Guide book - Initial thoughts

The first initial meeting with Callum allowed me to find out what kind of visual style he had in mind when writing the content for this publication. The main focus is that it is classy, minimal and reflects a style-conscious group of people. 

• the square around the text on the front to show equality which could then be used throughout the book as part of the design e.g. section headers or around the images
• matte black background with shiny black writing so that the emphasis can then be on the word 'QUEER'
• the word 'QUEER' could be foiled to make it stand out, possible iridescent or holographic would enable the rainbow to be represented but also the idea that it changes every time it is held - similar to the way in which the perspectives on the queer culture are constantly changing, developing and evolving
• squared spine to fit with the majority of books in this category of collectables etc. 
• 50 PAGES to represent the content, 50 years of history 
• use work from gay illustrators or illustrations related to the community in between each of the sections, or as a section at the end of the book
• a fold-out timeline or large illustration at the back of the book
• colour coded sections to match the order of the colours in the rainbow
• research into the meanings of each colour of the rainbow and see if they can influence the section content and the order in which I present the information

I started by gathering some visual literacy that could influence some of the design process, all of which were approved by Callum. Using the website 'designspiration.net' I was able to pick out some of the current trends that I thought would suit the content I was working with.

Fig. 1
- writing organised into columns
- contrast of text size
- use of bold and regular weighted text
- full page of colour
- not using justified paragraphs
Fig. 2
- monotone colour scheme
- fold out page
- mixture of page orientation
- writing organised into columns
Fig. 3
- the illustration on one whole page
- small description of the illustration 
- large amount of white space
Fig. 4
- the film photography has a very raw vibe which reflects that of Pride
- studio style photos would be the wrong look for this book
Fig. 5
- the full bleed image next to the information and smaller images works well
- bright and vibrant colours
Fig. 6
- evident use of a grid layout, but it is being played around with in different ways on each page
- good use of white space
- clean design
Fig. 7
- headers used well to match the colour coded sections
- organised text into columns works well
- use of grid for images has a nice aesthetic
Fig. 8
- black page, white writing is a good contrast to the rest of the book design to make the quote stand out
- full page quote is effective

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

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Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

I started by using Helvetica Neue to see how the front of the book (fig. 9) could be arranged, allowing me to focus on a particular design style that I could then bare in mind when designing the layouts for the actual content. I placed the Queers in a box with the intention for it to represent equality and inclusivity of everyone with the community. But as explained in the 'feedback' section, it actually seemed to be portraying the complete opposite to this. 

Fig. 9

feedback:

- rather than A5, make book square and then you also do not need the square

- square could look restrictive to the community

- layout to represent the structure of the rainbow flag

- bent typography to be ironic

- coloured section headers

- art section at the back rather than in between the sections, to avoid reader thinking the artwork is related only to that particular section