cover cad

As the collective logo was decided upon as the basis of the cover, interesting ways in which to position the text were then explored . This attempting to mimic the postmodern trends of female designers such as Paula Scher. Although the design should contain some postmodern aspects the design should not appear overly postmodern as only slight differences between male and female design want to be outlined. This being a representation of how Scher's work differs from male designers, yet does not appear overly postmodern and thus still remains legible. 

Thinking about the rule of thirds, the logo was explored within the lower section of the page, causing the consumer to have to look for the relevant information. Although this stands apart from generic catalogue designs I would not suggest it is a postmodern layout and thus other compositions were explored. 

As Paula Scher's work often follows the movement of type, the logo was explored with, moving the design so it appeared horizontally. Although this still allows the text to be legible, it causes a disruption in what would be a modernist grid system, and as a result explores postmodern trends. The alignment of the text against the page boundary feels somewhat restricting, and thus modernist. As a result of this the composition of type will be explored with further.  

The logo was centralised in order to promote a less restricted feel towards the design. Shapes were explored with, forcing the subheading out of a 'generic' boundary. This again asserting postmodern trends within the design. The random nature of the triangle explored this trend, although the contextual presence behind it was restricted and thus it was decided that this did not influence the overall design. 

Colour 

Once the general composition was developed, the background colours were explored with. Block colours were used to appear strong and create impact. I personally belive it is important to use few inks in order to promote environmental design. When considering the last approach, the outline of the word 'male' was manipulated into a white. This design was quickly ruled out as you cannot print white ink very cheaply (one key consideration for the catalogue), this therefore meaning that the whole front cover would need to be printed, in turn increasing the ecological footprint of the product, as well as risking the ink cracking once the design has been folded. 

The other colour designs felt somewhat less impactful, as the contrast of the text was muted. As I wanted the design catalogue to be loud, and eyecatching it was decided that the contrast of the white background was most effective.

The words 'design catalogue' were added in a similar format to that of the logo in order to promote the message of the product. The back cover design was also explored with. 

The usage of connecting lines was explored with in an abstract way in order to promote the idea of postmodernism. This also linking strongly with the 'crossing out line'. Although this explored postmodern trends well, I personally did not like the design and thus attempted to explore different routes. 

Simple lines were explored with although I was unsure upon whether this looked very modernist and thus gained feedback from one of my peers. She suggested that the design did feel very 'clean' and that the whole white approach felt somewhat clinical. 

From the feedback given a coloured back cover was explored with. A three tonal system was put in place to reduce costs, and save the environment. A square was placed around the reverse text in order to promote legibility. I felt that this was a modernist move and thus this was eliminated. 

The usage of rectangles was explored with further, although the above approach again felt restricting, and seemed to mimic a grid system. As a result of this further approaches were attempted. 

After multiple attempts at developing a front and back cover, a final resolution was selected. The reverse text was set at flush left, with each line containing a maximum of 12 words, in order to comply to vignelli's cannon. Although the final design does appear minimal in design it does contain many postmodern hints, in turn promoting the slight differences between male and female design.