Brief 13 : Photography year book boards

Brief 13 : Photography year book

Year Book cover

Postcards

Brief 13 : Year Book : Developing the cover

The photography team went away and talked to the rest of the photography students and as a group they came up with a group of names for the yearbook, through process of elimination they decided on ‘Not Good With Words’. Using this name as a basis we looked at produced a front and back cover for the cards. We had decided on using an X-band to hold the cards together this influenced how we designed the cover, it was important to think about how this obstructs the covers and how this can be used advantageously. We looked at two different layouts however we felt the designed in which words were cut off the cover reflected the name visually as well mirroring how the cards in the pack overlap each other and are cut off at the edges.

Brief 13 : Photography Year Book : Proofs

After developing a grid of images that we were happy with we curated this same grid digital within illustrator. We explored two idea, one in which images overlapped onto other postcards and another in which they remained in the grid but images didn’t overlap. We presented these two ideas to the photography team. After some discussion we decided that having the images overlapping each postcard was a strong idea and that they worked well as both individual postcards as well as a series when placed all together. After this meeting we want away and tweaked some of the postcards as some of the images either overlapped too much or some overlapped too little. We developed the idea of having the image overlap outside of the grid so that a continuos grid of images could be created, on a wall for example.

Digital example we sent off to print

Elastic bands

Proof - Imperfections 

Joining

Brief 13 : Photography Year Book : New development

After again meeting with the Photography team we discussed the work we had produced thus far, although the team were happy with the work we decided that the idea was a little too safe and we needed to be a bit more experimental with how we used the format of the postcard. We then discussed the idea of having the images positioned on the postcard in a range of different ways and this was to be decided as a collection and to also think about how each image relates to the next images. As a result of this discussion we went away a printed all of the images and began a curation process in which we printed all of the submitted work and placed them into a grid of images which were matched together based on a range of criteria from colour, composition, style and tone.

Brief 11 : Initial Idea Development

After again meeting with the Photography team we discussed the work we had produced thus far, although the team were happy with the work we decided that the idea was a little too safe and we needed to be a bit more experimental with how we used the format of the postcard. We then discussed the idea of having the images positioned on the postcard in a range of different ways and this was to be decided as a collection and to also think about how each image relates to the next images. As a result of this discussion we went away a printed all of the images and began a curation process in which we printed all of the submitted work and placed them into a grid of images which were matched together based on a range of criteria from colour, composition, style and tone.

Brief 13 : Photography Year book : Meeting 3

We arranged another meeting with photography to discuss our progress with the design of the yearbook. We presented our ideas which went down well they liked what we had done and they like our choice of typefaces. The students on the yearbook particularly liked the mix of the serif and sans-serif typefaces. However questions were raised about how this design would work with different formats of images as we'd only tested the design with a portrait image the design needed to at least be tested with landscape images and square images. Additionally a conversation occurred around the use of the border on the postcard. The students agreed with us and felt that the border added class and professionalism to the postcard and it was a nice layout feature linking the front and the back of the card however the tutors felt that it made the postcards feel old fashioned rather than modern and progressive. However Karen from photography pointed out that all the postcards she received from the V&A and other such like venue all use a similar border within there design. Any to move forward we needed to test the design with different image formats and as well as different styles of images. It was also discussed about how the text will work on the back of the image will it change of portrait and landscape images for will it stay the same?

Moving Forward:


Test design with a landscape, portrait and square image
Experiment with the orientation of copy on the back of the postcard in accordance or opposition of the orientation of the image on the reverse

Brief 13 : Photography Year Book : Initial Ideas

Myself, Tom and Sam start down to begin thinking about how the design of the postcard is actually going to work. With such a limited amount of space within the format we felt quite constrained as to what we could do. We ended up producing a standard reverse for the card with featured the students name, bio and contact information in a left aligned column. We chose a bold serif typeface for the students name to create a classic and timeless design, which was complimented by a formal sans-serif face for the body copy. For the front of the postcard, as student were only getting one image each we really wanted there image to fill the space they are provided with. We filled the entire face of the card with the image. We looked at using a border as well to give the card a more professional feel. We displayed our idea on a pitch board to take to our next photography meeting.

Brief 13 : Photography Year Book : Meeting with Tony

Today Myself, Tom and Sam met with Tony who is going to be responsible for managing the print and production of the yearbook. As were having a different format yearbook we had a lot of specific questions we needed to ask tony about what is possible within our assigned budget.

Questions Covered:


How many cards can we print per student?

Tony worked out that the most feasible way to print the cards would be to digitally print them, this means we can print as many cards as we need without worrying about economy of cards within the print run. However to reach a good unit cost it means we can only assign one postcard per student

What stock is available for the postcards?

After talking with Tony about what he has available we chose a sating stock for the postcards as the year of a couple of years ago was printed on satin and the images really popped and bought them to life more than a Matt stock did, as they appear somewhat dull on a Matt stock.

What are our options for the front and back covers of the postcards?

We discussed with tony the possibility of using a GF Smith stock for the front and back cover in a heavy weight he has as we were using digital printing which is much cheaper printing method that this is possible within our budget as we wouldn't need that much stock because it's only two cards required per pack.

What print finishes can we use?

After talking with Tony about what we wanted to do design wise with the cover and the limitation we had with the stock we were using, he said it is possible to use a single coloured foil on the front and back of the covers to one side on each.


This was an extremely productive meeting with Tony as we managed to clear up all our queries regarding the print run and we go full steam ahead with designing the yearbook.




Moving Forward:

Begin initial designs for the yearbook
Meet with Photography to relay information

Brief 13 : Visual Research

After a few initial meetings with photography and project manager Phil, it was decided that the best format for the yearbook would be to produce a set of postcards rather than a full yearbook. The students of the photography course felt this was a more appropriate format for there work. As a result of this we started to explore how this format can be exploited to create something unique.

Brief 13 : Year Book : Photography Meeting 2

After meeting with Phil, we discussed the possibility of producing postcards for the year book instead of a traditional publication format. Phil said that this was ok but try and push them to get a yearbook but if they really want postcards then we can work around that and use this format.

We arranged another meeting with Photography to discuss our meeting with Phil and rely this information back to Photography. We again as a group discussed the pro's and con's of the different formats for the yearbook that we now have available. Ultimately we decided that the postcard format was the best format for the yearbook. We then went to discuss how this format would work in presenting the students works.

We decided that based on printing costs and unit costs, which we will need to discuss in our meeting with Tony, that each student will be given either one of two postcards to showcase there work. The postcard format will enable one side of the postcard to have an image of there work and other side to have there name, bio and contact information. We ended the meeting by agreeing upon these decision.

Moving Forward:


Explore what's possible with the postcard format, how can text and image be presented within the constraints of this format

What will be used to hold the postcards together and keep them as a selection

Are other postcards needed in the pack such as a message for the year tutor etc

Discuss with Tony what is possible in terms of print within out budget, how many postcards can we have per student etc

Brief 13 : Photography Meeting 1

Once we had found out that we'd won the yearbook for the Photography course at Leeds College of Art our first order of business was to set up a meeting with the Course Leader the team of people from the Photography course that will be working with us to develop the yearbook. During this first meeting we discussed the idea that we'd presented in order to win the Graphic Design yearbook, we decided that we didn't need such an overpowering concept and that the yearbook should be more simplistic and allow the work to speak for it's self.

Within the meeting the course Tutor brought previous years yearbooks for us to look at. In the year previous to this course didn't have a yearbook produced by the graphic design course they instead produced postcards individually as a course. The years previous to this both had full yearbooks produced.

Infinity - 2012

By Passport
The infinity yearbook for students who graduated in 2012, used the traditional square format for the book. Inside students had been given between 1-2 double page spreads to showcase there work, this was decided dependant on the type of work they produced. The yearbook was printed on a matt stock throughout with satin cover which featured a spot varnish. A layout features a range of composition again which were dependent on the images and the style of work.

Unseen - 2011
The 2011 yearbook unseen, is printed on a satin stock and is of extremely high quality as students raised money to fund the higher production costs. The same approach as the 2012 yearbook has been applied to it’s design.


We discussed the potential pro's and con's of producing a full year versus using a completely different format. Although all parties were in favour of a yearbook and liked the format the general consensus from the photography course representative was that a format like postcards would be more appropriate to this graduating year, in a course discussion previous to this meeting the students on the course had decided that postcards were an ideal format as with postcards people are getting printed ephemera which they can use and put on the wall for example whereas with a yearbook it's just a book that ends up on a shelf and never gets looked at. We also discussed the possibility that if postcards is the chosen format this should lower print costs meaning more units can be produced.


Plan of Action before next meeting:

Talk with phil about the possibility of using a different for the Yearbook

Brief 13 : Photography Year Book : Photography Win

The yearbooks were delegated between the groups that pitched, it was decided that we got photography, we were happy to receive photography as this would have been our second choice after Graphic Design. We were chosen for Photography because our concept was about people and centred around personality. We were also chosen for photography because our concept was also loosely around documentary photography which a large majority of photography studios do focus on and specialise in. After being chosen for photography we had another meeting to discuss how we needed to move forward with project. We established that we needed to change our idea slightly as it was quite complex and we felt the photography yearbook needed to be much more simple and the let the photography speak for itself. We have arranged a meeting with photography to begin a dialogue with them about what they want from the year book and being to make initial plans on move forward.

Brief 13 : Graphic Design Pitch

Myself, Tom and Sam have decided to collaborate together to pitch for the yearbook for Graphic Design. We had an initial meeting together to discuss potential ideas we had. We then worked together to solidify a final concept we wanted to pitch. The ideas that we decided to run with was 'Graphic Designer &' this idea came about a discussion we had about how we've all been on a journey during our time at Leeds College of Art and whilst studying Graphic Design. As part of this journey we have developed not only our studio practice but also skills and hobbies which we all partake in outside of college, but these activities inform who we are and affect the work we produce as graphic designer, this is when the ideas of 'Graphic Designer &_____' was born out of the fact that we are all Graphic Designers collectively but we are also have other traits that make us who we are for example, potential instances would be 'Graphic Designer & Mountain Biker' or 'Graphic Designer & Craft Brewer'. As part of the pitch we also wanted to demonstrate how the concept could be used across a range of instances involved in the end of the academic year, for example the End of the year show branding. We also felt it was important to discuss how the yearbook could potentially be made into a digital form, in the form of a website which could be shared online and further promote both the year group and the college, as it can be easily distributed via online social networks such as Twitter. As part of this concept we also wanted to pitch the idea of creating a video which would encompass us as a year group and our time at LCA but also provide stills images to be used in the year book. The content of this video would be a mixture of both students practicing graphic design in the studio as well as engaging in there chosen activity of personality trait.