OUGD603 - Photography Book - Layout Idea Sketches

In starting to think more visually about the layout of the book, some sketches were drawn out of various layout ideas inspired by research. One idea was to incorporate a generous amount of negative space into the layout amongst photographs in order to reflect the isolated and empty nature of petrol stations at night featured in Akshay's photography. This would also allow for the detailed elements of these photographs to stand out to the readers, potentially creating more engagement with the reader and a better focus point for photographs, whilst also working with the original size of some of these photographs. This use of negative space could also be used to create breaks in the content, as explained before, in allowing readers time to think about what they have just read/seen.

In creating a pace/rhythm throughout the book in its layout, it was considered that a limited number of these layout ideas could be used alternately throughout which helps to create a sense of narrative and consistency through the design. This will be decided depending on the format of certain images, whether they should be featured side-by-side to create a juxtaposition, or full spread on their own for impact and better communication of the context of the photographs.

Another idea was based on research into creating movement in design, which suggested that perspective tricks the eye into thinking about movement, which can be created through cropping for depth and motion perception. This idea was also linked to visual research into the nature of petrol stations, looking at perspective in the way these are photographed looking at the petrol pumps in particular. In terms of layout this could be communicated and visualised through juxtaposing micro and macro formats to give this impression of perspective.

Further layout ideas were based on the aesthetics of petrol columns which typically feature the brand's logo and petrol prices of that station in different sections. In terms of layout then, the photographs could be formatted into columns with multiple sections for different images, representing the aesthetics of these station signs. This idea could also be used in formatting any textual information which may need to be included within the book, for instance a foreword featuring information about the photographer and the work featured in the book.