As we start to reach the end of this project, I want to begin designing my final book. I’m keen to make a book because I haven’t tried this much before, however I’m not sure that time or money will allow me to get a physical copy printed, so I’m thinking I will most likely just design one on InDesign at this point.
I work best by just experimenting, rather than planning things too much. But I wanted to have a quick look at some cover inspiration as I’m a bit stuck on ideas at the moment.
My current idea is to create some kind of visual diary or journal, that documents this strange time in lockdown. I think it will be interesting to include the diary entires I’ve been keeping each day alongside an image from that particular day or that links to the content or emotion of the text on each page. This idea is also partly inspired by other examples like Stephen Shore’s ‘A Road Trip Journal’.
So far, I’m thinking that the journal will include the first original three weeks of lockdown. However, I might extend this and add pages depending on how many images I feel work together in the book.
So, firstly I’ve had a quick look at some images of simple journal/diary covers on Pinterest and Google. If I had the resources available to make this into a physical book, I would definitely consider making the cover out of leather, or some highly textured material as this seems to be a recurring style for these types of books. I want the diary to look traditional and simple so as not to take away from the images within the book. I don’t want anything too detailed or elaborate, as my project is about the ordinary and the everyday – so I think simple works best! A lot of these covers are brown or dark blue, so I think I will try out these kinds of colours first. Something neutral will also work well with the images inside. I could consider blue because of its obvious connotations to the NHS, which has played such an essential part in the current pandemic. Although I don’t want the book to solely feature on the pandemic, it would be nice to tie in some ideas from this.
The text on the front cover is also something I will need to experiment with. All of these examples are very simple, which I like! A lot of them are just initials, a date or simple words in a colour that contrasts well with the colour of the cover. I need to think about what I want to name my book but I’d like to stick with something short and simple. The font needs to be easy to read and probably all caps.
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