Visual Book Documentation

Objective:

The goal of this project was to effectively combine original imagery with text into a visual book for a class audience and potential future employer. The book should tell a story and enhance the content that it includes. This project combines knowledge of typography, grid systems, and content-based design decisions.

Requirements:

• appropriately sized visual book (dimensions of your choice), printed and bound
• carefully thought-out text, illustration, paper type, and binding
• 12 or 16 pages (to avoid blank pages)

Considerations:

• find inspiration and references to understand effective visual & verbal interaction
• effectively use typography and visual hierarchy for readability
• use images that communicate well with text
• use grid systems to create effective compositions
• use compelling and appropriate color and style
• be thoughtful about detail and craft for the final book

Inspiration:

With research, I found spreads and covers that were appealing to me and that I thought were compelling for photographic content. I also paid a lot of attention to composition and hierarchy from these design references.

Exploration/Drafts:

For the cover, I explored using both photos and drawings. The minimalistic feeling matches the aura of Ascend. I tried using both photos and drawings on the cover. For the inner spreads, I tried using different sizes of photos, different compositions, and different margins. I felt that the spreads looked better with larger photos that spread across pages. I also explored different texts and different ways of positioning and balancing the text with the photos. I liked the grey highlight underneath the text because it added more balance the composition of the spread. However, I think there was a bit too much whitespace and lack of connection between the photos and text, which I decided to revise for the final book.

Final:

Reflection:

In the beginning, I explored using both photos and drawings for the cover. At first, I liked the yellow upwards arrow with the black title text because of the arrow representing the upwards movement and the form of the arrow also resembling a climbing wall. The colors also correspond to the brand colors of Ascend. Eventually, however, I realized that the whitespace made everything look too distant, weakening the depth and power behind the photos. I think that enlarging the photos, getting rid of margins, and allowing each horizontal image to span across the entire spread allowed for a stronger message. Since the focus of each page is the image, I like how the text does not overpower the story of the image, but rather adds a bit of context and truth to it. It is surprising how much of a difference filling the page with an image versus leaving some margins made.

In terms of text, my captions used to seem very random because it just consisted of defining a word that represented an image. My book also lacked context, which made it confusing on what the purpose of the book is. That is why I added some context in the beginning and end of the book for readers to understand what Ascend is. Although the quotes in the middle are not abundant, they are very honest and insightful as to why they go to Ascend. In tandem with my own captions and images, I think it tells a compelling story. Overall, I struggled with purpose throughout this project, which made it hard to establish any context. This is definitely something I need to pay more attention to in future projects.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the cover and back cover. The front cover zooms in on the top of the building, which is dominated by the roof. Reading the title text on the bottom, and then moving up the vertical ridges on the roof gives a feeling of “ascending.” Opening the book mimics the act of entering the climbing gym and not knowing what’s inside. On the other hand, the back cover shows what was below the front cover, with the door and step, which creates an opposite feeling of leaving the gym. In this way, starting and finishing the book resembles entering and leaving the climbing gym.