Developments of sticker map

Initial design ideas

Initially, I tired creating  a page layout using the poem and the pictures from the stickers, as if to illustrate it. To improve the use of space I had one of the pictures spread over the whole of the page with the poem on top. I changed the tone of the sticker to a brighter colour iso that the poem is more readable. Upon reflection, this design is too boring and doesn't communicate the content most successfully.

I then attempted the front cover of the book utilising the image of the carrot sticker with the signage patterned background. For the background I made up a name of a club in leeds using the words from the stickers. Although I like the idea of a club as part of the identity of the idea, the cover doesn't work as the colours are too chaotic.

As the first attempts of layout for the book were not a success, I looked at places to gain inspiration for the book.

Research into book design

Looking at Its Nice That for inspiration for the design of the book, I came across this book, Design{h}ers, which uses one tone throughout the whole book. This unifies all of the content and brings a certain mood to the book, communicating the content effectively.

The front of the book has symbols dotted around the cover, placed minimally so that the eye is drawn to the title first. 

Kai Tag's book design uses space to create a clear and flowing design and communicate the content efficiently.  The main focus of the cover is the symbols, which are large and spread over each section of the cover. Information is fitted around this in a obvious manner, creating a playful mood.

Developments from initial designs

From research I decided the design would flow better stripped back from its colours, using one tone and white instead. For the front cover I used the same text of 'crazy yorkhire rats club of leeds' and used colourised the sticker blue. I kept the white outline to separate the stickers from the background, which I also made blue. This showed a clear improvement, however it sill doesn't communicate the book clearly.

Inspired by the design{h}ers book, I scattered the images from the stickers (colourised blue) all over the cover and back cover. Instead of using the club name as the title, I chose a more clear one that explained the book better - 'stuck in leeds', which is a witty reference to the stickers and being in Leeds. I decided to add yellow to the design as blue and yellow is the colours used in the branding for leeds united football team, and football is referenced many times throughout the poetry. The title uses New Times Roman, which is also used for the poetry, referencing poetry books. It also has 'Leeds' written in the typeface originally made. The blurb on the back is a poem made from the images on the back cover, giving the reader a taster to what the book could be about. It also has reviews from peers to communicate the humour of the poetry.