Publishing Design: Task 1 / Exercises

23.04.2024 - 04.06.2024 (Week 1 - Week 7)

Amirah Akbar Ali / 0361001

Publishing Design

Bachelor of Design in Creative Media

LECTURE

Week 2:

Early digital publishing marked a significant transformation from traditional print media to digital formats. This shift began in the late 20th century with the advent of desktop publishing software like Adobe PageMaker and QuarkXPress, which allowed users to create digital layouts that could be printed or distributed electronically. Key features included:

-Desktop Publishing Software: Programs like Adobe PageMaker and QuarkXPress revolutionised the ability to design and layout content digitally.

- E-books and PDFs: Formats like e-books (initially in simple text formats) and PDFs enabled the distribution of digital books and documents that could be read on computers and early e-readers.

- Online Magazines and Journals: Websites and early blogging platforms emerged, allowing for the digital distribution of periodicals and articles.

Data Analytics and Personalisation:

The integration of data analytics and personalisation in digital publishing has further revolutionised the industry by tailoring content to individual user preferences and behaviours. This approach enhances user engagement and satisfaction. Key aspects include:

- User Data Collection: Analysing user behavior, preferences, and demographics through cookies, subscriptions, and online interactions.

- Content Personalisation: Using algorithms to recommend articles, books, and other content based on user history and preferences, as seen in platforms like Amazon Kindle and personalised news feeds.

- Targeted Advertising: Delivering ads that are relevant to the user's interests and behavior, increasing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.

- Engagement Metrics: Monitoring how users interact with content (e.g., read time, shares, clicks) to refine and improve publishing strategies.

Challenges and Opportunities:

The shift to digital publishing has brought numerous challenges and opportunities:

Challenges

- Digital Rights Management (DRM): Protecting digital content from piracy and unauthorised distribution remains a significant challenge.

- Monetisation: Finding sustainable revenue models, such as subscriptions, ad revenue, and micropayments, can be difficult in a landscape where free content is abundant.

- Technological Changes: Keeping up with rapidly evolving technology and formats requires continuous adaptation and investment.

- User Privacy: Balancing personalised content with user privacy concerns and compliance with regulations like GDPR.

Opportunities

- Global Reach: Digital publishing allows content to be distributed worldwide instantly, reaching a broader audience than traditional print.

- Interactive Content: Enhancing user experience with multimedia, interactive graphics, and embedded videos that print cannot offer.

- Cost Efficiency: Reducing the costs associated with printing, distribution, and inventory management.

- Real-Time Updates: Ability to update and correct content in real time, ensuring that readers always have access to the most current information.

- Analytics-Driven Improvement: Using data analytics to continuously refine content and strategies based on user feedback and behavior.

Week 3:

LECTURE 1 - Formats

Book Formats

Books have evolved significantly over time, adopting various formats that cater to different reading preferences and technological advancements. Here are the main types of book formats used in publishing design today:

Print Books:
- Hardcover: Durable, often with a dust jacket, and used for high-quality or collectible editions.
- Paperback: More affordable and portable than hardcover, often used for mass-market and trade publications.
E-books:
- Standard E-books: Digital versions of print books, typically in formats like EPUB, MOBI, or PDF, readable on e-readers, tablets, and smartphones.
- Enhanced E-books: Include multimedia elements like audio, video, and interactive features, offering an enriched reading experience.
Audiobooks:
- Digital Audiobooks: Recorded versions of books, available for download or streaming, popular on platforms like Audible and Apple Books.
- CD Audiobooks: Physical CDs containing audiobook recordings, less common due to the rise of digital formats.

Historical Formats

Books have gone through various historical formats before the modern styles we recognise today. Key historical formats include:

Fig 1.1: Regions & Civilizations

Clay Tablets:

Used in ancient Mesopotamia, these were one of the earliest forms of written communication, inscribed with cuneiform script.

Fig 1.2: Mesopotamia

Papyrus Scrolls:

Used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, made from the papyrus plant, these scrolls were rolled manuscripts written with ink.

Fig 1.3: Papyrus scroll

Parchment Codices:

Made from animal skins, these were used in the Middle Ages. Codices were precursors to modern books, bound together and written on both sides.

Fig 1.4: image 1 Fig 1.5: image 2

Gutenberg Bible:

The first major book printed using movable type technology by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century, marking the start of the printing revolution.

Fig 1.6: Gutenberg Bible

Chapbooks:

Small, inexpensive booklets that were popular in the 16th to 19th centuries, often containing stories, poems, or religious tracts.

Fig 1.7: Chapbooks

Serial Publications:
- In the 19th century, novels and other works were often published in serialized form in newspapers or periodicals before being compiled into books.

Each of these formats played a crucial role in the development of written communication and the dissemination of knowledge, paving the way for the diverse book formats we use today

LECTURE 2 - History of Print

2nd - 8th Century AD

During this period, the development of printing techniques began to take shape, primarily in Asia. Early forms of printing involved creating impressions on various materials using carved wooden blocks or engraved seals.

Woodblock Printing: One of the earliest forms of printing, used primarily in China. Texts were carved into wooden blocks, inked, and pressed onto paper or cloth.
Buddhist Texts: Early printed materials were often religious texts, such as Buddhist scriptures, which were used to spread religious teachings more widely.

Fig 1.8: Engraved Slabs

Fig 1.9: Brass-Rubbing

Korea & Japan: AD 750 - 768

Both Korea and Japan saw significant advancements in printing technology during this time, building upon techniques developed in China.

Dharani Sutra: In Korea, the Dharani Sutra was printed on a scroll, dated to around AD 750, considered one of the oldest surviving examples of woodblock printing.
Japan: Printing in Japan also flourished during this period, with the creation of Buddhist texts and other religious documents.

Fig 2.0: Dharani Sutra

The First Printed Book: AD 868

The Diamond Sutra, printed in China in AD 868, is recognized as the world's oldest dated printed book.

Diamond Sutra: This Buddhist text was printed using woodblock printing techniques and was discovered in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China. It signifies a major milestone in the history of printed materials.

Fig 2.1: Hyakumantō Darani

Movable Type: From the 11th Century

The invention of movable type revolutionized printing by allowing individual characters to be rearranged and reused, significantly speeding up the printing process.

Bi Sheng: Credited with inventing the first known movable type system in China around 1040 AD. His system used porcelain type, which was later adapted using metal.

Fig 2.2: Diamond's Sutra Illustration

Type Foundry in Korea: c.1380

Korea made further advancements in movable type printing with the establishment of type foundries.

Jikji: The oldest known book printed with movable metal type, the "Jikji," was produced in Korea in 1377, predating Gutenberg's use of movable type in Europe by several decades.

Saints & Playing Cards: AD c.1400

In Europe, printing techniques began to spread, and early printed items included religious images and playing cards.

Block Books: These were early printed books where both text and images were carved into wooden blocks. They were popular before the advent of movable type in Europe.

Fig 2.3: Engraving by the Master of Playing Cards

Gutenberg & Western Printing: AD 1439 - 1457

Johannes Gutenberg's innovations in printing technology in Europe are among the most significant in the history of publishing.

Gutenberg Press: Invented around 1439, Gutenberg's printing press utilized movable metal type, significantly improving the efficiency and quality of book production.
Gutenberg Bible: Printed in 1455, it is one of the earliest major books printed using movable type and marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" in Europe.

Fig 2.4: Gutenberg

Fig 2.5: Gutenberg's printing

LECTURE 3 - Typography Redux

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and visually appealing when displayed. It involves the selection of typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), as well as adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning).

Character in Typeface:

Small caps
Numerals
Fractions
Ligatures
Punctuations
Mathematical signs
Symbols
Non-aligning figures

Fig 2.6: Characters in a typeface

Fig 2.7: Ligature

Fig 2.8: Weights in a typeface

LEGIBILITY:

Fig 2.9:Open and Well-proportioned

Fig 3.0: Examples of Well-proportioned Typefaces

Underline: Many programs perform underlining wrongly, since it should be lowered to avoid touching the characters, which reduces readability. There are two different kinds of underlining: one that emphasises every word in the text, and another that emphasises the sentence overall.

Fig 3.1: Examples of Underlining

All Caps & Small Caps: Small capitals work well for subheads and the opening sentence of paragraphs. Short headlines or subheadings should employ text that is all caps. It is important to note that using all caps in lengthy sentences or for emphasis is not allowed. The purpose of capital letters was not to be used freely, but rather to be punctuated.

Fig 3.2: All Caps & Small Caps

Special-Purpose Style: Software for creating footnotes, references, and mathematical calculations comes with a variety of formatting styles. A typical user might not be aware of them because they are typically embedded or buried within the tools sections.

Fig 3.3: Special-Purpose

Text Scaling: By squeezing or extending a font horizontally or vertically, many programs enable the development of pseudo-condense or pseudo-extended fonts. This warps the font's original design and gives it a cheap appearance.

Fig 3.4 : Text Scaling

Outline & Shadow: Another often misused style is outline and shadow. To properly and efficiently format text, one must have years of experience. It shouldn't go over one point for the outline. Make sure shadows stay at a reasonable distance of the primary text.

Fig 3.5: Outline & Shadow

A harmonious balance between font sizes, line lengths, and spacing between lines of type results in text that reads smoothly. Impairment to legibility is impartial and can even impact well-designed types. A type column should have a maximum of 65 characters, with most columns having roughly 50. If not, the words would be difficult to read due to their excessive cramming.

The amount of space between type lines is referred to as leading/line spacing. There are no exact rules for line spacing, just like there are for font size. But there are a few things to be mindful about:

The typeface that was employed: In order to prevent their ascenders and descenders from touching, some require a greater line spacing than others.
The line length: For easier reading, longer lines need extra leading.
The type size: More line spacing is needed the larger the type size (this guideline primarily applies to body copy). However, headlines which are often set with a bigger font size, may also have a tighter line spacing.

A reader becomes weary and loses interest in a book when lines of text are either too long or too short.

Fig 3.6: Example of Long text

Fig 3.7: Example of Short Text

Depending on the program used to format text, additional care is required. To prevent widows and orphans, larger type sizes necessitate adjusting the spacing between characters and paragraphs.

Kerning: Inter-character spacing, sometimes known as kerning, gives the text a nicer appearance. The majority of page layout products apply kerning automatically, while the majority of word processors do not permit kerning modifications. However, some letter combinations may require manual changes.

Fig 3.8: Kerning

Tracking: It is the process of adjusting a specific set of characters, words, and spaces. The primary goal is to fit the type within the designated space without changing the font's size or line spacing. It could be either favourable or bad. Fixing individual words or the conclusion of a paragraph is a crucial use.

The chosen typeface and word spacing can help identify the appropriate word spacing. Consistent spacing results in a uniform typographic "colour".

Fig 3.9: Word Space

Italics: Should be used carefully. Reading becomes difficult with large sections of slanted writing. It works better when used to emphasise points inside text than when it stands alone as text.
Capitals: Take up more room and make reading more difficult. It isn't visually interesting.

Alignment: refers to the positioning of text within a page or column. Proper alignment ensures that the text is organised and easy to read.

Paragraph Spacing: involves the amount of space before and after paragraphs. It helps to separate blocks of text, enhancing readability.

Fig 4.0: Paragraph Spacing

Paragraph Indent: signal the beginning of a new paragraph and help guide the reader's eye through the text.

Special Formatting: a techniques are used to highlight or distinguish certain parts of the text.

Fig 4.1: Hyphens & Dashes

Desktop Quotes: refers to the use of quotation marks in digital publishing, ensuring that they are typographically correct.

Fig 4.2: Quotation Marks

Sidebar: is a block of supplementary text or graphics positioned beside the main content.

Fig 4.3: Side Bar

LECTURE 4 - The Grid

Raster Systeme

The application of grids as ordering systems is a representation of a particular way of thinking that shows how a designer generates their work in a constructive way.

The grid divides a two-dimensional plane into smaller fields, and a three-dimensional area into smaller compartments. The sizes of the compartments may be the same or different.

The Purpose of the Grid

Designers utilise grids to overcome visual challenges. A designer can strategically position text, images, and diagrams in a logical and useful way by organising surface and spaces into a grid.

Fig 4.4: Usage of Grids

Modular

Even though the grid is modular, it shouldn't be used as a constraint. It does permit flexibility—that is when the designer can see a wide range of possible configurations.

However, a limit must be established in order to retain a degree of continuity or coherence in the outlook and navigation. Much of this is dependent upon the contents of the book because the scope of each book might vary. A grid makes it possible to organise information such that it is simple to read and comprehend.

LECTURE 5 - Elements

All publication consist of 3 major elements:

Type
Colour
Image

Holding these three together are format and grids.

Variations

While incorporating variance into the layout, a designer should keep the book's overall style consistent. This means introducing flexibility in the arrangement and combination of components, but leaving other sections permanent, such as the hang line, typography, colour, and image styles.

Fig 4.5: Variation with Consistency

The variation in the image above is produced inside the grid system. However, this does not imply that each page requires a distinct variation, as they can be reused and rotated.

INSTRUCTIONS

Fig 4.6: MIB

EXERCISE 1 - Text Formatting

Fig 4.7: Acknowledgment cover format, PDF.

EXERCISE 2 - Mock-Up Making

Final Book Size: 240mmx200mm