Bookbinding workshop and further analysis

NQ questionaire

Although the area the NQ is situated in is historic and has been through many different eras throughout the development and progression of Manchester as a city, there is still very little written about it or much documentation. There are only a few online sources that reference the NQ and hardly any publications. Therefore I have little to quote, note or refer to when talking about the area. A lot of my knowledge of the NQ has come from me and my thoughts, through its influence on me.

To resolve this issue I decided to ask people around the NQ going about their daily business "WHAT IS THE NORTHERN QUARTER TO THEM?"

Here are some of the answers I got back:

"Okay to me NQ represents diversity and tendiness. That whole area suggests creativity from the wall art to the bars, and even the people. NQ and Oxford Road to me go hand in hand, its like Manchester's two cool cousins who don't like the glam sleek city life and instead stay abit on the sidelines, drinking craft beer rather than fancy wine."

"It's about expression of who you are and who you want to be, there is so many crazy different people here every day."

"I dunno, I love all the vintage shops here and its got a really cool vibe about it."

"It's just a place in Manchester." (I have a feeling they really didn't care)

"Cool place, always love coming here."

"I mean I work here, it's full off culture and you just see amazing things every day. Whether its the street art, the creative people or a sick poster on the wall. There is always stuff happening here."

After a while I had to stop as the many rejections just got too much. However, this really did help get a perspective on the opinions of the place, which the majority agree with my own. I think it would be interesting to include some of these quotes within my publication or to use them to write a short passage within the book that shows the love for the NQ.

Thinking outside the "box"

"Pictures of Walls" research and contents page development

This small publication (15 x 10.5) is a quirky display of amateur graffiti pictures that have been submitted from people around the world. It is pocket sized which means it is easily transportable.

Interestingly the cover uses the same grid method as the majority of the pages. This reflects the style of the book and gives the viewer an insight of how the design of the book will follow, without even having to open it.

The layout is really simple, using a 1cm trim of white space around the edges of the photos. Like the majority of photography books, it begins with an small introduction, however, this feels much less serious. The tone of voice is particularly relaxed and has more expression in it compared to previous forewords in books that have been researched within this project.

A foreword is something I am going to write at the beginning of my publication, just to set the tone for the rest of the book and help support my idea about keeping the NQ alive and thriving. 

Throughout the book, the layout often switches up, using more negative space for portrait images.

Instead of using chapters, captions and paragraphs to explain each graffiti photo it references each photos location in the contents page. This style of including the locations within the contents has inspired the design of the contents page for the publication.

Quick experiments showcasing a similar layout. Having the lettered kerned close together really makes it impactful and makes it appear like a body of text (paragraph) unlike a list.

(further versions using Helvetica and Hybrid Pro)

As an experiment I attempted to sculpture the contents page information around my final logo design to try and create a connection between the first two pages in the book which focus on the logo. The attempt was not successful as I realised the type was too illegible and the design as a whole would be quite confusing.

Here is another finished experiment, treating them more as a list and including further information and an icon version of the logo. This was an attempt at making it feel more professional. Using GF paper 

As part of a mock-up I included this within my publication design. However, it really did not flow with the rest of the book, even though I used Helvetica for the numbers on my page layouts. It just did not express the rustic/grungy/earth tones.