Rationale

Rationale 

For my cover design I wanted to represent Studio Pacific Architecture as modern, innovative and structured. 
I largely based my design on the Meridian building as it has various unique design elements to gain inspiration from. The contrast between the bright clean white, with the large glass panels and a deep mahogany coloured wood has followed through into my design. The use of sandblasted perspex and a self- made constructed Chicago screw binding method embodies the value of materiality and physical presence in modern architecture. The concept elements of simplicity, contrast in scale, colour and texture, structure and progression lead me to my final book cover design.

Final Book

Update on printing

After having to add margins and allowing for only one page to be printed per SRA3, unfortunately it printed with part of the image on the left pages on the right page with text only. For this reason I had to re-print. The images had to be cropped on indesign to allow for this to be fixed, hence why my images will not come to the very edge of the page like they do in my digital files. I feel it still looks fine this way.

Final Construction

The process of my final book construction: 

After getting my work printed, its on to my cover. I cut the aluminum strips to size, drill the holes and use sand paper to rough up the aluminum so the binding tape sticks better. Next step is to align it with my perspex sheet cover and card backing and bind with the binding tape. The barrel screws are inserted, then I add on the insides page by page before placing the cover on top and screwing the book in place. The final book construction makes the pages a bit hard to open but they should crease on their own over time.

Printing with margins

Because of my choice of binding I have to allow for a 30mm margin when it comes to printing my final. I went through and did so on my indesign file, unfortunately this moved everything around and messed up my grid slightly. I tried to talk to the printers at Ink about other options but this is what they suggested to do. Hopefully my grid will still appear as it should.

I am printing on off-white 130gsm.

Here is a screenshot with the margin, the image from the previous page has come through but will be cut off after printing in the trimming process.

Inside book development/ screenshots

Colour scheme has changed to match the deep red/brown of the Meridian building, along with a neutral grey. Grid has changed to one column of text instead of two to allow for more white space and clarity. Although simplistic and a bit on the boring side I am happy with my overall development.
Only main pages shown for an example.

Cover text

 

The last image is my chosen cover text, the all caps is consistent with the inside headings of my book. Avenir font. This will be clear on the sand-blasted perspex.

Laser-cutting and sand-blasting Cover

To get my Studio Pacific Architecture text on the front cover I am using the laser cutter at uni to cut out the text on the thin film that covers the perspex. That way when I feel off the rest the text will still be protected. This will prepare it for sandblasting, ideally the text will stay on and will later be peeled off to reveal clear text. This is a risky task but hopefully worth the outcome.

Binding mock-up

I created a mock up of my Chicago screw binding. It is quite rough looking as I used screws I could find and duct tape, of course the final will be better constructed. Getting an idea of size and the amount of work that goes into construction was good to know.

Materials used:
Aluminum for spine
Perspex sheets
Brass barrel screws
Duct tape
Drill used

Binding development

After receiving feedback from Klaus and fellow students I realized the wooden hinge binding was too bulky, heavy and complicated for this assignment. I started doing more research and found what can be known as Chicago screw binding, or just portfolio binding. I liked this idea as it is still quite constructed and would be ideal to use with my perspex cover.

Some research examples

Feedback

I have made the decision to change the back perspex cover to card instead to create more stability and a lighter weight.

Binding

I have decided to experiment with more of a structured material way of binding. Using a wood spine with brass hinges. I would varnish the wood later to match the deep red/brown of the Meridian building.

Here are some photos of the process