This booklet is a short and brief guide to opinions on the value of fine art and graphic design. Which is valued more? Which does the reader value more? Every person has different beliefs on these two practices, which are seen by many as very similar or very different.
I chose to make the book approximately A5, seeing as I have no photographic images to show at a clear size, and the publication is very summarised; not overridden with content. The typography is large and clear. A5 is also a very common size for handheld books.
Each page is double sided with opposing statements to show the split between them. These pages are seem like their own separate book as the pages are smaller and are bordered by the colourful pages in between.
The pages placed in between the typography are very experimental and are supposed to channel the theme of fine art. I used acrylic paint with firm paint brushes to create brush marks in the paint on the book cover, and I then incorporated white and blue using a small piece of card that I used to scrape the paint. On the inside pages, I used card mostly to spread colours, and used a lot of watered down acrylic to mix colours together.
I have tried to create a balanced atmosphere with both fine art and graphic design by making the text pages very obvious to reflect design - they are printed digitally, and the typeface used is Helvetica which is a very typically used font in graphic design and very admired by designers today. I chose to use outlined text because as the type is large on the page I didn't want to overwhelm. I think it gives it a more relaxed feel.
The other typefaces used are Bebas Neue which I used as the neutral typeface for the title, and for the small pages at the start and end of the book. It has energy as a typeface yet it is straightforward and without any underlying themes to it. I used Angelique ma douce Colombe for the 'fine art' text in the title, as I thought that the script style of it reflects fine art itself; it suggests something being made by hand in a beautiful way. The 'graphic design' text in the title is a sticker that I made using my Dymo labelwriter which is a popular trend amongst graphic designers.
I used off white cartridge paper which blended well with the paint and made for a soft coloured theme.
The boxes cut out in the cover reflect a theme of one of a kind and one-off - I cut it by hand and when you destroy something that is a physical and original creation like fine art, it is final and can't be replaced unlike graphic design, which is reproduced again and again.
Overall I am very pleased with how the book has turned out, and it is definitely successful as a publication. However, I have heard from other people that it seems very biased towards fine art because of the design which I tried to avoid. I originally thought about having imagery in there that is based around design, but I was stuck for awhile on how to do it in a simple way similar to how I channelled fine art. Because of this I decided on a grid page in the front and back of the book which is based on grid paper we use to create layouts and such. This provides a strong contrast to the painted cover, however it doesn't seem like enough to portray design. I also went with the idea that the typography pages are to show graphic design in between the fine art pages, but this doesn't seem clear to other people.
If I'd have left more time to bind the book, I would have liked to have perfect binded it, or at least saddle stitched. I resorted to stapling it at last minute.
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