Draft Book: Black and White only Version One
This follows the original format but all images are black and white. Very much a documentary style however there isn’t really as much of a distinction between the male and female elements. The images blend into one and I think the narrative is lost.
Pdf version here: Inside the Shell Book Full B&W
Draft Book: Black and White Only Version 2
Prior to releasing for student review, I made a few changes. I decided to change the opening image to one that reflected the isolation of the location and the industry associated with it. The image was taken from a high location point of the Lighthouse which was one of the first buildings in the area and the only one at the time to have power. This shows the curve of the bay and in the distance the village of Ngawi.
New opening image
The general layout remained the same however I did take on board the comments made by one of my reviewers that multiple images on one page don’t really work, so I have removed the pages with two or more images and replaced with a portrait and a still life or an aspect of their life.
This has resulted in a lot more room around the image and larger images to see the detail which was a suggestion. I have tried to keep a consistent size to each format to give a professional feel to the layout.
I’m a little worried about the loss of narrative between the male and female elements with the whole book being black and white. Some of the images may need to be re-processed as detail is lost but I will wait and see the comments following peer review.
I think the length of the foreword works well and sets the scene to both the location and images. I had to make a small edit to remove the reference to the coloured images. Need to review the font type, size and colour. If this design is taken forward I will also need to consider location of the collaboration piece from Jack and the illustration from Flavia.
I decided to remove the ‘welcome to Ngawi’ image and end with the lighthouse as this was the first and will probably be the last building to stand in the location. Built high on the cliffs to withstand the weather.
The pdf was exported from InDesign and sent to a number of student groups:Inside the Shell Book Full B&W V2
Draft Book: Black and White Only Version 3
I released all five designs to several forums that I attend on a regular basis; the Level 3 Support Group, the Rest of the World Group and the L2/L3 Support Group. The full set of comments can be found here.
Several students seemed to prefer the full black and white set saying that they felt that the use of black and white was more powerful and made them focus more on the details such as the lines on the hands and the flour on Alison’s top from her cooking.
There was concern about loss of detail which maybe a processing/screen issue but on review my screen looks fine and so I will wait and see the effects on the printed version. It was suggested that the portraits should be more contrasty to add depth and emotion but I still have concerns that there isn’t enough difference between the male element and the female to achieve my narrative.
I have addressed the text justification to stop the text hyphenating across a line and I have reviewed different fonts, size and colour. The review and comments can be found here.
If this version progresses following the next review I may consider the idea of two volumes, maybe making the female section be removeable from the male rather than side by side. I will also make a final selection of font and make adjustments.
The images will be printed and placed in a temporary cover for videoing and submit for wider student review as I think this will be a better way for reviewers to understand the design.
Pdf of version 3:Inside the Shell Book Full B&W V3
Michele Usher 