LFW Lookbook: Production

It was important to print the publication to test the ideas that have been discussed and envisioned by the designer and photographer.

 

 

 

 

 

We printed the content on double sided glossy paper to give it a classical zine feel, and resemble the edginess of the subjects inside. However as the paged have a black background, when folded the cracks in the pages were very obvious and unattractive, taking away from the authority it should have. Getting the images to line up was also important as their nature is to work as an entire spread rather than individual pages. Resultantly, binding and putting together the book was a particular struggle, as the folds and binding points had the be exact. 


Once the publication was bound and complete, it was a good size and had a nice feel to it. However the cover seemed a bit to bland and grainy in contrast with the glossy interior, so we decided to try foil the logotype to replicate the interior. 

Foiling options selected based on the lookbook's content (colour and line):


As the publication was already bound, it was placed into the foiling heat presser as it was. We were not aware at the time that this intense heat would melt all the pages on the inside together. As a result the publication was completely ruined. 



This exemplified the importance of leaving time to test and trial these ideas, and a goof lesson was learnt to go the cover and trim the pages to equal length before binding the publication. It set us back a lot with costs, however the lookbook can now reflect on what was successful and what wasn't in order to develop productively. 

Conclusions for development:

• The foiling was unsuccessful and looked to patchy with the overall clean edged and block content & colours
• Print on matte not gloss paper to avoid the ink coming off when folded
• The simple pamphlet stitch was used and worked effectively and efficiently if was to be reproduced on a larger scale
• Cut all the pages together not individually so they line up better 

Extra Features:

As the publication pages has to be a multiple of 4 for it to print, there were an additional 2 pages at the end of the lookbook. As such, we discussed what could be done to utilise these pages effectively. It was looked on in the research stages how having a thing to take away or have separate from the publication is a nice extra, especially amongst young people who like to decorate their rooms. Accordingly, it was tested to have all the spreads in an almost summary page at the end, that is tearable - almost like a postcard - and can be stuck up and shared.

These tests below look at sizing and spacing. We wanted to make sure the photos were still visible enough for it to be effective, and they were. The first test the photos were more spaced out, but due to their consistent aesthetic, it was thought to place them closer together, meaning the photography side to the spreads were not lost and the images could be larger. 

Additionally, the left page was used for the logotype design that was layered 3 times in the 3 primary colours. 

 2nd attempt:

This time the publication was printed on A3 Olin 200gm inkjet paper stock, which was a lot more practical and successful. The thicker stock gave the short lookbook a lot more authority, the thicker pages and matte finish made the images and especially the black background look a lot better. Olin is an off-white colour, and this also contributed to a much better finish as the white looked a lot cheaper. 

 

Binding

As the pages were thick card stock, they were folded individually to ensure the more accurate bind. Then a simple saddle stitch was applied.

Trimming

Using the laser cutter, the edges were cut to assure consistency. This process needed a few attempts to ensure there were no white edges on the pages to take away from the black backgrounds. Finally the tear mark was made for the final page.  

Outcomes:

The final publication turned out neat and better than the first attempt. The decision not to foil kept a nice smooth and subtle feel to the publication. The black cover makes for a great sense of intrigue, as black is the colour of mystery, and its more conceptual logotype further enhances the ambiguity from first glance. 

On reflection the cover does seem a bit dull compared to its content, so this could've been evolved for future productions, perhaps exploring different stock choices instead of black card. This is because there is no definition for the cover as the inside spreads are the same thickness.