OUGD603 - Brief 8 - Notebook / Journal - Research - Existing Designs

Existing Designs 

Cuaderno Notebooks

- The Cuaderno range of notebooks uses a different type of grid or line within each notebook and plays with these in different ways throughout the notebook.

- The cover designs are minimal reflecting the type of line used within the book.

- The use of foiling on the coloured cardstock of the cover creates a refined and quality feel to the design.

- In some pages rather than applying a block of lines directly to the page they are instead fit within a shape creating more geometric formats 

- The lines or grids within the notebooks never take up a whole page of a notebook instead the blocks of lines have been applied to the pages so that it looks like they are expanding off the pages. 

- A combination of lined and blank paper is created on the pages as the line designs do not cover the whole of each page. This provides the opportunity for the user to use the pages in different ways e.g. drawing and writing.

- In some cases the designs are used across a double page spread or the same design is mirrored on the other page making the spreads part of the same design.

- Lines in Cuaderno 3 and 4 are curved and angular leading to the user having to adjust how they would use the notebook, with the use of these lines creating more experimental layouts. 

- The varied and experimental layouts of some of the books question the functionality of the notebook and how to use the notebook

- In some cases the pages are filled then shapes are applied over the top of these to create negative space within the pages and a sense of layering of shapes within the design.

Evolution Print Notebook 

- The sizes of this notebook makes it perfect as a travel notepad 

- The layout of the pages encourages the user to define what type of idea they are writing down by separating the page into sections. The different sizes of the sections restrict the user encouraging them to keep a note brief or to develop it further, with the size of the section relating to the type of idea e.g. a small section for quick ideas

- Potentially the way the pages are divided up means at some points the width of the line is not very big making it harder to write within these areas.

- The quote at the beginning of the book 'Ideas come to us in different shapes and sizes' underpins the concept of the book with the 'size' of the idea dictating the size of the space used for it on the pages.