some board down to the exact proportions of my book block and spine. The pieces of board were then glued onto the back of the cloth and the edges were creased and folded over, glued neatly in place and rubbed down with a bone folder. I made two covers and have the knowledge and materials to make more, just in case anything goes wrong with the printing.

Hymn Book - Getting it printed

I went and spoke to Steve about getting my book printed. It weighed in at a pretty hefty 208 pages, including contents etc, so I made sure I gave him plenty of lead time. Turns out he can only print double-sided four-page sections, which seems a bit daft as that is only a single page, so I was going to have problems getting the imposition right. I worked around this by exporting each 16-page section as a separate pdf, so that I had total control.

As it is such a small book I was able to get two copies printed for pretty much the price of one, which is handy in case anything goes wrong with the binding. I trimmed the spreads slightly, leaving plenty of bleed so I could guillotine it after binding, then carefully folded them all and put the sections into order.

Hymn Book - Development

I have now got all of the chants chosen for the book. The finished piece will be a proper hardback comprising stitched sections of 16 pages, so I have opted for a total page count of 208, which is divisible by 16. This includes the contents etc but not the endpapers, as these will be added at the end as part of the binding process. I compiled most of the chants from various websites and these two books which I bought from Amazon:



The content is divided up into teams, although a lot of the chants are either generic or there is only one decent one for a certain team. In this case I would not add that team to the contents page, instead they will go into the "OTHER" section. I am not particularly happy that the "OTHER" section makes up pretty much half the book but I can't really see a better way of doing it.

I have also decided to move the hymn numbers away from the hymn itself and place them consistently up in the corner of the page, in 12pt Joanna. Beneath each hymn I have the tune it was based on, in brackets in Joanna 6pt italic, with a one-line space above. Above each hymn, where applicable, I will have the name of the person or team the song is about, if it is not obvious from the lyrics themselves. This will be in Joanna 6pt italic with a one-line space below, and will take the format of "unto [team or player name]".

I really liked having verse numbers next to all but the first verse but I don't think it is practical as nearly all the chants have only one verse. Very few have more than two verses, so it may look a bit odd having them at all. It's a shame as it is a hymn book convention and would serve to make this look more like a real hymn book.

This is the finished page design:

Hymn Book - Page layout test

Looking at various hymn books, I noticed that they typically had hymn numbers as well as page numbers. I decided to add these to my template. They are set in Joanna MT Std Bold 12pt and positioned directly above the first word of the first verse. The first word is always set in small caps (apart from the first letter, which is a regular cap), as they are often found in hymn books. Also, all verses after the first one are numbered. The number is just Joanna MT Std Bold 6pt followed by a space.

Here is an example of how a finished hymn might look:



The text for the entire hymn is centre-justified and centred on the page. The hymn number is then positioned relative to this.

Hymn Book - Typography tests

I set up an InDesign template for my football hymn book. It is slightly larger than the "Songs of Praise" book I have been using for reference, with a page size of 86mm x 120mm. I printed a few sample pages, set in classic serif typefaces - Minion, Times New Roman, Perpetua, Baskerville, Garamond and Joanna.

My favourite is definitely Joanna. It is very light and elegant, perfectly suited to a hymn book, and I have it in a number of weights - regular, italic, semibold, semibold italic, bold, bold italic and extra bold.

Branding - Business card ideas

Following on from my logo ideas, I just designed a simple business card, two versions of which can be seen below:



There are loads of other things I want to try but this is a start.

Branding - Logo Development

While I was working on the Bath Uni science brief, I became a big fan of our customised DIN Pro font that we used on the big stencils. I particularly liked the "A" and figured it might look good if I used it as part of my AA72 branding. My current logo looks like this:



It's set in a very heavy weight of Gotham, with tweaks to the As. I think it is perhaps a bit too chunky for my liking. Here is an idea using the A from the stencil:



I am not totally convinced. I was thinking it might work with a splash of colour but at the end of the day a logo has to be able to work in black and white too. I thought I would also try a few ideas using my other 'font du jour', T-STAR PRO:



I reckon I will have to do a bit more research and come back to this later. Some of them are okay though.

Hymn Book - Further thoughts

After discussing my hymn book project idea with one of my tutors, I have decided to pursue the original plan of filling it with football chants. I think the line about football being like a religion is the clincher, plus using the format of an austere old hymn book filled with often obscene lyrics is too good to pass up.

I managed to get hold of an old hymn book from my parents' house:



I will look at other examples, so long as I don't spontaneously combust upon entering a church, but I do really like the idea of this sort of format. It is pretty small, measuring approximately 75mm x 115mm, so I can imagine it may be quite tricky to sew the sections together. Speaking of which, I must remember that the number of pages must be divisible by four - each section will consist of four double-sided spreads, or sixteen pages. I just hope I can find enough good football chants to make it a thick book, at least thick enough to have a substantial spine.

I want it to be case bound, using cardboard covered in some kind of cloth, which I will then screenprint on the cover and spine. I am not sure if I should make the cover up prior to printing or just print onto the cloth. If it's the latter I will do a few copies in case I make mistakes with the binding. I will research binding techniques over the next day or so, plus chase up our course leader to see if we are getting another bookbinding workshop.

Typography-wise, I want it to look as much like an old hymn book as possible, so I will probably opt for a classic serif font like Garamond or Baskerville. I will obviously do a few legibility tests at small sizes first, probably at 6pt.

On the cover I will have an image of a football, or maybe one of those old spinning rattle things that people used to take to matches. The title could be "Songs of Praise" or maybe something like "Hymns from the Terrace".

Final Project Ideas

I have been thinking long and hard about what to do for my final project. I was thinking about doing a re-branding exercise for a post-coalition Lib Dem party, something biting and satirical that at a glance could pass as a real piece of PR. But I decided that I wasn't sure of my angle, beyond a comical "Hey, we fucked up!" approach. I figured I would wind up spending way too much time researching the politics and generating original content, when in reality I am on a design course, so my focus should be on that aspect.

While watching football over the weekend, I discussed my favourite terrace chants with a mate and thought it might be nice to make a little hymn book called "Hymns from the Terraces" or something similar. I would want it to look just like an old hymn book that you would find in a church. The content already exists - my job would be to research and find the best examples, organise the content in an appropriate manner and typeset it beautifully in a lovely little case-bound hardback book. It would be a really nice thing, the content would be funny and it would also be a comment on football being "the new religion".

Then I started thinking about how actors and pop stars are so revered these days - aren't they "the new gods"? How about making a little hymn book for the 21st century, containing the lyrics from the best songs of all-time? I think it would be great to see the lyrics to Beatles and Abba songs presented in a different way. How about Morrissey, or Oasis? I can't stand Oasis personally but I would still put some of their songs in, as they mean a lot to so many people. I could make my selection from all the "Best Song Ever" lists that are published by the music press each year.

Yes, I like that idea. Perhaps I will do that.

Swearing Budgies of the World - Finished!

So I finally got the self-adhesive vinyl cut and applied it to each of my twelve budgie posters. It was a real pain to do, as the static caused them to fold or cling to my arms, and they were a nightmare to line up with the artwork. Luckily the stuff is quite forgiving and I managed to pull it off and reapply it a few times without destroying the images. It might seem a lot of bother but I think it has really added something to the project and it means that each poster is a one-off, as I am highly unlikely to go through the whole process again. I will price them accordingly when I show them at our exhibition in June.



It's not possible to get the full effect in a photo but you can definitely see where the vinyl is catching the light. All in all I am now happy with the project. However, I have always thought that as I had twelve budgies it would make sense to make a calendar. So I set to work in Indesign and made up templates, checking and double-checking all the dates for 2014. I am pretty happy with the design now and have given it to Steve to print, although he moaned about the format and said he didn't have a stapler long enough for the job (what a surprise). I am sure I can overcome.



That's the cover, which should end up printed on a thicker, glossy stock, if Steve follows my instructions. If all else fails I will pay through the nose to get a few run off at Opal or Ripe. I'd obviously rather not have to spend a bunch of money.

I had to make a little paper mock of the page layout in order to get this designed correctly, as it was a pretty weird one to get my head around in terms of spreads and how the two-sided prints would match up. Again, I left very explicit instructions with Steve, so fingers crossed...

Staff Type Portraits

Back in the summer of 2012 I found a neat little Illustrator trick that allowed me to make some cool portraits out of type. I did a few rough ones and tiled them on A3 paper and stuck them up in the third-year's room at uni. A lot of people commented on them and many asked me how they were done, which naturally I didn't reveal.

After such positive feedback it made sense to do some proper ones and print them out at A1 size. I think they look pretty good and would certainly be impressive if they were all stuck around a single room.



Each of them is made up of a word that I thought was particularly relevant to them or what they do. Matt is upside down because he is Australian, although his word "type" is the right way up. I hope the tutors don't find them too offensive...

Project Idea - Autism awareness leaflet

Since back in the summer I have been thinking about doing a project to raise awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorders, more specifically to help new parents spot the signs and get an early diagnosis and the necessary support. We first suspected that my son Arthur had ASD because his speech development was significantly delayed. Also, he had a tendency to line up all his toy cars:



With this in mind, I had the idea of creating a concertina leaflet that featured a simple single-line drawing of a row of cars, buses, trucks and bikes, all the way across the front and back. Dotted above and beyond the line at regular intervals would be things to look out for in your child. The final piece of information would be about the tendency to line up toys, revealing the thought behind the visual.

It's a pretty raw idea at the moment and it would not be a substantial project, so maybe it's one I will come back to if I have time after all my other work is complete.

Lecture Poster - James Jarvis

Here's the poster I did for the James Jarvis lecture:



I took a hand-rendered approach to this one, I think because I enjoyed painting the big cock on the Neil Drabble poster. There's something nice about a mix of printed and hand-rendered. Possibly an area I could explore in the future. At the bottom it says "Go and look at him in the lecture theatre from 5pm".

I like writing stuff exactly as I see it. I think it humanises a piece of communication. Also, most people do just sit there and stare at the speaker, especially if it is someone hip who they all want to emulate and idolise. I didn't go to the lecture as his stuff isn't really my kind of thing. Turns out I made the right choice as it went on for over an hour and a half, mainly of him showing slides of his instagram photos. Exciting.

Project Idea - Hot food comes to Cafe Sion

The big news this year at Sion Hill is that we finally have a daily hot food option! In general the food is actually okay and costs no more than one of the crappy sandwich. Service with a smile is still obviously not an option though. I was thinking it might be an idea to do a small publication or app that celebrates this breakthrough - I banged on about a lack of hot meals in every student rep meeting in the first and second year, along with the provision to pay by card (this has happened too).

It's just an idea at this stage, but I have been photographing my meals for a while just in case I want to go ahead with a little project. It's quite good fun looking back at the food and trying to identify what it was:



I think that one was okay, despite being vegetarian, although it was a bit heavy on courgette. On a Monday we don't get a regular hot meal, instead there is the option of "pasta machine", which the lovely ladies of Cafe Sion are still struggling to get to grips with. It's basically quick-cook penne pasta with a choice of vegetable or meatball ragu for £1.80, which to be fair is reasonable. However, the vege option seems to be just the carnivore version sans-meatball, yet for the same price! Also, we have found that the number of meatballs varies considerably - from a mighty six to as few as two.

Project Idea - "Sorry, there is no photography"

When I visited London for a few days at the end of November, I visited a lot of galleries and exhibitions. I saw some great work but I think my most enduring memory was hearing the strange phrase "sorry, there is no photography". I am sure everyone has heard this at an art gallery from time to time, and probably wondered why photography is not allowed (is it really so that you buy souvenir prints or books in the gift shop?), but the fact that I heard it so much over a short amount of time made it really stick. I must point out that the comment was only directed at me once, at the Whitechapel Gallery.

What I found most strange was the precise wording that I heard on a few different occasions...

SORRY, THERE IS NO PHOTOGRAPHY

What a weird thing to say. This got me thinking about a world in which photography did not exist - could I make an interesting project from this concept? I tried thinking of the most iconic photos of all time and how their messages would have been conveyed without photography. Perhaps I could put on an exhibition where all of the "photos" were just text descriptions of the original scenes, with a "sorry, there is no photography" logo in the corner. Perhaps something like this:



I think an exhibition of these "photos" would look really great. Perhaps I could have a sign at the entrance saying "photography permitted".

Lecture Poster - Chrissie Abbott

Chrissie Abbott is giving a lecture this week. She seems to do really hipster sort of stuff - lots of triangles floating in space, mountains, wolves, etc. You know the sort of thing. It's all a bit tiresome. I did this lecture poster, which is a bit of a piss-take. It took around twenty minutes to do:



Despite the fact that I don't like this trends-led design, I actually think this poster has something going for it. It's certainly better than the pap I churned out for the Keith Hancox lecture. You may notice that I have really cut back on the amount of information given on the poster. Everyone seems to put a date, the words "Sion Hill" and also "lecture theatre". Thing is, the posters only stay up for a week, so when I put this up on Monday it is pretty obvious that it means the following Thursday. It is on the wall at Sion Hill, so no need to restate that, plus all our lectures are in the lecture theatre, so this information is also redundant.

I feel like a bit of a reductionist pioneer...

Ski App - Cover idea and page template

I have been playing around with some ideas for the cover of Inside Track: Canazei and have come up with what I think is an appropriate solution...



The photo was actually taken on my iPhone on an especially beautiful run back down into the village. The word "CANAZEI" is set in T-Star Pro Headline at 70pt. I have stuck it between two background scenery layers so it looks like it is peeking out from behind the trees. This seems like a bit of a Photoshop gimmick, but everyone who has seen it thinks it's really good and many have asked me how I did it! I had in fact toyed with this technique over xmas when I was trying to come up with a novel poster concept:



I also came up with an idea for the main content of the app. Here is an example of a page:



The little navigation device in the bottom-right corner makes it pretty clear that this is the first of four pages about "The Town" and that you have to swipe up to see more. Yes, the arrows are pointing down but that is to suggest that there is more related content down there. It's something of a standard convention. I want the initial page for each section to be largely photographic, with the more extensive type on the other pages. Swiping to the right will take you to the next section, as you would expect. I have let people play around with a prototype and all but the most technophobic (or stupid) figured out how to navigate the app without any more visual cues. This is as desired because I want the design to be as clean and uncluttered as possible.

Here is the second page of "The Town" section:



As you can see I have defined the font usage for the app. Here is a list of what I have so far (subject to change):

• TITLES = T-Star Pro Medium 30pt all caps (36pt leading)
• STRAPLINE = T-Star Pro Medium 8pt all caps
• INTRODUCTION = T-Star Pro Regular 8pt (9.6pt leading)
• FOOTER = T-Star Pro Medium 8pt initial caps
• BODY COPY = T-Star Pro Regular 8pt (12pt leading)
• CAPTIONS = T-Star Mono Light 6pt (7.2pt leading)

I originally tried 10pt Garamond for the body copy but it looked a bit too classical - I wanted to go with a clean, contemporary look.

Here's the page where I outlined this in my sketchbook:

Ski App - More secondary research

I decided to look at some other, non-skiing magazine apps to see how they presented text and images on the iPad. I really like Distro, which has definitely been designed specifically for viewing on a tablet device. The typography is beautiful and the navigation is intuitive and unobtrusive, just as it should be:



Peephole is another stunning online publication, which really uses the capabilities of the iPad to deliver rich content, including animation and 360-degree panoramic photos:



I doubt very much whether this was put together with Mag+, or if it indeed could be. As it stands I don't think that the fancier content will be possible for Inside Track, at least for version 1. I can however draw some editorial design inspiration from both of these lovely apps, leaving the bells and whistles in the background for now.

Wired is another beautiful app, with amazing photography, typography and interactive features (mainly clickable hotspots, which I definitely can do in Mag+). Even the adverts in it are works of art:



I really love the simple, elegant design of Design Bureau. The type treatment is always very modern and quite experimental. I particularly like their use of T-Star Pro, which I think I will use for my app.