FINAL PUBLICATION
GRIDS
Unfortunately InDesign crashed and deleted my final design (thankfully a pdf version was saved), so the only grid layout I have is the version previously saved, a very rough first draft.
FINAL SPREAD
Using the same collage technique as the front cover, the last spread exhibits all my illustrations in a concise, and striking way.
FINAL COVER DESIGN
The final design for my publication cover; I chose a strong illustration for the base, and then collaged in squares of other pieces, magnifying textures and shapes.
I think the colour and texture of this mask turned out pretty successful, and the black background enhances the vibrancy very well. For this reason I think most of my publication will have a black background.
Thought this could be a cool cover illustration as it marries the past and the present. Not completely happy with it though, I think text would help balance the composition a bit.
ILLUSTRATION TRY OUTS
Masks Initial Ideas
After a long tedious scour through Wikipedia, I realised I had a particular interest in history/anthropology. I wanted something prehistoric but also relevant, a niche yet universal concept. The mask sparked my interest due to its huge relevance during this pandemic; a publication exploring the history and versatility of this object would be interesting.
The rough thumbnails on the left are just a quick visualisation of how I'll divide the topics within the 16pg publication. It's hard to tell exactly, so I think I will make a collage mock-up using printed out text and image to work out a detailed layout.
FONT
I chose Avenir Next Condensed Regular as the typeface of the main body of writing; I felt it had the right formal tone for the purpose and audience of the publication- formal, readable, and not distracting from the illustrations. For the headings I struggled with finding a typeface that was cohesive with body and illustrations, so I opted for hand written ones instead.
TITLE TEXT INSPO
I definitely want a bespoke, primitive looking typeface for the title and headings. This font made from hand imprints creates a very human, down-to-earth effect that I wish to create; it could link to the craft element of masks.
FORMATTING INSPO
Although this style is very retro digital and artificial feeling, I thought the way they played with images was very inspiring. Using techniques that support this feeling of degradation, layering, and shifting could be interesting in the context of masks. I could combine various styles of masks from various cultures and play around with composition and layers.
COLLAGE INSPIRATION
To fully illustrate the wiki text, I found every mask reference made and collected photos to determine which ones I wanted to illustrate. The pdf below is just half of my findings. I realised that there was no chance of using photo edits within my publication as every photo was a different size and quality.
COVER INSPIRATION
I thought this style; gritty photograph on a stark white background, with subtle text, would be quite effective for my theme of Masks. The mask imagery is the most important factor of my publication, the words bring context and history; so a cover like this would introduce that hierarchy immediately.
I've been searching how different designers have used photography/graphics to portray masks, or layers. I found this image very striking and visually efficient; it creates an air of mystery and focus using only two components. I think I'll use mask imagery on the cover, but I'll keep this gritty, expressive style in mind.
The four examples above show a style I'm interested in using for the cover; using layers to partially reveal what's underneath. Using photo edits, scans and collage, this could turn out quite nicely, and have a tactile element to it which would bring to life the very objective topic.