OUGD503 - Studio Brief 1 - A Brief History of Time (4 Days) - Evaluation

Evaluation of Design

The use of a restrained monochrome palette within the design is bold aesthetically creating an eye catching design, which feedback also suggested was intriguing and would make people want to look at the book to find out what it was about. 

The use of similar photographs on both the front and back of the cover and the addition of the single line on the spine creates consistency across the design. Type layout, colour and orientation within the design are used in the same way across the design creating a cohesive cover.

The concept was considered original from feedback and it was suggested that the scanned imagery, using string as a material, was effective in reflecting the movement within string theory, where strings vibrate at different frequencies. Feedback also suggested that the use of lines could evokes a sense of timelines which ties with the narrative of the book and title. 

The design uses typography as a way of reflecting the filaments within string theory. Both Universe Light and Source Sans Variable are Sans serif which is in keeping with the geometric 'strings' in the design. The body text for the blurb was adjusted for legibility but is light enough to retain the filament like appearance. The type within the design is set to reflect the imagery, through orientating text to mimic how the lines come from different directions, whilst varied line lengths reflect how the strings are cut off within the design.

The use of a monochrome palette is minimalist, making the design appropriate for a contemporary audience. The design shows an understanding of the marketplace through its abstract approach. Many of the existing designs for the book use abstraction or adaptations of diagrams and concepts within the because they are hard to visualise literally. 

The subtle use of typography aims to complement rather than dominate the imagery, instead it reflects the shapes within the image. 

Considerations for the design on screen and print, mainly included how legible the blurb body text was going to be. For screen the blurb was made bolder to contrast better against the black background, whilst the point size of the blurb was increased to make it more legible and clear for print.