OUGD603 - Photography Book - Format Considerations

Before thinking about layout, it was thought that the format of the book should be considered first since this is something which would inform the layout itself.

Based on visual research into existing photography books and formats, one potential format was H 210 mm x W 250 mm, which is just under A4 in size. It was found that many existing photography books use formats similar to this in order to allow the photography to create an impact, whilst working more effectively with the typical sizes of photographic imagery.

Another potential format idea was H 184.507 mm x W 327.3 mm, a more obscure format, however is something which could be experimented with since this was found to be the typical size of many of Akshay's photographs, therefore it was thought this format may work more effectively with the content. With the width being longer it was thought that this also partially reflected the aesthetics of petrol stations signs explored in visual research, rotated 90 degrees, and therefore reflects the content of the book through the format.

A further potential format idea was landscape A4, the typical standard paper size. This was considered for use for similar reasons to the formats above in that it was thought that this would work effectively with the average size of Akshay's photography and would therefore contain the images better and allow for a better layout to be created.

Continuing to explore other typical sizes of Akshay's photography, it was found that a lot of these also feature square formats, therefore another idea was to potentially use a square format for the production of the book to work better with these aspects of Akshay's photography. It was also thought that this would create a good size which people can handle easily and therefore potentially cause more engagement between the readers and the content.

One final idea was to use the format H 210 mm x W 130 mm, which is just under A5 in size. Like the previous format it was again thought that this would create a good size which people can handle and engage with easily. It was also thought that this reflected the nature of the photography, with the length mimicked the typical design of petrol station signs which can be used as a subtle link between the format and content of the book.