One Week Book: Idea Generation and Planning

Today we focused on generating ideas/narratives using the experiences we had yesterday, as well as planning our final book layout. We came up with quite a few different ideas, here are some of the main ones:

• Narrating the experience of meeting 'Spider' and our conversations with him. 
• Exploring the dark arches 
• Telling the story of someone seeing and hearing strange things whilst camping on the moors. 

In the end we concluded as a group that the Dark Arches would be most visually interesting and relevant to our research as we had taken a number of photographs in record of our experience. We still, however, wanted to include 'Spider' in this narrative, being such an interesting and strange character. Our final idea was therefore to have 'Spider' guiding us into the Arches, were we experience strange and spooky occurrences, linking to how he told us it was haunted. 

For the final images we decided to use a colour palette of black and blue'ish grey to create the haunted and ominous atmosphere for the book. We then roughly planned how the narrative will be told through each image, and assigned a double page to each person. 

One Week Book: Research day

Today we were sent out in our groups to fulfill a list of tasks, but ultimately to experience something that would produce an interesting and meaningly narrative for our book. 

We managed to complete quite a few of the tasks such as - trying on wigs, going to the german and kirkgate markets, going to a charity shop ect. - but two of the most notable I think (at least for me) were exploring the dark arches underneath the train station and Jordan's conversation with a homeless man nicknamed 'Spider' - asking about legends and myths to do with Leeds. He said that the dark arches were haunted and that there were wild animals, such as wolves and bears, living on the moors (claiming that during the night out there he had heard noises). He had lots of tattoos of spiders and webs, as well as a LUFC tattoo on his hand.  

Here are some photographs I took in the tunnels underneath the train station. It was mainly a lot of parked cars, but we did find a little shed with lots of rubbish and rubble in it that looked like it could potentially have been lived in at some point. 

More Frogs

I made a pattern using one of the images from my visual language work. Pattern is something that I really enjoy and am attracted to as a visual aesthetic. I express my interest in this mostly through my clothes, but I would like to start exploring this interest through my work more and more. I like the simplicity of repeating just one image, and I think the overall effect seems fun and playful. 

Exploring tone, mark and pattern

Charcoal and chalk are two mediums that I really enjoyed using together. I think that they work really well to create various tones as well as strong contrasts. Willow charcoal and charcoal pencil also have a very appealing texture and are really effective in creating different marks in order to describe a subject. 

I really like my loose and messy application of ink here, and the use of blue and yellow to create different tones.

I think the use of ink, charcoal and chalk together creates a really dynamic image - as the loose and messy nature of the ink can be refined with using charcoal to add structure and further tone to the drawing. 

These experiments in ink using different lines and marks to draw frogs I think are really playful and charming.

In this task I feel like I concentrated too much on using colour and shading to add tone to my drawings. It would have been more interesting if I had experimented more with using mark making and pattern within an image in order to create perspective, tone and draw the viewers eye to certain areas. On the other hand I feel like in this task I was a lot more playful and experimental with my use of media. This is something that I would like to take forward in my visual language work. 

End of Module Self Evaluation

Do Judge a Book by its Cover: Final outcome

What was successful?

• I am really happy with my final design and layout. I think it is simple yet eye-catching and is appropriate for the tone and content of the book.  
• I think the texture of the charcoal and line quality of the final images works well to bring interest to their really simple and understated content. Without this consideration of texture I think that these images could have looked really flat and boring.  
• My use of photoshop to create the final book cover was a good idea as it has helped me to achieve the clean and professional finish I wanted for the final design. 

Unsuccessful?

• I am not sure that the image conveys entirely the messages that Hooks talks about in her essays. I think it works well to show one point or argument, but does not reflect the book as a whole. Does this then mean it is ineffective as a book jacket? I am not sure, as I do not know if it is possible to summarise all this information visually... I think it was necessary for me to centre in on one idea/theme so as to not overcomplicate the final design.  

What did I enjoy in this brief?

• Although I found it difficult, researching the book and the concepts within it was really interesting for me. I really enjoy creating illustrations inspired from some form of written content. 
• I really enjoyed working to create a more simple and graphic image/layout. My personal taste in illustration is work such as that of Jean Jullien's who uses really simple images in order to communicate with his audience quickly and effectively. This is something therefore that I would like to develop within my own practice. 

What would you improve?

• I do not like my work existing as a digital print because I find this very unsatisfactory as a final result, in comparison to handmade pieces. Therefore if I had had more time I would have screenprinted this final design, which I think would have given a nicer finish. 

Do Judge a Book by its Cover: Development on photoshop

I want to use photoshop to create my final book cover as I think that it would give the clean and simple layout I want  - in order to reflect the books non-fictional and academic content. 

To start constructing my book cover I scanned my two favourite images I had created experimenting in my sketchbook, and then used levels and erasing tools in order to refine the edges and create greater contrast. I think creating these images by hand and scanning them gives a quality of line and texture to the image that personally I would not be able to achieve in photoshop. 

As I started to experiment with constructing these different book jacket designs I started to feel like the white background was too bland, whilst I did not want to use an all black background as this was too dark and morbid for the ideas I am trying to convey. Creating the grey background in the top image gave me the idea of using a strip all across the book cover. I feel like this is a really effective compositionally, as it breaks up the image and text, and also enables me to add colour without distracting from the black and white divide within the illustration.   

I associate warm colours with home and feeling a sense of belonging - therefore I started to think of using reds, oranges and purples for the background. I finally decided on this dark mauve colour shown above as I felt like it seemed professional, and not garish (unlike some of the other colours I tested) yet still communicated this sense of warmth I wanted for the book cover.  

I want to use digital type, as apposed to handmade, as I feel like this would best suit the professional and formal tone to the book jacket. I did some experimentation with type in order to find the most suitable for my title. I decided to use sans serif types such as Helvetica or Myriad as they portray a neutral and professional tone. 

I did not want to overcomplicate the book jacket, or distract from the main image on the front cover. I therefore have decided to use small drawings of trees and people to use on the spine and back of the book. I think this will add charm and interest to the jacket, without taking away from any of the imagery.

Do Judge a Book by its Cover: Development

Im really struggling with this brief. I can't seem to get a hold on the ideas in these essays. There are so many complicated themes going on concerning landownership, connection to nature and racial segregation. Its hard to express all these vastly different and important themes in one coherent image. I really wanted to make something using the Appalachian culture as I see this linking in quite well with ideas of community, and feeling a sense of belonging, but in centring in on this idea I feel like I am losing a key part of the book which is the ongoing racial tension in rural and urban America that Hooks talks about in these essays.

In exploration of Appalachian culture I did some drawings using Shelby Lee Adam's photography as reference. I have started to feel, however, that in order to sufficiently represent this culture I would need to create quite a detailed and complicated image. I am afraid of this idea leading my book cover to being too busy and cluttered in its composition and design. In further reading about Shelby Lee Adam's work I have also found that he has been accused of promoting stereotypes through his photographs. Promoting generalisations is something that Hooks is wanting to avoid through these essays, therefore I don't think the images I have created here are appropriate to the book and so I will not be taking this idea forward.  

After looking at the pelican books I decided to take my work in another direction. I think that because this is an academic book of non-fictional essays a simple and professional layout is most appropriate. I also really like the idea of using an abstract image on the front cover in order to communicate the complicated issues within the book. 

I created an image that I think uses the most effective parts of some of the images from my roughs. I wanted it to have the same emotive image of someone cradling "rural america" (as in my rough) but combine this with ideas of erasing racial division. This is aimed to convey Hooks ideas of creating a 'beloved' and 'anti-racist' community. 

I decided that this was the image that I would like to use on my front cover and so started testing it in different media. In these tests I found materials that create texture, such as charcoal and oil pastel, visually most interesting.  This image is also most effectively communicated in black and white - using colour distracts from the message I want to convey concerning the elimination of racial divides. 

Pelican Books

In the briefing I remember Matt mentioning Pelican books, a non-fiction imprint of penguin books exploring important topics and issues. I thought, since my book is also non-fiction, that looking at these book covers would help me gain inspiration regarding how to go about illustrating such abstract topics - such as a sense of belonging, segregation, issues of landownership ect. I was most attracted to the Pelican books created in the 1960s. I think the simple layout of using one image and then the text above works really well to reflect the informative and serious nature of the book's subject, whilst using the focus of one image to capture the viewer's  attention. I also really like the simplicity of these images and the subtle abstract way in which they reflect the content of the books. I have been struggling recently with finding a way in which to make my book cover visually interesting whilst also reflecting the issues that Hooks confronts in her essays. Looking at these covers has shown me that perhaps using a simple layout but letting the image 'speak for itself' is perhaps the best way to go... 

http://www.thingsmagazine.net/projects/1960s/index.htm

Shelby Lee Adams Photography: Appalachia

Napier's Living room, '89

Berthie with Pipe and John, '92

Tammy with Catfish, '03

James and Clapper, '06

I've been struggling a lot with ideas and trying to find one point, or idea, within Hooks essays to focus on for the image to go on my front cover. Something that I have definitely found more interesting as I have researched it is the culture of the Appalachian people (the "mountain people") which Hooks refers to in her essays. 

This is a series of photographs taken from the work of Shelby Lee Adams an American photographer that primarily focuses on portraiture. These photographs of Appalachian family life (some of his most famous work) I feel are really interesting. 

Why do you find these photographs interesting?

• They have a very strong sense of character. 
• Despite the impoverished, uncivilised way of living these are not photographs of poverty or deprivation...These people seem happy, they capture a sense of belonging maybe?
• The photographs give a sense of the Appalachian culture and community. 
• Seem quite natural, Adams has not changed or shaped the context but just taken photographs of them in their homes... 

How will this/how do you intend for this to influence your work?

• Maybe I could use these portraits as inspiration for creating characters?
• The appalachian people capture a sense of freedom - an escape from dominating culture - as well a sense of community and belonging. I think using imagery associated with this culture could work well to reflect Hooks essays and the way she sees rural America. 
• Maybe I could use this kind of imagery or portraits of these people, to change/ add detail to my character hugging/preserving the nature and pushing away the urban. This image can then be to capture the Appalachian's sense of connection with nature and want for separation from dominating culture... 
• Visually this is making me think of using newspaper, cut paper and maybe lino as a combination to make these images/ portraits? I think the newspaper and handmade feel would really reflect the rural and rugged living conditions of these people. The use of newspaper also works well to refer to the Appalachian's strong connections and links to the past.

http://www.collectorsworldonline.com/shelby-adams.html

Do Judge a Book by its Cover: Roughs

Why do I like this?

• I like using a "zoomed in" image of the front cover on the back. I think this repeat, with the simple change of the figures now reaching towards each other, conveys the concept of racial divides effectively. 
• I think the sense of depth and distance that this jagged 'divide' creates is really interesting and draws the viewer into the book.

Why do I not like this?

• The naive and handmade quality of the coloured pencil is not appropriate to the drama I want to convey in this image. I think if I was to take this idea forward I would experiment maybe with using photoshop or maybe lino to create a graphic and flat image. 

Why do I like this?

• I think the image of the hand shaking works well to convey the message of creating an 'antiracist' and 'beloved community' which Hooks talks about in her essays. 
• I like the composition of using the hands to break up the cover between an image and the text. 

Why do I not like this?

• I do not like the combination of fine liner and coloured pencil, as I think it looks unprofessional and does not contain any aesthetic value or interest. 
• I think the image on the back is a weak and too simple of an idea. 

Why do I like this?

• Framing the images I feel works really well. It looks professional and focuses the eye on the actual illustration. 
• I like the image on the front cover as I feel it speaks really well about the oppression of African Americans and their lack of a sense of belonging as well as white supremacy - all themes that are explored a lot in Hooks essay.

Why do I not like this?

• Although I like the framing of the illustrations I feel like it makes the book cover quite bland and not as dynamic as perhaps using one image for the whole jacket. 
• I do not think that the second image actually adds anything to the jacket. It does not communicate the message I am trying to convey, of finding power in self reliance and living within nature, as effectively as I would like. I think if I was to use this design I would have to think about working with this image a bit more or maybe debate not using it on the jacket but instead expanding on the initial image. 

Why do I like this?

• I really like the use of the whole jacket to convey one image, but how if you fold it up it works well as one individual image on each surface.
• I think that as an image the colour, and use of gouache, is really eye-catching and pleasing. 
• The concept - in this design I wanted to use images of Appalachian and southern culture (expressed maybe in portraits and little houses ect.) to illustrate the "mountain people" that Hooks talks about and their escape from "dominator culture" in the cities. 

Why do I not like this?

• I think that maybe its too busy? I would prefer to make something thats more simple and dynamic.
• In order to convey the concept effectively I think that I would need to work more detail into the image, which would make it definitely too busy for what I would like to achieve. 

Why do I like this?

• This was the rough that I received most positive feedback on in the crit. I think this is the most attractive to people because the character captures a strong emotion of wanting to belong, or feeling a connection to a certain place. 
• I think the image of the women cradling 'rural america' and pushing away the urban well illustrates Hook's desire to preserve and protect rural areas with ever increasing urbanisation.
• I like the line quality I have achieved in this drawing - the thicker line below the arm cradling the landscape especially works well and creates an interesting visual aesthetic. 

Why do I not like this?

• Compositionally this image is quite weak and does not effectively use the book jacket. It was suggested that if I was to take this idea forward I should explore expanding the cityscape, and have the figure pushing this far all the way out on to the flap. I like this idea and think that it could be a really interesting use of space. 
• I am not sure about taking this idea forward even though it is the one that I got the most positive feedback in the brief. I think this is because it is the one with the most generalised and unrefined concept...so I am unsure as to how effectively it conveys the ideas in Hook's essays. 

After this crit and presenting my roughs I am still unsure as to which idea I would like to take forward. I do think, however, that I am definitely edging towards the idea of creating something quite simple and dynamic. To continue forward I need to reread some of the summaries of my book and generate more ideas, as well as further develop some pre-existing ones I have already explored through my roughs. I think that it is important that I try to summarise what Hook's overall message is in these essays, and through this I will be able to centre on one theme to convey within these images.  

Do judge a book by its cover: Initial Ideas

For this brief we had to create a jacket for a book, of your own choice, from the library.  

I choose a book called "Belonging: A culture of Place" by Bell Hooks. It is a series of essays talking about  rural America. 

Reading summaries I identified themes and ideas that I could use and explore within the book jacket: 

- community

- segregation (racial as well as rural and urban segregation)

- a connection with nature

- a sense of belonging 

- a disconnection/ feeling lost/ no sense of belonging 

- Appalachian/southern culture

Immediately, as a result of this reading, I gravitated towards using a contrast between urban and rural scenery to express my ideas. I wanted my work to be emotive and capture an unrest, or sense of disconnection of place.

In this brief I felt like I finally started using my sketchbook effectively as a way of exploring visual ideas. I wanted to find a number of ways of using the book jacket - such as finding a way to use one image for the whole jacket, framing my images within the cover and then also using vignettes across all 4 surfaces. 

I like this image of a jagged divide in order to represent the racial segregation that Hooks talks about in her essays. I think that it has the potential to look really dramatic and work well as a visual motif.

Here I am exploring ways of using one image across the whole of the book jacket. Something that I would like to refine and perhaps use as one of the compositions for my roughs. 

Using these initial ideas I need to start experimenting more with different media and ways of working to make the images aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching for the book cover. I also need to start looking more at composition and how to use these images in the most dynamic way to cover the book jacket.