OUGD404 - Format

Format is one design principle which has been put into practice throughout this module. Workshops have helped with this element of design practice, for instance in learning pagination. This concerns the sequence of numbers assigned to pages in a book or periodical and allows publications to be printed correctly depending on it’s format. The new skills developed from this workshop were put into practice through the production of a publication on the use of colour within Graphic Design, which allowed the booklet to be printed appropriately so that the pages were correctly ordered to be bound together.

This element of design links to book-binding, another skill learnt through this module regarding format. This workshop showed three ways to bind books and small publications into a more professional format. These included saddle stitch, Japanese stab stitch and consentina.

Saddle stitch is a stitch of thread or a staple passed through the fold of a magazine or booklet. This method of bookbinding was used to format and bring all relevant information in the colour publication together. It was decided to use this method over consentina or Japanese stab stitch, a needlework stitch in which the stitches on the visible surface of the cloth are smaller than those underneath, since it was learnt that saddle stitch works better for smaller publications. The final publications were produced at a scale of A5, so it was also felt that this method of binding worked appropriately for this scale, as the stitches did not compromise any of the clarity of information, for instance in the amount of space it uses to hold the publication together. If an alternative method had been used, such as stab stitch, the layout of pages would have to had been more carefully considered by moving all relevant information towards the bottom edge so that nothing is cut off at the top where stitches would be placed.

Another part of formatting work that had to be considered in the production of final outcomes was paper stock, since this can have just as much of an impact on the communication of a piece of work than the content and design itself.
This was particularly important in the production of an exhibition poster. The main requirement for this brief stated that the poster must be of an A1 scale, which can then be folded down to A4. Paper stock therefore had to be more carefully considered in order to fit this requirement, since a paper stock too thick would not have allowed the poster to be folded down easily to a scale of A4.

Similarly, paper stock choices had to be carefully considered to fit with the binding methods for the colour publications, as a paper stock too thick would not have allowed the stitches to pass through effectively.

Inspired by the creative practice of design studio, DR. ME and collage artist Adam Hale, it was decided to experiment with hand-cut contemporary collage for the main imagery of the Penguin books. These were produced through the use of secondary imagery found in various magazines and flyers, which represented the themes of the three books and put together into a collage format. The frame of these images did not follow a strict format and fill the entire space available. It was decided to do this in order to convey a more contemporary view of the three chosen Penguin classics that would aim to bring a new audience and demographic to this genre. This also meant that the images communicated a more hand-made aesthetic which could potentially represent the individual and personal opinions of various philosophers presented within these three Penguin classics. The use of negative space around these helps to make such beliefs and themes clearer to the audience.