OUGD504 - photo book research

I looked at a number of photography books that were based around a specific place. The first I looked at was Yojiro Imasaka's editorial on his road trip around the USA. I chose to use this within my research because of its unique layout. As there is little text next to the images, using a unique layout and placing of photos adds interest to the publication.

The front page photo wraps around the book creating a more minimal looking cover. The appropriate use of colour on this front page also works well with the photo choices. There is clear use of grids within this publication keeping the design neat and clean. This is something I feel is also important for my own book.

The layout varies throughout the book with some photos spanning across the double page

Photos are different sizes however work well together on the page. Copping images like this so they are different sizes may work better for some of my own photos so they work better on the spread.

I found a project on Behance documenting handcrafted signs in overcrowded places that are often ignored by the general public. The focus on typography and photos link well with my own project.

Individual letters are overlaid with their description. This gives room for more negative space which in turn adds to a cleaner looking design.

Information on the image is given on the bottom left of the image

The photos within this publication are set on double page spreads so all focus is kept on them. Body text and explanation of photos and type is then set on its own in a gridded layout.

As one of my ideas is based around the combination of type and architecture around Barcelona, I found a number of publications relating to these areas of design as well as other aspects relating to my ideas.

The first editorial I found looked at the landscape architecture of Rainer Schmidt. The unique use of neutral, enlarged type works well alongside the different contents creating a platform that explores different areas of design seamlessly. 

Exploring type in unique ways such as this is something I would like to experiment with within my own project. Coupling Graphic Design and architecture in this way is also similar to my first idea so will work well to inspire my work if I decide to carry on down this route. 

Reflective Fascination is an editorial created by Tor Weibull for a Photo Book Exhibition. Its combination of photography and type show how the two can work well together. The efficient use of white space, Circular typeface and clear grid system create a modern and clean looking piece of work. A similar layout repeats itself across a number of pages. This is something I could look at doing for my own work, especially if I decide to include a body of text with each photo.