Colour May Vary Research

Today I visited Colours May Vary in order to gather some more research and inspiration for my book. I know how I want my book to look aesthetically as well as the techniques and sizes I want to use for everything, I am just a little unsure on how I want the layout of my double page spreads to look.

The layouts that I have already experimented with feel a little bit too simple; however, the pages do need to look minimal as language books can be quite confusing. I also know that I want my book to have a rich, classy and minimal aesthetic, so a busier page layout may not be appropriate. Using a modular grid throughout the book may would be something to consider.

Additionally, during my visit to Colours May Vary, I paid more attention to book layout rather than covers and techniques;

The first image below relates to my book in terms of pattern- my book cover uses a detailed mandala pattern on the cover, however I really like the simplicity of these patterns. This book has also made me consider using a grid throughout my book. In the second photograph, I enjoyed the variation of the different point type.

I really liked the business of the pages in the photographs below; I usually like to make my work look really crazy and abstract. I also really liked the colour palette in the second image. However, this wouldn't be appropriate for this brief as my book needs to have a minimal aesthetic.

These images show a more minimal layout which is more appropriate for my book. The composition of the type with the simple illustrations/shapes works extremely well. This is similar to how I want my double page spreads to look too, one page contains the body of text with the other page with the two English and Arabic letters laid out in a more illustrative way.

The book below is called 'Oh shit what now?- Honest advice for new graphic designers'. I loved the layout of every page throughout this book, it experiments thoroughly with the scale of the typography, grid systems, colour palette, layering etc.

More books that I found interesting:

I loved the cut-out detailing in this
front cover

The singular foiled shape looks
extremely effective against the
matte cover

Interesting shape for a book

I loved the binding of this book- however it would be too expensive for me to use a leather cover for my book- an alternative would be the leather texture paper that G.F Smith provide.