Editorial Design

editorial Layout story layoutdesign typography

02 | Editorial Design

PAPS

Brief

This project required conceptualising and creating a hardcover book that focused on a person with a story worth telling. Further in-depth research on the subject needed to be conducted, as well as the development of an editorial concept and narrative strategy. Original text, imagery, and layouts needed to be created around the editorial concept. The intended target audience for the book needed to be adults with a deep love and appreciation for books.

Deliverables

01 A3 Presentation boards ( minimum of 4)

*A selection of the presentation boards can be viewed in the Annex, in the Visual Arts Building at the University of Pretoria.*

02 Single PDF file of the final flat designs including:

Overs: Dust jacket/outer cover

Inner cover

Front matter: Two different endpapers

Title page

Copyright page

Contents page/s

Chapters: One completed chapter (minimum of 4 spreads)

Three additional chapter titles (or more)

Minimum of one additional text and image spread for each of the additional chapters

03 PDF file with text in typewritten format only (The document can be viewed here).

Design Strategy

The design strategy for PAPS was to depict the turbulent life of a fighter pilot who was a husband, father, and grandfather through the eyes of his daughter. The approach to the narrative strategy was to give glimpses of the man he was through a series of sections grouped into the main 'chapters' of his life. Concerning the narrative approach, the chapters were structured in such a way that tells his story backwards, from his death to his formative years. This approach gives the reader more insight into his life as they read the book from start to finish. From a conceptual point of view, this allows the reader to look past the person they perceived him to be and give a new viewpoint of his experience that made him the person he was.

The full-text document for the publication can be viewed here.

The Subject and Context

At the start of the project, numerous interviews with Papas daughter were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the person she knew her dad to be. She had many exciting stories about her father's life. She shared many family photos, some of his personal effects and samples of his handwriting. The photographs and written notes were used as inspiration for the stylistic approach, colour pallet and typography.

Chapter breakdown

From my interview notes, I made a rough timeline of the events and stories shared with me of Paps life. The events were broken up into six chapters that focus on a specific time in his life. For the requirements of this project, I decided to use Chapter 4 as the complete chapter. I also did a chapter title page and additional text and image spread for the rest of the chapters.

Each chapter was given its own name inspired by the events the specific chapter dealt with.

Visual Exploration

Extensive visual exploration was done to explore possible visual approaches to image creation and illustration styles. Because of the nature of the process, only key aspects of the visual development are highlighted below.

The first round of visual exploration

The first round of exploration focused on finding an appropriate medium to create visual imagery. I started experimenting with different mediums, such as charcoal and ink, watercolour and pencil, and gouache, to see how the different mediums could be used to create the same image in different ways. In the end, I used gouache and pencil as the medium to make all the images for the publication.

Gouache and pencil were the chosen mediums. The illustration approach was to use gouache in its thickened form, almost like acrylic. The gouache was applied to the paper with a palette knife to create depth and movement in the final illustrations.

Refinement of medium and style approach

As further illustration tests were done, I realised that the quickness of the gouache application to the paper to create the illustrations needed to be more considered and refined. Some of the visuals got lost in the style application in the initial illustrations. With some practice and the addition of different methods to apply the gouache to the paper, I developed a more refined but still dynamic illustration style.

As seen above, the structure of the Vampire jet (left) was barely visible and did not look like a man-made object at all. With the addition of line work and paying attention to where lighter and darker paint was applied, a more refined style emerged where the landscapes and objects, such as the jets and plans, were easily recognisable.

Moving from literal to abstract

Some of the illustrations created at the start of the visual creation process were very literal to what the text on the page was describing. While, in some cases, it was necessary to show literally what the test was describing, most of the literal illustrations did not add depth to the text.

For this reason, many of the visuals were pushed in abstract directions. This was done either by creating visuals that evoked a strong feeling or by taking the literal and exaggerating it visually. This approach allowed for more exciting and dynamic layouts that added meaning to the text.

This is one example of an illustration that started out depicting a plane crash by showing it literally. The illustration was pushed even more, where only a smoke-like texture was created for the final illustration.

Grid system

A basic grid system was created for the publication to keep layouts consistent throughout.

Colour

The colour palette was made using Adobe Colour from the illustrations shown below. The colour palette was tweaked and refined. After the colour palette was created, the illustrations were executed in various tints, tones, and shades of the base colour palette. This ensured that, visually, all the imagery was connected and had a cohesive colour and style throughout the publication.

The final colour pallet was created using illustrations that were created during the end stages of illustration and style testing.

Typography

Fonts were selected based on the adventures and steadfast nature that Paps daughter spoke about when she talked about him. It was clear from the start that she held much admiration and respect for the life he lived and the person he was to her. She saw him as a great man with dignity and respect for others. These qualities are reflected in the chosen serif fonts that have a solid but still friendly nature in their design. The selected sans-serif font was chosen based on the quality of consistency. Hand-generated fonts and some of his notes were used throughout the publication to reflect the uniqueness of Paps story and personality.

Publication Specifications

The publication is a hardcover square book (287 mm x 287 mm) with a spine of 33 mm. Matte paper is used with a thickness of 220 gsm.

The choice of a hardback cover and sturdy paper is appropriate because the subject had a strong personality. He was as stubborn as he was patient and saw the world as black and white. The matte paper strengthens the concept that the subject cared little for status. He was a person who led from behind.

Final Presentation Boards

The presentation boards showcase the book and final spreads in mockup format. Under each presentation board is the flat spreads that can be viewed in more detail. The final flat spreads can also be viewed in PDF format here.

Dust jacket

Flat design outside and inside

Cover

Front matter

Endpapers

Chapter titles and spreads

Title spreads and additional spreads for Chapters One and Two.

Title spread and additional spread for Chapter Three (top) and title spread for Chapter Four (bottom).

Chapter Four

Chapter four, titled PAPS, was the chapter that was fully developed in its entirety. The chapter deals with the fascinating and turbulent times Paps had as a fighter pilot for the RAF before South Africa became a republic and a pilot in the South African Air Force (SAAF) after South Africa became a republic in 1961. The chapter deals with more turbulent times when he was in a plane crash flying a Vampire jet and how he had to deal with the trauma and life changes afterwards.