Final designs.

The final designs! these images are all the spreads of the final book I decided to rework the book in a square format this is for a number of reasons. Firstly it allow me more space on the edges for more information and photos when needed. On top of this as I wanted to make the book feel more personal to Barcelona I found this photograph of the city and thought the gridded system of the city would lend itself very well to a grid system for my book. So the image above shows the new four by four gridded system I wanted to use for my booklet. The grid is not unlike the Karl Gerstner 1962 grid shown above. This grid is something that only somebody with knowledge of design and grid systems would spot but is a subtle change that is very important within this kind of publication design. The cover I wanted to change as the one shown before didn't for me fully represent expressive and exciting content on the inside and the cover now with the large type better presented this.

For the contents page I have used the tab tool to keep all the headings inline and give the page numbers more space. This adds to the clarity of the text and is defiantly easier to read. I moved away from using the centred type as it was not consistent with the rest of the publication design. 

This page best shows the kind of new space that I have allowed myself when changing to the square format. The type stays within this gridded system and the images are now cropped square, this all emphasis this Barcelona square grid and is read much more clearly.

The square format again lends itself to showing large double spread images, here the full width of the image is shown and the building is shown in a much better light compared to the images selected for the buildings leaflet.

I have additionally decided to use the red page twice in the publication, this creates more of a unified style and the design remains more consistent. This was useful for the Museu Picasso as I only had around two quality images that put the museum in an interesting light, this full coloured page then doesn't feel to empty and work with the rest of the publication. I have also changed the page numbers and illustration on the pages that are more clear in white. this is again another nice small detail of the work that is subtle yet makes all the difference.

With this page for the CCCB (which I have spelt wrong throughout my designs up to this point! spelling it CCBB) I have split up the pages and given the CCCB its own double spread this separates up the information and allows me to use another of my photographs. I have also implemented a fully yellow page into the designs this is to represent the Catalan flag being the region Barcelona is in in Spain. The stripes are represented on each colour page on the corresponding left and right hand side. 

The MACBA spreads have been changed to two double spreads this makes the information more clear and separated from the rest. I still kept the two white and black images that worked well in the previous design but placing them on one page gives more space for other images and leaves them as a separate piece of work all together. The images being so strong on its own their is no need for any additional text that may over crowd the design.

This page has been kept similar but moved onto the four by four grid, the images of the MACBA's building details have then been highlighted in a narrow composition this was something I was unsure of before but now I think the photos lend themselves more to this format.

This page has been kept fairly similar but the square shape allows the designs to have an additional column of type on the right hand side. Again I have kept the singular red page on the left hand side to keep with the Catalan flag theme.

With the square shape this has allowed me to show the image almost completely and given space on the left for the heading and the information. The heading I have placed over the image and the white space, this is not something I would usually do and would try and keep all the text consistent but I think the type is very clear and creates a interesting junction between the text and image.

This spread continues the information on the Joan Miro foundation I have kept the design very simple displaying two of my favourite images on the left in the same minimal composition as seen before in the MACBA spread then the yellow background with a image that has a blue sky as it creates a nice contrast of primary colours. 

This final page I have kept the two images of the Joan Miro foundation but also features some information on one of my favourite sculptures of the museums the Alexander Calder 'Mercury Fountain' as the photos seem to work nicely in tangent together I didn't want to split them up too much. With the text each section features information on the building, museum and gallery and then information on the opening times, location, and website all are real and accurate information thus making the guide functioning. 

For the back page I felt it appropriate I create my own map, drawing it flat then converting it using the rotation angle in Indesign then allowed me to show these captions and give further information on the general locations of each of the museums.

Overall I am very pleased with the outcome for this project and feel this book successful shows my evolution and emerging knowledge of type, composition, layout and the effect of using grids in design. I hope I have made something with real use that reflects the city of Barcelona and invited the reader to visit.

Page Number Illustration.

 The use of an illustration next to the page numbers is an element of the Joan Miro Foundation's leaflet design I really felt created something more personal and was an excellent way of making the designs more interesting in a simple way. I wanted the illustration to naturally relate to Barcelona and Spain itself, the Bull being something very traditionally Spanish and Picasso being the most famous of all Spanish artist this felt instinctive. I looked at a large range of his drawings of the bull and came up with this small image bellow to be used in each of the page numbers. I felt it was subtle but would be something that would continue throughout the designs.

Experiments

Something I have experimented with is using the letters of the word "BARCELONA" and seeing if this could be implemented onto the right hand page of each spread. This could work as type or even as the grid system I felt though that it could be an over complication and may distract from the photographs. Additionally it was difficult to make each letter work with the images and type.

Refinement of Book design

 I have now designed a more finalised version. I decided to use Didot typography I felt it had more connection to the 'Spanish and Architecture' book I have looked at and had a more classical feel to the designs, something a bit different that I had not seen in the 'guide to' designs I have looked at. The idea being that a more classical look along side modern and contemporary architecture.

 I have selected the buildings I want to feature being, the Mies van der Rohe pavilion, Museu Picasso, CCCB & MACBA, Montjuic Castle and Foundation Joan Miro. Each is very different but great examples of beautiful architecture in the city.

I used placeholder text for each section to grasp and idea of what the images would look like accompanied with text. I have used these white text boxes to show the text on the full bleed images. I think it remains consistent and doesn't take away from the images too much.  

For the MACBA and CCCB I have used very large type next to each other on a double page I am very happy at the moment with this spread and think the way it communicated the two galleries being in conjunction effectively. 

 These two images seem to work very well together and have a nice contrast between them of black and white. I think using some images full bleed will display the gallery in a positive light.

 Showing small details and interesting elements of a building I think can be very interesting especially with the MACBA being such a bold and striking building.

This page for Montjuic Castle I have made fully red this is something I really loved in the 40 year anniversary design for the Joan Miro Foundation. It creates a nice visual change and reflects the traditionally Spanish colours.

 Again implementing the use of a white box for the type when I have used a full bleed image. 

 I again looked at using a red page for certain pages I think this is something I want to include in the final designs but picking which page and why is very important.

This page I think the two photos really lend themselves to each other and create an interesting composition this is die to the complimentary colours. 

I have used a 6 by 6 grid thorough out this design to keep the image consistent along with the headings and type. The designs have really progressed by still need work. I want to try and make the book a bit more distinct and reflect Barcelona as best I can.

Starting designing the book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I began by simply picking some of the best photos from a variety of places and seeing how I could compose them on the page keeping the design simple and letting the photos be the focus. I used Futura typeface as it featured a few time in the Mies van der Rohe pavilion leaflet and the Foundation Joan Miro leaflet. For the cover I used my image of the Catalan flat to reflect the city best and be an eye catching image. I wanted to think about the photographic compositions first then later think about how it would work with the text. As you can see this is more of a starting point for the book but I am pleased initially with the relationships between the images and the overall feel for the book so far.