Grids, baselines and page designs

I’ve spent the past couple of nights looking carefully at the grid systems used across some of my favourite design books. I’m trying to create the right balance between a layout that is respectful of the work being featured and a layout that conveys the cutting edge, creative nature of the book’s subject.

I’ve looked at Neville Brody’s D&AD Annual, which employs a range of carefully considered page devices, like vertical chapter titles.

Attik’s NoiseFive is a study in typographic restraint. Making an interesting juxtaposition with the wild, vibrant design work it showcases.

The Stanley Kubrick Archives byAlison Castle combines rich photography, footnotes, inserts and pullouts with a straight forward four column structure.

Look at this by Adrian Shaughnessy (designed by Non Format) is an awkward book, that has frustrated and captured me in equal measures. There are small elements of the page structures that I think I can learn from, but ultimately the design work comes from a different design sensibility to mine.

Old Spice by Wieden + Kennedy

Less than six months ago you would have had to search far and wide to find anyone who thought Old Spice was a forward thinking brand for young adults. Yet they have created a buzz around their products that has been heard around the world.

Designers, Planners, Marketing Managers and Copywriters watched in awe as they repositioned themselves with the use of a YouTube channel, Twitter feed and a series of real time, high production value ads responding to Twitter @replies. Over two days they created more than 180 replies and gained millions upon millions of views.

It’s fair to say the campaign would not have worked without the online activity. They have tried new TV ads over recent years, but nothing has come close to the success of this campaign. By allowing users to interact directly with the campaign’s central character it became a truelly connected brand.

As suggested by Carl T

Cover designs 3

My first explorations in bringing photography in to the cover.

I really like the top left image. It’s a close up of cables. Bit of a cheesy reference, but the shot is beautiful. I also like the composition with the type in the lower 3rd of the page.

I feel like the two full bleed images are too obvious. Perhaps it’s a little too close to the cover design for Bill Moggridge’s Designing Interactions?

Cover designs 2

Still very early on in the design process and I’m not happy with any of the directions yet, but it’s good to get all the ideas out, so I can begin to filter the good from the bad.

Any thoughts on the use of type or the layout ideas?

Open question on design books

Here is a question for you…

When presenting other people’s work, should design books be designed with an overt style or should they focus on being restrained and respectful to the work?

In other words should you notice the design of a design book?