I displayed:
-latest layouts that are on the blog to date (black and white)
-different cover images for both tortilla flat and the grapes of wrath (full colour)
-different spine layouts
-different back cover layouts
Questions I asked:
-Out of the layouts displayed, which works most effectively?
-which font works the best?
-which spine layout works the best?
-which packaging should I use?
-What do you reckon I should do about promotional material?
They also had an opportunity to look at my blog. Here is the feedback form they gave me:
Summary of feedback
-Essentially the main focus of what they were saying is that they thought the designs I'd shown were a ittle 'safe' compared to the designs in the earlier stages that were on my blog. Particularly those with diagonal layouts.
-In terms of spines, they suggested avoiding the pictograms on the side, which I was initially fond of, but I think they're right, it's a bit much. They were fans of the block colour rectangle, which could create a strong visual presence on the shelves. I am inclined to agree with this.
-In terms of the packaging ideas (though very rough, see above image) that I'd shown, I was keen on the Belly band because it gives me an opportunity to write in larger fonts along the spines which would be better for advertising the books and having them stand out, because in all the book stores I've visited, the spines are the only thing on show at the shelves, you don't see the covers till you get the books out. However, they suggested (quite rightly) that this would make the packaging rather disposable rather than of a special edition, which is kind of what I was going for, instead they suggested using the open-sided box and perhaps writing the author's name across all of the spines of the book.
-The font they seemed to respond to the best was Gill Sans, however I personally felt like fonts are something I explored the least, something I've rectified in the PDF below.
-They also suggested looking at a wider range of colour options, which is something I already thought I needed to do.
-In terms of promotional material, it was discussed and agreed that the best materials would be ones that I could put inside the packaging postcards and bookmarks,
In response to some of that feedback I started lookng at the diagonal layouts again. Here's a few things I came up with, though I'm really not keen on them, at all. I just can't get into them, they're more difficult to read, and even though they're diagonal, they don't feel any more contemporary or dynamic to me, I'm afraid. I also think that very simple layout with strong imagery, whilst maybe not revolutionary, is the most effective way to communicate ideas, the average reader isn't going to look at the diagonal layout and see that as a nice 'quirk', most likely unless it does something special because of that layout (something i can't seem to think of) it won't mean much more to them than a simple, nicely laid out image. From this, I decided for now to go with the simplest layout I had so I could explore different fonts, something I haven't done enough of. I tried out a lot, and from those I think I like the way the sans serif fonts look better than serif fonts, and from those I like both Gill Sans and Calibri the most. I went with the grapes because the idea is quite resonant in terms of summing up the plot and creating strong imagery for first time readers of the books. I think though, this image could do with a lot of tinkering, just to get it right and to a standard of which I approve.
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