OUGD404 | Studio Brief 02 - New Brief & Sketches

I did not feel that the brief and idea I previously had were strong enough and this was leading to issues with production and organisation of the content. So I decided to refresh my ideas and focus my design more. My new book will be a redesign of the sheet currently received with a photography induction. This currently is very poorly designed and only makes the process of learning to use a DSLR more difficult. With this new idea I feel that my target audience and purpose is clearer. Below is my newly refined brief:

STUDIO BRIEF

Produce an informative guide in the form of a book aimed at LCA students which clearly communicates how to use a DSLR camera. This should contain whatever information you feel relevant from the current sheet given at a photography induction
Ensure you sketch out thorough layout plans prior to digitally producing your book.

BACKGROUND/CONSIDERATIONS


What information will you include? How will you organise this?
What binding method, layout, and other features are most appropriate to your content?
What are the restrictions of your chosen binding method?
How can you arrange your content?

How can you make the content as simple and informative as possible?

Will you use photographic examples? If so what, and where will you place these?

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

Minimum 10 double page spreads
Contents page
Clear demonstration of type setting and layout.

DELIVERABLES

Final Book that effectively communicates how to use a DSLR/


TARGET AUDIENCE - photography enthusiasts, aspiring photographers, designers.

Current Photography Induction Sheet 

photograph mock up
stock choices
binding method



I then began to sketch a new, more adventurous idea for my book rather than a simple concertina bind.
The main body of my new book will be perfect bound. This will contain all the technical information about DSLRs. I will be following the same page layout with grid I designed for my previous concertina book. At the end of the book will be a concertina bound section, attached to the perfect bound pages. This will have a pocket which the concertina can safely tuck into. When pulled out, this will contain photographic examples to demonstrate the effect of each setting to the student.

 The book is to be smaller than A6 size, as it is ideally a pocket guide which students can carry easily with them when photographing, to remind them of the basics. This is why I have chosen a perfect bind as this is a strong bind which will be able to withstand being transported and placed into pockets. I felt the concertina bound was still appropriate as the students can lay the images out for ideal viewing. The shape of a concertina bound is also similar to that of old style cameras.

I plan for the cover to extend enough so it folds over the content twice. This will provide added protection to the content as well as the opportunity to place an image on the second flap which I plan to make visible through a circle on the cover. This circle will represent the lens of a camera, I got the idea from my village bookshop research. The whole book will fit comfortably in a sleeve, this will add to the strength that the book requires.

In terms of stock, I would like to use bright colours to make the guide appeal to all students, and for the content to not seem daunting. I will need a thick card stock for the cover which is thin enough to be easily folded. For the pages, I will use an average stock thickness, too thick and the pages will not easily be turned, too thin and the pages could rip to easily. I am considering around 150 gsm but plan to sample the papers available prior to printing.

As I did not learn perfect binding in the book binding workshop, I am aiming to organise a workshop for those who did not learn this technique. This will also inform the overall construction of my book.

 Below are some sketches of my planned design:

Design sketch

After some sketching and planning, I decided to create a mock-up to give me an idea of the construction and whether the book will actually work. This also gave me an idea of the ideal size for the book. 

Mock Up

Sleeve Removed

Inside flap will be a photograph visible through hole on cover

Perfect bound pages with 2 x 8 grid. Pages will be centred in cover with border

Concertina bound pages at end the end of the book.

I then began to design the page size and layout. I printed samples out and compared them to the size o my book to find the ideal size. I ensured that I left enough margin on the inside for binding. My next steps are to begin designing my pages.

Page size trial - too small 

Trial 2- still too short

Final page size with columns