Master Post of Finished Pages

Book Jacket Revisions

With my first two book jacket mock ups I tried to match the aesthetic set by the cover and contents page. Rae had suggested that I take the aperture logo from my very first cover page design and mimic one of the example books in the room with a larger version of it in the top left corner of the cover. I think it's pretty successful in mimicking that specific cover but it's also pretty dull and I ended up not using that version of the cover anyway. 

For the second I took it a new direction and combined strips of photos by all the photographers in the book. This is a cover I like much better because it is more eye catching and keeps the viewer's attention for longer after they pick it up. However, including my biography on the book jacket looks very awkward with this design. That is an issue I knew I needed to flush out in my next version.

For my final book jacket I took the second design and reworked it to be more interesting. In critique, Margie pointed out that I should fix the hierarchy and lengthen the photo strips to direct the viewer's eye more successfully around the page. She also suggested I take the red from my cover page and change the grey background to make it pop more. We also decided I would move the title farther away from the bottom and corner so that there was no risk of it being folded onto the wrong part of the book. Finally, I fixed the line dividing the page, making it back and smaller. I need it because the values of the black and white photos were very different and without that unifying line it looked a bit disjointed.
To fix the awkwardness with the bio on the book jacket I just decided to create a separate author page all together, mimicking the style from the contents page. In class Margie and I also decided that I should move the references to a separate page all together.

Final Refined Cover/Contents Pages and Book Binding

After what seemed like endless rounds of revising various page spreads, I've finished my cover and contents spreads. I chose to continue working with the minimalist design and straightforward layout and I feel like it works will with my personal page designs.

At first I definitely didn't understand why we were creating a full practice book, it seemed like a waste of time. But going through it step by step with the class turned out to be insanely helpful. I couldn't have done this for the first time, on my final project, all by myself. I'm SO glad we did this!

And I got to use it as a Mother's Day gift ;) 

Possible Cover/Table of Contents Spreads

On Tuesday we'll be turning in 3 versions of both the cover page and table of contents. I'm having a hard time sticking to my chosen, minimalist, aesthetic and keeping everything creatively interesting. I have two versions done so far and I could use some inspiration!

Two Refined Page Spreads

The comments I received on my original page spreads were essentially that they were uncreative and boring. I chose to add in more unique design elements the second time around as well as attempt to fit additional photos in the limited amount of space we were given.

Original Three Spread Designs

Chosen Designer: Diane Arbus

I chose Diane Arbus as my designer because I am drawn to her photojournalistic style and street photography.

Project #3 BDS102: Reflection

Final Photo Collage

Spencer Museum Reflection

Direction Chosen

I created a larger version of the "My Side of the Room" collage Wednesday night. I had decided on a grid pattern for the display which I think will separate the objects enough to take away any feeling of clutter. I began thinking about what I wanted to convey with the structure of the photos. Ultimately, I decided that I wanted to entice people to look closer at the objects pictured and consider their importance. How better to bring people closer to my piece than to make it interactive?

I drew my inspiration from this structure found on nearly every playground.

 I intend to create a 41" x 51" wooden frame, inside which is slotted 8 vertical pvc pipes. Suspended in a grid form along each pipe will be ten triangular prisms which will rotate (like each piece of the tic tac toe) to reveal a new photo on each side 0 each photo comprising a larger, cluttered room. The center 6 photos will contain photos that make up the people in each picture instead of images of their possessions.

 

 I spoke with Garrett in the shop and he told me that it is most definitely doable and should be fairly easy to construct. I will create 80 total prisms with 240 photos overall.

In lieu of the large amount of work it will be to put this together before Thursday I made the decision to put my other idea on the back burner (although it is still something I definitely want to create at some point) and focus all of my energies on constructing this.

New Project Idea

Last year I took a Journalism 500: Special Topics class from National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson. 

  The class focused on the many ways in which photographers are really employed visual storytellers. From this concept was born this project: "My Half of the Room" is a series of portraits of college students living in a dorm room. Students who have moved away from home for the first time, who are given a very small one half of a room without so much as a sink in it, and who are surrounded by all of their worldly possessions. These portraits are meant to be a commentary on the college life and how important and defining possessions become when they are whittled down to the most essential. I ended up displaying the project in a large accordion book but was not happy with the final result. I believe that if I go back and work with these photos again (this time in the context of Project #3 for BDS102) I would be able to combine them in a new way so as to show the similarities and differences in all of my subjects.

Project #3: 4 Ideas

     There is this adorable old couple that lives in this house and their garden is beautiful. I would like to take a progression of portraits of them  in the middle of their garden as spring begins to take their dead looking plants into bloom all around them.

    This is the idea I'm most excited about so bear with me: My roommate and her best friend are hardcore stoners and every Saturday night the best friend comes to visit and they smoke and smoke and smoke all night long. Our living room always starts out pristine and by the morning it is absolutely trashed and the both of them are passed out on the floor or couch somewhere. I'd like to capture this progression from clean to disastrous throughout the night, focusing on the window behind them and the silhouettes it creates as well as the view of the sun setting and subsequently rising.

     This is a view of Clinton Lake through the window my my van. I'd like to create a 3D model of the car door somehow and then reconstruct the Clinton Lake panorama in the larger window while leaving the side mirror intact to show the difference between what actually exists and what I created.

     This fourth idea is kind of throw away for me, but all it is essentially is showing the progression of a wilting bouquet of flowers.