Publication Design ~ Why I Adore The Night

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The Brief

For this project we were required to create a publication using a copy of one of Jeanette Winterson’s short stories. The centre-fold was to be carefully considered as it is one of the primary features of the publication. We were required to identify a theme from the story and create an art direction board that has been influenced by an art or design movement. The imagery created for the publication could be created through the use of photography, illustration or typography. The imagery needed to follow the theme of the chosen art movement. This imagery was to be created within certain specified constraints, such as target audience and interaction with typography.

Chosen Art Movement ~ Cubism

The art movement that I chose to use for this publication is cubism. This movement was founded by the likes of Picasso and Braque. Cubism describes artworks which display flat, two-dimensional, distorted objects.

The reason why I chose to use this art movement is as I believe that it is the style that would best illustrate the story, ‘Why I adore the Night’. This is as the story revolves around how one should embrace the darkness and learn to appreciate the night. Just as many of Picasso’s artworks make use of darkness to reveal the light, so too in the publication I wanted to show how we need darkness in order to appreciate the light.

The Booklet

The grid layout of the publication was created in order to allow the publication to have a feel of how books looked during the Cubist era (1907-1914). This was done by using a grid with very large margins of 40mm on the top, 27mm on the bottom, 20mm in the middle, and 30mm on either side. It is a three-column grid and makes use of the typeface Times New Roman, with a point size of 10pt. The pull-quotes are 11pt so that they stand out from the rest of the text, and therefore attract the viewer’s attention. This typeface was chosen as it most closely resembles the typeface used in publications during the Cubist era. The combination of the chosen colours, typefaces and grid creates a hierarchy within the layout and causes the reader’s eye to follow the flow of the short story.

The imagery that was chosen to be used in the publication was inspired by the Cubism movement. The images look cut out, and imperfect. They are not entirely realistic – rather there is room for the viewer to fill in the blank spaces. The black-and-white theme of the imagery has been used not only to resemble Picasso’s artworks, but also to show that in order for one to fully appreciate the daytime, they must get to know the darkness of the night. Darkness is therefore necessary, in order for the full picture to be revealed. This is the main message of the story. Throughout the publication, the concept of darkness will be personified through imagery pertaining to that of a lover.

The pages that have been chosen to be used in this publication are not completely white, but rather an off-white, creamy colour. This colour was chosen so as to emulate Picasso’s artworks which are also on canvases that are not pure white. The black colour used in the publication was chosen to represent the darkness which is a central theme of the story. The final colour used in the publication is red. This was done because it fits with the theme of adoration, which is expressed in the title of the story, Why I Adore the Night. Additionally, the story makes reference to items such as ruby-black beetroot, wine, and lovers. These concepts are all represented by the colour red.

The typeface that was chosen to be used in the publication is Times New Roman. This is because it is a typeface that most closely resembles the typeface that was used for publications during the Cubist era (1907-1914), Clearface. This typeface is also very legible at a small point size and is therefore appropriate for publication. The pull quotes were italicised so as to create interest within the text.

The hard cover was made using a paper that has a canvas-like texture. This was selected in order to resemble the canvases used by Picasso. This off-white hard cover also allows the publication to resemble books that were created during the Cubist era. Additionally the off-white colour of the pages I have chosen is the same colour as the pages of books printed in the Cubist era, this gives the book an old and historic look and feel to it.
The sparkly inner page for the publication was chosen as it closely resembles a starry night’s sky.
The trace paper was used in order to reveal the elements on the pages behind. This was done as it fits in with the theme of the darkness revealing the light.

Close-Ups