[BPB] Design discussion

Fionn

the general trend was for landscape, but i think it handled photographs in portrait pretty ok, anyway if the majority are going to be in landscape the book should go with that orientation!

I've taken a look at last years graphics and have basiclly reversed the colours.
I included the Boards photo logo in it's original livery for comparison purposes on the back page, personally i prefer everything to be muted somewhat - a little understated instead of screaming out from the page! so the logo is a bit strong for my liking!
however, if anyone has other ideas, i'd like to try them out.

anyway heres my first version of the front cover. apologies for it being so big

smelltheglove

If I can throw a spanner in the works.... Is everyone on for the same design of last year? I know I wasnt mad about it at the time and honestly I still am not mad about it, I just think it is too plain for a photography book.

Just me maybe.

pullandbang

Fionn wrote: »

anyway heres my first version of the front cover. apologies for it being so big

Looks great to me.

Thoie

I liked last year's format, and I love the idea of having a few year's books lined up neatly together on my bookshelves.

Like OscarBravo, I'm picturing them on my shelves already, and have one comment. If last year's cover was black, and this year's is white - where do we go from there colourwise for next year?

Would it be possible (and/or desireable) to take a "spoke" of a colour wheel, and work our way outwards towards white over the years?

Taking a wheel like this one (just the first image result), pick spoke 19 (for example), jump out from the centre one or two hops for this year's, another few hops for next year, and so on. After a few years you'd end up with a graduated row of books - something like this.


There had also been some mention last year of picking the best submission from last year and making it the cover pic for this year, but I'm not sure if this is the time and place to discuss that.

melekalikimaka

Thoie wrote: »

There had also been some mention last year of picking the best submission from last year and making it the cover pic for this year, but I'm not sure if this is the time and place to discuss that.

may seem cheesy...I dont know how folk would feel bout it... a photomosaic of all the submissions, making the boards logo?

Dublin_Gunner

melekalikimaka wrote: »

may seem cheesy...I dont know how folk would feel bout it... a photomosaic of all the submissions, making the boards logo?

Seriously, I was thinking the very same idea!!!

smelltheglove

I like the idea mele, we did toy last year with a mosaic style of photographers within the book if you recall, I did a mock up then but it was a plain rectangle rather than the boards logo.

I reckon it would be quite hard to do though.

Dublin_Gunner

smelltheglove wrote: »

I like the idea mele, we did toy last year with a mosaic style of photographers within the book if you recall, I did a mock up then but it was a plain rectangle rather than the boards logo.

I reckon it would be quite hard to do though.

Not at all, create the mosaic, with overlapping images. Then mask it with the shape of the boards logo - you dont have to show all the images, its just for effect.

Here is a quick example using a very low res boards logo for the mask, hence it looks sort of pants (background is the Stone Roses album cover).

melekalikimaka

i was thinking



ive done them before...simple to do

xia

Thoie wrote: »

I liked last year's format, and I love the idea of having a few year's books lined up neatly together on my bookshelves.

Like OscarBravo, I'm picturing them on my shelves already, and have one comment. If last year's cover was black, and this year's is white - where do we go from there colourwise for next year?

Would it be possible (and/or desireable) to take a "spoke" of a colour wheel, and work our way outwards towards white over the years?

Taking a wheel like this one (just the first image result), pick spoke 19 (for example), jump out from the centre one or two hops for this year's, another few hops for next year, and so on. ...

I was thinking as well, what colour could be next year then after black and white. So I like the idea of a colour wheel.
And in addition I thought, if people (me inclusive even thought I don't have last years) like to have different coloured books in the shelf and maybe some colours are difficult for pictures on them: Why not have the cover in one colour and the actual pages always in say black or white.
(I have no idea, if blurb or any other site would be able to do this!)

Fionn

i would think that the Boards logo in that format would not compliment the rest of the layout, as it exists at the moment. Plus the logistics of getting everyone's image in would be troublesome in the extreme!

But perhaps a different layout altogether for the front cover might be desireable.
If thats the case tho, i guess the consistency in the ANNUAL BOARDS PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK is lost straight away, so the identity thats obviously been achieved with last years book is gone and a new one will have to be introduced for each new edition. Another thing for everyone to agree with? There's good points and bad in this, but thats for the general membership to decide.
I think different colours for each successive year has merits.

anyway my personal opinion would be for a muted understated clean design!
exif data isn't a feature i would be too hot on.. I dont see it's a great benefit to the overall presentation of the pages. but anyhow i suppose i'm for retaining last years design/layout as far as practicable, my reasons for this would be, due to most people finding it acceptable last year and therefore allowing the project to progress to resolving more immediate problems. Time is beginning to run out!!

democrates

xia wrote: »

I was thinking as well, what colour could be next year then after black and white. So I like the idea of a colour wheel.
And in addition I thought, if people (me inclusive even thought I don't have last years) like to have different coloured books in the shelf and maybe some colours are difficult for pictures on them: Why not have the cover in one colour and the actual pages always in say black or white.
(I have no idea, if blurb or any other site would be able to do this!)

If a rainbow (ring out your great bells in victory) were adopted for the series then a red cover could symbolise this year of recession...

As for exif my inclination would be to keep the photo pages clean but have a tabular index on a back page with say page no., aperture, shutter speed, and iso for each photo. It's more work though and more to go wrong, particularly if some idiot does something like this...

Thoie

xia wrote: »

And in addition I thought, if people (me inclusive even thought I don't have last years) like to have different coloured books in the shelf and maybe some colours are difficult for pictures on them: Why not have the cover in one colour and the actual pages always in say black or white.
(I have no idea, if blurb or any other site would be able to do this!)

That's what I was thinking as well - keep the pages black or white, just change the cover colour. Blurb and other printers shouldn't have a problem with that iirc.

oscarBravo

Cover and page colours are completely independent. If we're talking about consistency for appearance on a bookshelf, the main things that are important are the page size and spine design.

smelltheglove

Another way to look at it is this, we want consistency throughout the books, true this can be done via spine and size but if we want consistency on the cover the task is simple, whatever we decide for the cover, picture, mosaic or plain as long as we position the logo in the same place they will always be consistent. Look at multi selling authors, example included, the consistency is maintained via the same text style and size and positioning on the fron covers.

Ok so in this link there are various publication styles but the most common publication as seen in the first five images shows what I mean.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dan+brown

Ruu_Old

I liked last years design, maybe just switcharoo the colours, background white and text black (for the cover) would be good enough for me anyway. :P

dakar

Ruu wrote: »

I liked last years design, maybe just switcharoo the colours, background white and text black (for the cover) would be good enough for me anyway. :P

+1 works for me too. For both the cover and interior

sineadw

dakar wrote: »

+1 works for me too. For both the cover and interior

If I'm allowed two votes PLEASE stick to the simple design! To quote Da Vinci - "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". Please please please... Not to sound condescending (and i know it will - so sorry) but you have graphic designers on the board - listen to them. They know what they're talking about.

The photos inside are visually striking enough. And we're not going on cover sales like conventional books.

I think white versus black for the second year, and if we want to break that, an RGB or CYMK theme for the next 3/4 years?

(going back into my hidey hole)

melekalikimaka

i think your right sinead... oscarbravo will have his say and i thinks his decision will be what we roll with

m_s_nixon

maybe we can have a plain cover with something a bit more eye catching on a dust cover? might be a way of keeping everyone happy but will add to the final cost of the book

Dublin_Gunner

If the dust cover was/is transparent, a photomosaic would work really well on that.

You'd have the imagery slightly transparent with the white of the cover still showing through, would give an almost 3d effect to the photomosaic...

Plain white would be nice, but IMO the boards logo doesn't lend itself to a simple, clean design. It just looks out of place.

Maybe a simpler version of it without the stroke could work, and not as heavy. Just IMO.

ThOnda

I am quite against pictures on covers, apart from the Santa's night out

Keep it simple and in line of previous cover - it was chosen by public vote.

And keeping is as democratic and transparent, avoiding any "best of..." pictures would be the only way to go.

Morrisseeee

Well there's only one way to go for the front cover, and that a pic of a scantily glad young lady holding a copy of last years edition !! (well sex sells, don't it !!) << only kiddin

I liked last years cover, simple, black and ooozed quality !

democrates

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Well there's only one way to go for the front cover, and that a pic of a scantily glad young lady holding a copy of last years edition !! (well sex sells, don't it !!) << only kiddin

Pics or it didn't happen.

For once I only half agree with ThOnda, keep it simple yesish, but I like change because I've memories of years stuck in a horrible miserable rut, plus I've a feeling that we need to energise and make changes to blast our way out of this recession. It's all psychological. I'm just chipping in by way of brainstorming here btw, whatever the doers do, kudos, respect, and gratitude. /2c

Morrisseeee

Pics or it didn't happen.

OK here you go!

I've seen the boards.ie logo (ie. a photo of the logo in lights) being posted up a few times, random thread I think, and maybe an idea like this could be conjured up for the front page ?!?!

melekalikimaka

right gonna ned set up email account for photos.


can we get details on size and res for photos soonish?

Ideo

Any thoughts of the order of the photos in the book?

I was thinking that you should avoid having both portrait and landscape photos beside each other? like if the front cover was page 1, then pg 2 = portrait and 3 = portrait, but never 2 = portrait and 3 = landscape?

Do you know what i mean?

oscarBravo

Yup, that would be a design goal.

Fionn

you might say the same for colour and B&W or portraiture and land/seascapes, reportage etc.

I would imagine the goal will have to be for randomness, with perhaps a little help from the designer

oscarBravo

Sometimes total randomness can seem a little... forced.

I'll be aiming to keep portrait photos together, because they just look better on facing pages. Beyond that I'll be inserting the photos more-or-less in the order they appear in the book. That said, sometimes I'll see photos that just look good together, and I'll be nudging them onto facing pages.

It's a balancing act, like pretty much every aspect of design.

And I'm not a professional designer.