Evaluation

Justification

'Hand rendered type with urban locations' focuses specifically upon unique typefaces and letterforms in both Leeds and Manchester. A range of mediums are exhibited through photographs, a factor in which records the temporary pieces of artwork in a capsule format. The book's throw away nature expresses this sentiment further, with the sleeve being produced in a disposable format. Environmental factors were obviously considered when concluding upon this design decision.

Typefaces throughout the book have be used in order to highlight components in which appear highly relevant when discussing street art. A serif typeface was chosen for the body copy due to legibility. Consumerism is evidently a highly relevant factor when discussing the profit of art and thus a typeface in which was developed due to passion was chosen.  "Where Caslon was born for profit, Baskerville was born out of love. John Baskerville was inspired by the Caslon typeface and sought to rationalise it".

Sub-titles were expressed through a personally developed typeface, in which attempts to connote the essence of street art within the cites. The page numbers were also expressed using this typeface.

The typography expressed upon the sleeve was that of the generic Helvetica typeface. Acting as the most famous typeface across the world, helvetica represents how art can be used in a form of consumerism. Mass profit was developed from the formatting of the typeface, and is frequently used within large corporations logos. Expressing this upon the cover added an aspect in which attempts to suggest how street art is being in some ways consumerized. Whether it being the auctioning of Banksy's pieces, or selling of prints.

The book itself was developed within sections, therefore allowing it to lay flat, a factor in which gives the audience the opportunity to read all relevant information and study the imagery precisely. A coptic bind was used in order to express Manchester's relationship to the textile industry, this is then further embeded with the usage of book cloth to encase the hard cover.

Layouts were extensively explored, with a movement being expressed within. This both engaging the consumer and expressing the busy lifestyle of a city.

Evaluation

One of the key aspects of this book is that of the contextual presence in which it holds towards the two cities, although in some circumstances Manchester tends to overpower Leeds, a factor in which would have to be altered if the book were to be distributed within the village bookstore.

The target audience has been extensively covered, with feedback being given by potential consumers. The layouts expressed are highly engaging and develop a form of hierarchy towards the imagery, a factor in which would not make the text appear daunting to the '7 second attention span' of the consumer. The sizing of the book is also far more relevant to the 18-30 year demographic, as this audience is less likely to invest in a book in which appears similar to that of a coffee table book. It is also fair to suggest that a large proportion of this generation is unable to drive, as they have not yet passed their test, or cannot afford the insurance of a car-due to this a large book would be difficult to transport.

The production of the final piece is where limitations are drawn as the general construct is somewhat weak. The bind itself worked effectively, opening flat, and tightly positioning the pages together.  The book cloth is glue free, a factor in which was difficult to perfect as multiple mock-ups contained small glue marks. The attachment between the cover and book is where issues lie with the signatures appearing as separate books. This is clearly indicated as the binding method is exposed between each book, in turn making the book appear ammature. The book is also positioned un-proportionally within the cover, forcing the book to appear slanted. Another issue is that the pages are not evenly cut, although these may be trimmed, text would be lost. Although these issues seem prominent within this book's design, an industrial approach would be much cleaner. The pages would be cut by a machine based guillotine with high accuracy, the book would also be attached and bound by a machine, this again being far more accurate than hand. If the book were to be re-develop the production would again be considered with more attention being brought to the placement of the cover.

If this project were to be re-done factors in which would be altered include production, as the final piece appeared very weak. Other areas include the layout of certain imagery in order to reduce cracking, this may also be explored with a softer paper in order to absorb inks. The book would also contain a social media element, for example hashtags, in order to engage that of a younger audience further.

Skills learnt within this project have allowed for a greater insight into the design industry. Factors such as grid systems have been widely used, a design element in which had not been previously explored, yet allows for ease when developing multiple spreads. Binding methods have been re-visited with further workshops embedding knowledge. The ways in which industry handles books has been widely commented upon, especially when considering cost margins. One component in which was highly interesting was how much money may be gained from using a publishers compared to publishing the book independently.