I have begun to design the book. I wanted to keep it relatively simple so that the content speaks for itself. I also wanted to use the illustrations I made previously as it would help to brighten up the designs and reinforce the space theme. However I didn't want to over use them and make the book seem childish, it needed to be child-friendly just not childish.
Having the Dads only in the red box implies it has been stamped on like a top secret document. It immediately catches your attention and works with the word 'only' to make people question what it is about. I didn't think it was necessary to have the fact that it was a reading guide made obvious as the curiosity made makes it more interesting.
The scattered planets doesn't work, it looks messy and really bottom (particularly bottom right) heavy.
All the planets in the correct order down the left of the page makes the cover look neater and more aesthetically pleasing. By extending the red title box out to one of the planets looks like it is selecting that planet and nicely leads the eye from the title to the planets.
I am still unsure as what the caption should be. It needs to sum up the book so that people know what its about but again it shouldn't take away the attention from the rest of the cover. By having in in Futura pt 12 it is clear and legible however it blends in with the design, it does not distract.
I have played around with having the Save the Children logo in the bottom right. A coloured strip behind helps it to stand out. However the cream is bright so it pulls your attention away from the rest of the book Instead I have just changed the logos type so that it is white and can work on the dark background. This now blends in and works with the current chosen colour scheme. I have added a yellow curve in the top left corner which implies the sun and the size of it. It also means that the solar system goes of the edge of each side of the page.
I began with the Read On. Get On. page where I wanted to show the rocket in flight to illustrate launching the child's future through reading. The lighter blue background represents the sky whilst the white represents clouds. However it the example above looks too busy and over complicated, it is hard to read the body copy over the cloud.
Here is about to go into a cloud but the negative space of the cloud makes the blue sky look more like an ocean!
This is much better as it looks like the rocket is coming out of the cloud. However the light blue text is lost against the backing. By changing the background to the match the front cover it makes the bright rocket stand out and the type compliments the colour. I have edited the clouds so that the type fully fits inside and doesn't overlap over two colours.
I decided before the Read On. Get On. page there should be a contents page. The contents page shows the rocket launching before it is flying in the next page. The pages link nicely together and the rocket launching is a nice illustration of the child's future. The contents I will fill in at the end when I am sure of the order.
How to be the best story teller (ever). I initially tried working on a white background as it would provide a clean and easy surface to place type on. However after beginning to look at it it just looked so boring and didn't scream kids or space. So I decided to keep the same theme as the cover and use the darker background for the pages.
As soon as the information and the planet was inserted the page came to life.
The page looked better and the fact in the red box helped to separate it from the rest of the information. I played around with using Baskerville as a complimentary serif font for the body copy. However it clashed with the vector based layouts as everything has been designed as simply as possible and Baskerville brought a formal look which wasn't appropriate.
After speaking to Ness I realised I had done it in perhaps not the best order so have kept the page design but changed the information. Now the Facts and Benefits come first so the parents can see the benefit and then learn how to be the best story teller ever.
Same layout just a different planet!
Creating a Positive 'Atmosphere'. This page explains how to set the scene before reading. The Earth has been used as the centre and the information has been placed around it like an atmosphere.
Having the fact at the bottom made it look really bottom heavy, however by having it from the top it fills out the page making it easier on the eye.
Tips from other parents is still needing an introduction however the basic information is down. I have been able to use the ideas we received from the emails both Ness and I sent out to family. It provides a nice break from the rest of the pages and gives new parents some help from parents who have been through it.
Bedtime reading is on the Jupiter page. I really wanted Jupiter to take up a substantial amount of space to show the sheer size of it. The red spot also needed to be seen as that it what the fact relates to! This pages still needs some adjustments but it works as a first draft.
I am struggling to find decent content for this double page spread so may change it something with more content available.
Encouraging older children to read was an important page to include because this was one issue that occurred regularly during our research.
I am still not happy with the Libraries page layout so will work on it further. It appears scattered and the grid isn't clear to see and its not exactly breaking it well.
All the designs have the same style and approach which ties them all together. This is just a first rough draft trying to fit all the information in. I will keep working on it until all the pages are designed to a higher standard.
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