This blogpost to cover off the exercises set out in the introductory section of the Book Design 1: Creative Book Design module. As a returning student some of these exercises didn’t seem very relevant, but I covered off anything that seems to be specific to this unit.

What do you want / need from the course unit?

I would like to further develop my understanding and skills related to typography and explore some creative ideas when it comes to design using different materials and techniques. I would like to learn more about special printing techniques such as embossing and explore speciality papers and inks for book design which I consider a less throwaway graphic design practice which makes the use of such printing techniques possible. I would also like to gain a better understanding of how modern publishing works and what the graphic designer’s role looks like in this context. 

Book analysis

My book of choice is Graphic design for Art, Fashion, Film, Architecture, Photography, Product Design & Everything In Between by Andy Cooke and Angharad Lewis.

The book design and layout was created by the author himself. I found this book very interesting and nice to handle. I really like the matt soft touch cover with the colourful shiny letters that are embossed into the otherwise black cover. The cover has large flaps that are also part of the cover that are folded in making the whole of the cover enveloped in the black soft touch material. 

The cover reminds me of a technique that I used as a child where I used to cover a whole page with colourful pencil (the more colours the better), then cover the entire page in a thick layer of dark tempera paint. Once this layer fully dried, you can etch into it with a wooden stick (the kind for crafts) revealing the rainbow coloured base layer behind the thick paint creating very vivid image this way.  I think this really shows how the smallest details in design can evoke really strong emotions and remind you of things that you have long forgotten about. 

Time management

I feel like I have been pretty efficient when it comes to managing my time with my previous units and have been able to complete them in about 12 months total. My expectation is that I will be able to complete this course a little quicker as due to the pandemic I have much more free time that I can spend with studying. On weekdays I am able to study about 2.5 hours each day in the mornings before I start work and will be prepared to put in around 10 hours total over the weekend. I think this means that I should be able to finish the course in about 9-10 months total.