PUBLISHING 2: Final Submissions and Reflections
28 November 2016 (Week 13)
Gabriella Godeliva Adytanthio (0324170)
Publishing 2: Mass Communication
Final Submissions and Reflections
Lecture
None
Instructions
Exercise brief:
Submission
Project 1 brief here
Project 2 brief here
Project 3 brief here
Submissions
Exercises
Mock-up for three different sizes
Mock-up for final book size
van der Graaf
Signature folding
Mock-up with signature folding
Determining a grid system of an existing publication layout
Form and movement exercise (single color)
Form and movement exercise (double color)
Project 1: Content Generation
3000 words
16 visuals thumbnail
Project 2: Layout and Final Mock-up
Book (.pdf) link here
Thumbnail
Best 12 spreads
Black and white mock-up
Final full-color mock-up
Project 3: Digital Book
EPUB thumbnail
Reflections
Experience
It's this time of the year again—time really does go by fast. Another hectic semester has gone (almost), and I find this semester harder than the last. We are prompted by lecturers of various modules to actually decide on what we would like to do, be it a research topic or an instructable or a book. I feel that it was quite difficult for me to choose in accordance to my own preference, compared to the last two semesters where we are expected to follow the brief. Most of the time there's a target audience and there's a client you have to satisfy, and suddenly all those guidelines we so vehemently followed in the past were gone, replaced by "it's up to you". No wonder I freaked out.
However, it is also thanks to this kind of learning that I know more about myself and where I stand among my peers in terms of visual expression. You can see clearer how differently each of us approach the brief given, especially when you look at the final results of our assignments. The flexibility provided in this semester also tests and strengthens my ability to time manage.
Observation
I notice that the change in the e-portfolio system has pros and cons (as most things do)—last semester, when we had to update the blog each week, it was more work for us to do, but at the end of the day the advantages of it was that I was able to look back on my reflections every week to summarize it at the end of the semester. It also helped me remember more about how I exactly felt during a certain point in the semester. This semester, the fact that we don't have to update every week allows me time to dedicate to other assignments (or time for myself!), but I find it quite hard to remember what transpired within a project. Writing summarized reflections became slightly harder.
Another thing that I notice is that besides recognizing myself more, I also got to know more about my peers. We also bond more out of the classroom, which is a good thing.
The fact that we don't show each other our work like we did in Advertising class last semester makes it kind of hard for me to figure out how other people are doing it, but then again this is a totally different subject, so maybe showing each other our work won't really affect what's happening after all (since it differs from one person to another).
I notice that I'm not as panicky as I was last semester—I have probably internalized the feeling of death. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Findings
After some pondering, the reason why I don't know anything I did in Publishing 2 is because it's very instinctive, so to speak. Every movements and adjustments I do with the layout are decisions made by the subconscious, and if anyone were to ask me why I do so, I would probably come up with petty reasons. Even the colors that I chose for my illustrations were sort of "baseless", as in having no logical reason, despite having gone through testing and selection among other color combinations I've thought of. I find it somewhat dangerous when I cannot really strongly justify some of my decisions in this project—let's hope it's just because at the end of the day it's my book and I can do whatever I want (while taking some limitations set in the brief in mind) with it, and I'm just indecisive like that.
I find that it's quite a satisfying module overall because of the end result: it's something that's just you. It's your writing, your drawings (or photos), and it's designed with you in mind. You get the chance to choose what colors you think is best, the typefaces that you think will suit the content that you made on your own. It's very self-centered in a way, and in this case it's refreshing because you don't have to think of a "client" to satisfy (except for basic stuff like readability and legibility, of course). I actually enjoyed the whole process despite not knowing exactly what I'm doing.
Rather than saying that I don't know what I'm doing this whole time, I think it's more accurate if I say that this semester is actually training my gut feeling to a certain extent. I listen more to what I have to say to myself instead of following to the T a set of rules that I have to abide. I don't mean complete, total freedom, of course, but at least there's more room to stretch yourself. Variety is created by different sets of consistency instead of erasing the limitations all together—it's sort of like balancing two different political views/systems/whatever that are dictatorship and libertarianism: people shouldn't act upon free will entirely because that will only make room for chaos, but so does constraining people to follow the rules at all times. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.
To sum the whole semester up for this module, it makes me value my opinions and thoughts a lot more than I normally would, and through that I learned more about myself. I feel like my so-called senses are somewhat heightened through exercise and "not knowing what I am doing". We all also have in a way strengthened some sort of visual identity for ourselves, which is another good thing to take away and hopefully we can hold on to this next semester, too.
References
None
Picture credits
Meme. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://desperateandunrehearsed.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing-1.jpg [Accessed 27 Nov. 2016].
Everything else is personal documentation
Gabriella Godeliva Adytanthio (0324170)
Publishing 2: Mass Communication
Final Submissions and Reflections
Lecture
None
Instructions
Exercise brief:
Duration of Assignment
8 Weeks (Briefing on Week 1)
Deadline
Week 9 (24 Oct 2016)
Description
Throughout the beginning and the middle of the semester, exercises will be prescribed at various phases of the module. These exercises will aid and benefit you in your quest to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in book design that will inform you whilst completing various phases of the modules projects.
All exercises prescribed are to be completed and documented (labeled, clean, clear & concise) in your ePortfolio and Hardcopy portfolio respectively.
The exercises are as follows:
1) Text formatting
2) Mock-up making
3) Signature folding systems (8+8=16)
4) Classical Grid structure
5) Form & Movement Exercises (Thumbnail)
• 1 Colour
• 2 Colour
• 2 Colours + Image
• Colour + Image + Text
Requirements
To complete and to showcase mastery in the exercises prescribed in its various forms over the 13-week period. This process is repeated for all 8 weeks. The work is compiled logically and chronologically in an A3 clear sheet folder and documented on the students’ e-portfolio.
Submission
1. Exercises to be documented in an A3 Clear Sheet folder, logically and chronologically. The works must be labeled and dated.
2. Eportfolio posts for every week labeled and dated, with images captured well and in good light in so that the works are pleasing to the eye and legible.
Objectives
1. To develop students theoretical understanding via practical means.
2. To develop students practical skills.
3. To develop students sense in the use of space.
4. To develop students ability to arrange different elements attractively within a grid system.Project 1 brief here
Project 2 brief here
Project 3 brief here
Submissions
Exercises
Mock-up for three different sizes
Mock-up for final book size
van der Graaf
Signature folding
Mock-up with signature folding
Determining a grid system of an existing publication layout
Form and movement exercise (single color)
Form and movement exercise (double color)
Project 1: Content Generation
3000 words
16 visuals thumbnail
Project 2: Layout and Final Mock-up
Book (.pdf) link here
Thumbnail
Best 12 spreads
Black and white mock-up
Final full-color mock-up
Project 3: Digital Book
EPUB thumbnail
Reflections
Experience
It's this time of the year again—time really does go by fast. Another hectic semester has gone (almost), and I find this semester harder than the last. We are prompted by lecturers of various modules to actually decide on what we would like to do, be it a research topic or an instructable or a book. I feel that it was quite difficult for me to choose in accordance to my own preference, compared to the last two semesters where we are expected to follow the brief. Most of the time there's a target audience and there's a client you have to satisfy, and suddenly all those guidelines we so vehemently followed in the past were gone, replaced by "it's up to you". No wonder I freaked out.
However, it is also thanks to this kind of learning that I know more about myself and where I stand among my peers in terms of visual expression. You can see clearer how differently each of us approach the brief given, especially when you look at the final results of our assignments. The flexibility provided in this semester also tests and strengthens my ability to time manage.
Observation
I notice that the change in the e-portfolio system has pros and cons (as most things do)—last semester, when we had to update the blog each week, it was more work for us to do, but at the end of the day the advantages of it was that I was able to look back on my reflections every week to summarize it at the end of the semester. It also helped me remember more about how I exactly felt during a certain point in the semester. This semester, the fact that we don't have to update every week allows me time to dedicate to other assignments (or time for myself!), but I find it quite hard to remember what transpired within a project. Writing summarized reflections became slightly harder.
Another thing that I notice is that besides recognizing myself more, I also got to know more about my peers. We also bond more out of the classroom, which is a good thing.
The fact that we don't show each other our work like we did in Advertising class last semester makes it kind of hard for me to figure out how other people are doing it, but then again this is a totally different subject, so maybe showing each other our work won't really affect what's happening after all (since it differs from one person to another).
I notice that I'm not as panicky as I was last semester—I have probably internalized the feeling of death. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Findings
After some pondering, the reason why I don't know anything I did in Publishing 2 is because it's very instinctive, so to speak. Every movements and adjustments I do with the layout are decisions made by the subconscious, and if anyone were to ask me why I do so, I would probably come up with petty reasons. Even the colors that I chose for my illustrations were sort of "baseless", as in having no logical reason, despite having gone through testing and selection among other color combinations I've thought of. I find it somewhat dangerous when I cannot really strongly justify some of my decisions in this project—let's hope it's just because at the end of the day it's my book and I can do whatever I want (while taking some limitations set in the brief in mind) with it, and I'm just indecisive like that.
I find that it's quite a satisfying module overall because of the end result: it's something that's just you. It's your writing, your drawings (or photos), and it's designed with you in mind. You get the chance to choose what colors you think is best, the typefaces that you think will suit the content that you made on your own. It's very self-centered in a way, and in this case it's refreshing because you don't have to think of a "client" to satisfy (except for basic stuff like readability and legibility, of course). I actually enjoyed the whole process despite not knowing exactly what I'm doing.
Rather than saying that I don't know what I'm doing this whole time, I think it's more accurate if I say that this semester is actually training my gut feeling to a certain extent. I listen more to what I have to say to myself instead of following to the T a set of rules that I have to abide. I don't mean complete, total freedom, of course, but at least there's more room to stretch yourself. Variety is created by different sets of consistency instead of erasing the limitations all together—it's sort of like balancing two different political views/systems/whatever that are dictatorship and libertarianism: people shouldn't act upon free will entirely because that will only make room for chaos, but so does constraining people to follow the rules at all times. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.
To sum the whole semester up for this module, it makes me value my opinions and thoughts a lot more than I normally would, and through that I learned more about myself. I feel like my so-called senses are somewhat heightened through exercise and "not knowing what I am doing". We all also have in a way strengthened some sort of visual identity for ourselves, which is another good thing to take away and hopefully we can hold on to this next semester, too.
"Know thyself."—Socrates
References
None
Picture credits
Meme. (n.d.). [image] Available at: https://desperateandunrehearsed.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing-1.jpg [Accessed 27 Nov. 2016].
Everything else is personal documentation