The layout needed to in keeping with current Lush publications so that although the content will be interesting and different, the viewer will still associate it to be to do with Lush. The primary research into catalogues that already exist present the writing in columns on the page. I developed the placement of the columns, number of columns and the amount of page that they take up for quite a long period.
The placement of the section titles was also important and was also part of the process when deciding how to present the column of writing. The images show how the titles for each of the sections have been placed in different ways throughout the process to try to develop a consistent layout that will work for all of the content that is needing to be presented. In reference to the Lush publications released the most effective layout was to have the title separate to the writing. The design developments lead to the title being in the left column of the three and then the writing in the next two along. This allowed for the title to be emphasised, but still very evidently representing the writing to follow.
Another layout consideration would be how the interviews would consistently be presented as originally they are all in different formats and of different lengths. Using the same layout that was decided in terms of column size, placement and the amount the interviews were placed in the right place. The most effective way to present them was to have the questions in bold with one space below before the answer was presented and then a double space below that for the next question to start. This worked well visually but in terms of keeping it clear and easy for the reader to quickly read the information it was the best way. The experimentation to get to this point looked at trying to present interviews differently to other information to separate it, but as a full publication, it worked better to keep it consistent throughout so that a visual style could be established.
The Daniel Liam Glyn page layout is an example of a double page spread that would be filled more effectively if the title rule was ignored. The development of this is shown below, but by having the title on the left page just before the image takes away the harmony that is needed to ensure that the reader knows what the writing is about. When revised as a complete catalogue, the black image did not suit the rest of the visual style and also made the large interview feel split and confusing. To overcome this problem a different image of his was used in its place. The white image works well because the short paragraph of writing explaining who he is as an artist and what the interview is about could be placed under the title on the left-hand side and then the full interview could carry on in the consistent visual style on the right.
Quotes
To really emphasise the things being discussed in each of the interviews/passages of text it was important to pick out key quotes and present them in isolation away from the full body of text. The developments show the experimentation with the placement which took a lot of revision until the final decision was made. The first idea was to have the text always filling that whole one page, but then for some quotes, the font size would have to be considerably larger than other quotes. This would mean too much inconsistency throughout the book so it was decided that it would always be aligned to the outside of the page, at pt size 40 and horizontally filling the area and then as much space in terms of height that was needed.
The development which shows the central alignment does not fit with the rest of the catalogues placement of text. The left aligned columns need to be considered when trying to include the quotes in a way that visually fits.
Images
The initial developments presented the images in a number of ways and in different sizes. This did work, but based on the research on the existing Lush publications it did not fit with the aesthetic and the consistency throughout the publication did not exist. The development process confirmed that for each artist, fewer images worked better and by just choosing their most famous pieces of work the book was kept succinct and easier for the reader to engage with, an important factor to consider because they would have just finished a spa treatment and would be feeling relaxed and although they may be inspired to learn more about synaesthesia it will need to be in an interesting but digestible way.
Illustrations
So that the Alice in Wonderland influence was represented in the catalogue, the bottles were the chosen element to focus on because they were the part that seemed to be the most memorable to those who had experienced the spa day. Using a Wacom drawing tablet I was able to sketch out the shape of a bottle on Adobe Illustrator to then manipulate further on the software. This hand drawn approach works well to continue with the idea of the hands-on/personal touch that Lush has as part of their visual identity.
The original idea with the illustrations of the bottles was to place the bottles as if they were sat on a shelf, how they would be in the actual Lush Spas. This seemed to be good, but when illustrated it did not effectively fill the space on the page and work well with the amount of text that was needed to also be included. It then progressed to the bottles being spread across the bottom predominately on the left-hand side and then on the right slightly, but when the text was added it overlapped the text in a way that didn't work. To resolve this problem the bottles were placed only on the left-hand page in a fairly random manner so that the page was filled in an interesting way. The bottles had to be increased in size so that the words needed for each of the bottles could be read when the pages were printed to the right size. The typeface used on the labels was the LUSH typeface because the labels in the actual spa location would be handwritten.
Booklet
As the catalogue was the longer of the two publications, the development work was mainly focused on this and then a similar visual style would be applied to the more succinct version that would be available for customers to pick up within store.
The developments show that the layout for this booklet is slightly different and that that the titles have been placed at the top of the page centrally. This was a design decision that had to be made because if the same format was used as the catalogue then there would only be enough room for the one column of writing which would not be easy for the customer to engage with. It would also mean that a short and easy to mass produce booklet would have a drastic increase in pages needed to be printed, bad for an environmentally conscious brand.
I experimented with a few new ways of placing the large quotes within the booklet, but it seemed that it was most appropriate to stick with the design style that had already been established in the catalogue. Placing the quote on the right hand page also with the text did not work and visually it looked too crowded in comparison to the rest of the contents within the booklet. Spreading the quote across the double page spread was then tested, but it was too big and without good reason to be, so it was decided that the orignal appraoch would be continued in this booklet.
The difference in page size also meant that the official branding on the back page of the book would need to be placed in a different and more appropriate way. To create harmony and balance with the title pacement in the booklet, this information would work best when placed in line with this but at the bottom of the page.
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