I decided that I would make a publication aimed at young adults (ages 13-16/17), they are still at school, either about to study or are studying their GCSEs, they have a basic foundation on the content that will be in the publication, and they know more about right and wrong, good and bad. They are male and female.
The publication will be about the two of the main ways people view the world, especially when it comes to ethics, this is religious and secular. I decided upon this idea from a quote in my research.
In the publication the content will got through four different views on each side.
It will explore ethics in both religious and non-religious views, and discuss their views on ethical behaviour, what is good and what is bad, and how an ethically good person would be or behave according to them. It will also point out differences and similarities between all of the stances.
I wanted the book to visually represent the idea of two sides, I thought back t when I was younger where I had a book, one half was english and one half was french. And the idea was that a mole on each side starting in either country, travelled under the english/french channel and they met in the middle.
This is where I got my idea from. The two sides would meet in the middle and there would be a summary.
I decided that I would perfect bind my publication with glue. I haven't perfect bound a publication before and so this would give me a little experience, I looked on the internet for ways of how to do it, and I asked people around me.
I didn't want the binding to be of any influence to the book, I wanted the binding to really be unnoticeable, the focus is on the front covers and the book itself, as well as this a perfect bind meant that my book could be back to back.
And so the sheets inside the book would print singularly , so the pages would open
1, 2&3, 4.
Because of this I chose to dedicate one sheet per religion/ theory, so each had four pages.
I mocked up how my book would work it was hard to visualise in my head and I felt that it would be even harder just trying to explain it to somebody, especially when it came to printing.
And so the book would open...
Second half of the book (starting at the 'front' (which is the back)) (opening right to left)
I then had to decide on the books dimensions. I didn't want the book to be a standard A format as I felt that this is to the audience would remind them of a educational text book , and they might disengage, I wanted it to come across that the book would be easy to follow, and easy to engage with.
I chose a large rectangle wider than it was tall, I did this as I felt that I wanted the pages to be longer and because of the bind.
The large rectangle would also have enough room for the content without being too type heavy for the audience. (Young Adults 13-16/17)
To introduce the religion (or theory) the first page would be a quick summary of the background of the specific religion or theory, so that the audience has a brief history of the certain aspect and they can understand the language further.
I made it look slightly like a fact file, or like a exhibit sign, they are always highly informational and straight to the point. Down the left side is a set of icons relating to certain pieces of information (a key)
As well as this I had the map that I had gathered from my research to show the major regions where the religion is practiced, slightly like you would see on an animal fact file. I think that the maps give a good visual representation, as the audience may not know exactly where the countries are , or may not be able to visualise.
This is the Key, I chose the categories when I was filtering my research, I thought that they where important and interesting background facts that the audience may need to know to understand the content fully.
I drew all the illustrations on illustrator, and I tried to visually represent the categories with little icons. I felt that some of them where more successful than others.
I then decided that I would headline the reason for being good, the main concept of the religion- as such. I then subtitled the principle behind it. And then I wrote a brief statement of what the words meant.
On the next page I wrote what the faith was against, and another paragraph of text explaining further ethics within the religion.
Further on into the book I felt that the pages looked bare, I knew that I wanted to use a stock that wasn't white as I wanted the book to have some texture, and I wanted it to look positive in a way.
However the pages still looked bare, and I was slightly short on time and so I used a Wacom tablet to draw recognisable figures, relating to the paragraph next to them. I hand;t used a Wacom since college, and found the drawings quite tricky, but I think that they suited the audience, If I had more time I think I would of drawn them on illustrator, and maybe in colour as well.
On the last page of the spread, I wrote the key attitudes of the religion and this is how they see themselves as being good people, and being ethical.
For the type I used helvetica neue, it suited the format of the book, and it was in bold it is a block like type which can hold a lot of colour and presence on the page.
This is how the spreads looked ready for print these two would be back to back and fold in the middle and therefore they open correctly.
After I had designed all off the 8 theories/religons I felt that the book needed a key and it needed a contents as the book has a strange and perhaps quite confusing layout.
I would introduce each section after the front cover so that the audience knew what they where about to read, and each section had its own colour so that the audience would remember which section they where reading.
Key and Contents.
I printed onto bulky newsprint as it had a creme-like colour and it has a slightly rough texture, swell as this its quite thin and so it would fold easily and the book wouldn't be too thick.
I titled the book 'What is Good' I didn't include a question mark as it isn't meant to be a question, it is both a statement and a question, as well as this visually I felt the question mark unbalanced the page.
Good is also in apostrophes as I feel that is is an undefinable word.
Left to Right
Right to Left
I think that the concept for this book is interesting and appropriate for the target audience, I also think that the format works well and it makes the book more interactive and fun to read. I also think that the front covers are leading and as they are identical it makes the audience wonder where to start.
However when it came to production I did have a few issues, and if I'd of had more time and been a bit more carful I think I could have avoided some of the issues, for instance I cut the front cover on the back side of the book too short, purely by accident, I think that I need to be more careful when finishing my work. As well as this when I had designed the front cover I made it too big , and I left too much room for the spine, meaning that the front covers aren't entirely in the same place, I overcompensated the space I needed.
But once I had the design printed onto the stock I felt a lot better about the overall design.
If I was to do this project again I would like to have given myself some more time, to one improve the design and two to of made more deliverables, as it was an educational piece, I would of liked to make an info graphical poster of some kind that would show all of the views in one, I could of also made work books or tasks so that the audience would have to interact more with the piece.
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