‘How to be a Woman’ - Caitlin Moran I chose this brief as I thought it would be interesting to delve into publication design and would be a good skill set to have. The fact that we had to interpret the books given to design the cover really appealed to me. The book 'How to be a Woman' for my selected category appealed to me even more as this is such an open, broad statement that there were so many possibilities to explore. The current design of ‘How to be a Woman’ fits well within the style of women's chick literature and has a very friendly, funny approach to the design. This works as it is appropriate with the content of the book as it makes it clear tthat it is an entertaining book. This is important as the title is ambiguous and could also suggest a serious piece of writing on feminism. Therefore creating a cover that clearly indicates that this is an entertaining book is of the up most importance. As the book is targeted for woman, it was my intention and what it asked of the brief to make the book cover clearly an entertainment book. I felt that 'Chick Lit' would be a good area to research as the cover designs are quite feminine and also have the aim of being 'pickupable' and clearing showing to the readers that it is an entertaining and funny book. Chick Lit book covers are so recognisable and clearly indicate modern womanhood, humour and lightheartedness. They predominantly use feminine imagery, bright colours and decorative/script typography. This clearly indicates that these books are aimed at woman by being so obviously feminine and 'girly' that the covers don't necessary appeal to everyone's taste but it puts the book into a category so its readers can clearly understand the type of book. This way of marketing is clever and although I didn’t the cover being overly 'girly,' Chick Lit book covers use the same technique that I'm hoping to achieve of being aimed at woman and clearly an entertaining book. Therefore I followed some of the same conventions of these books but toned down as the book - is a feminist book, so it would of been counteractive to give it a stereotypical 'woman's read' cover.
OUGD503 Studio Brief 1 Emma Nicholls 257322
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This design concept is based on the list (as illustrated) which features in the book. This list holds a lot of tendencies and habits of women therefore is clearly relatable. The illustrations sets the scene of a woman checking her list while having a brew and a snack. This adds a humorous element as it is clearly ironic as the woman is eating the ginger nuts while reading her list which states she no longer does. Research of 'Chick Lit' was undertaken to inform this design as their target audience is women and they are always entertaining books. These two things are deliverables of the brief therefore it is extremely relevant research. The specification of clearly conveying the book as humorous and entertaining was what really drove the concept to inform the final design. There was a lot of problem solving tackled during this brief. I wanted my design to be really concept driven rather than going for obvious. This was a challenge but a challenge that I really enjoyed. I feel that my design ultimately is a lot stronger due to it being concept driven. This has taught me different ways I can interpret a brief and how important concepts are within design. I believe my design achieves my aim of clearly conveying that the book is entertaining and humorous. This is one of the main deliverables of the brief, and what really drove my ideas for my design, as well as my research which really helped to inform my final design. Therefore I feel I have successfully achieved what the brief has asked. I would of liked to of made the illustrations more clear as one of the illustration is cut off and looks a bit unfinished. Unfortunately my time management wasn't the best it could be, and I made a decision to accept it how it was to move onto other briefs. I still believe however that the final design is successful.
OUGD503 Studio Brief 1 Emma Nicholls 257322
Presentation Boards Page 2