(B7) Research Brief: Refining Concept and Figuring Things Out

Week Breakdown:

Mainly focusing on finishing B7 and researching.jotting initial ideas for B8.

BRIEF 7:

I need more focus, channel into what I think and use research to inspire and drive that forward, current concerned about how it's going to come across to others, but want the exciting part of the book to be that everyone interprets it differently. 

- If I make it work for me and the narrative I want to push then it will succeed, need to stop psyching myself out and trust myself more. 

What to do?

- Need to use a grid within the layouts. 

- Decide of size of book 

- Refine narrative 

- Experiment with type

- Experiment with touch-points

Size of the book:

Too small and the images won't communicate as well, want there to be space for the work on the page to be at a good size. Less than A4 but bigger than A5, easiest to find a book I think is appropriate size and use this.

18.5cm x 24.5cm - size to use

Imagery and narrative:

Want to go through how I mentally work through a sudoku, thinking about this in terms of light, messy, clean etc to represent it visually. 

Start of puzzle:

Getting used to the puzzle, being introduced

Making moves, a fair few wins, head is clear, feeling good.

- Not sure whether to have the business of the page be representative of the amount of moves or the headspace I'm in when completing a puzzle. 

- At the start my eyes move a lot and I'm able to fill in a fair few squares but I'm feeling fine about it, not struggling yet.

This about the composition more, keep in mind the grid and how this could influence image placement, want there to be an eye line to follow throughout the publication so it isn't purely random. 

- Need more graduation between these two, there's a sudden jump from more clean to very large crowded imagery. Could this be a way of showing a stuck point? Like the idea of having sudden jumps in the imagery tone, but it needs to be more considered. 

- Works better here, having the white space but with a layering of grids communicates that confused feeling through while relating visually to the previous page as it uses the same layer grid image but with a different arrangement, shows progression of thought. 

Thinking of a different image to demonstrate the same idea as the previous spread.

- The issue with this arrangement is that it encourages the reader to focus centrally on the page, the previous image encourage the reader to view all the the image as the visual on the right ran from top to bottom (go with previous spread). 

Wanting to demonstrate a more complex train of thought and harder logic process to go through with this spread.

- I think the idea is strong but the execution here isn't the best, it's too busy and would be better suited to a more simple spread. 

Feels to me as though when things are centred on the page that's a coherent thought, the soul focus of where my mind is. When imagery is more dissipated or scattered on the page this relates more to multiple trains of thought. 

Adding in Text:

- Really not a fan of the handwritten text, it changed the tone completely from a book of graphic exploration to seeming like a diary. 

- I don't think it's appropriate for the outcome to contain text that's personal, could try with more informative text and see how this interacts with the imagery. 

Adding informative text:

- I like the way the second spread looks, it provides some content for the imagery but there is a disconnect between the text and the imagery. The text is informative, talking about the history of sudoku but the imagery is more emotive, focusing on the human side of sudoku.

- I think the text doesn't fit with the project anymore as I want to visually represent a personal narrative and leave the rest up for interpretation by the audience. Keeping this element of human-ness to the project. 

Thinking more about compositions I find when images bleed off the page it helps the content of book feel as though it belongs outside of the book as well, when everything has a white border the content feels contained to that publication. I don't want to communicate that through this publication, there should be a combination of positions. 

- Here though the right hand page creates a H in the white space, need to be weary of the what's created around the imagery.

Thinking about the human movement in sudoku, having the imagery with the book and without to see the difference.
Visuals help students make sense out of the content and direct attention, increasing the possibilities that the learners will remember the material. (Admin, 2014)
https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/350326/studies-confirm-the-power-of-visuals-in-elearning#:~:text=One of the easiest ways,learners will remember the material
- Having the images with and without context help the audience understand the content more, could be a good way to make sure the hands without the book don't look odd. 

- Should they be showcased next to each other or not? 

Looking at points of contact:

With dots on both

With dots on right

- Feel this idea has weight to it but it isn't being communicated well with the dots, they're too graphic compared to the rest of the imagery. 

- Could explore with the pen marks instead?

- Here with the small pen marks makes the smallest mark, you hardly notice them. Not sure how I feel about it. 

After this experimentation I think I should keep the focus on layout and arrangement of imagery to develop compositions that have a flowing narrative. 

Other elements start to bring too many layers to the book and the focus becomes foggy, should demonstrate the human nature through the imagery. 

Book so far:

- The pages seem to have a disconnect from one to the next, I've been looking at them as individuals rather than as a whole concept.

- Going back to Dayanita Singh's talk at PMVABF (https://e-n-crook1821-l6.blogspot.com/2021/02/602-printed-matter-virtual-artbook-fair.html) thinking about the book as an exhibition rather than a static object, need to have a more open thinking when working with imagery.

Going back to Danja Jankovic's 'Things that Block the View' publication as there are tip ins added this creates another layer within the book. I'd really like to add these in to see what impact it has on the tone. 

Realised I have 2 competing ideas, the human side of sudoku and what the mind it doing. They are along a similar theme but the visuals I have for the two are very different, this could be why the publication is feeling disconnected.

- Could take the tip in idea as a way to separate the content while having them interact with each other? 

Image Orientation:

Thinking about how the imagery affects the experience. Having the wrists at the bottom of the page (bottom image) makes the audience reflect on their own hands but with the wrists from the top of the page it is a more objective experience (top image). 
- How do I want the audience to interact with the content? Think about this as progressing with publication. 

- Having the focus on the hands only is really helping develop a visual language for the book, makes layout much easier to focus on as the imagery is in rectangular shapes, then can try experimenting over the top/adding tip-ins etc. 

Find the hands only look really nice, they have a clean but gritty aesthetic and texture to them. The compositions work well to showcase the different imagery without it becoming repetitive, the breaks of repetition by turning the page help guide the eye from one spread to the next while allowing each spread to have visual differences yet remain cohesive. 

- now can try adding imagery over the top and in between pages to relate back to the experimental imagery originally developed. 

Working on imagery:

- Used the divide layer on photoshop here, it removed the black from the image beneath, found this really lovely and a subtle effect, what would this look like with the sudoku layered (since previous experiments weren't very successful). 

- Works really nicely, adds an element of thought, could try with the hand drawn grid only and see.

- A great way to include the human marks left on the grid when completing a sudoku without having it compromise the image. 

Updated book with image alterations:

It's getting a lot better, I think certain pages work more than others so further refinement is needed.

Spreads like these feel very cramped and overwhelming, this could be a good spot to add in tip ins to see how the more loud imagery can work within the publication.

- Could be a case of building a crescendo of visual noise to help communicate a sense of flow. But if there is something that suddenly changes this isn't always bad, can demonstrate a stop and wall hit when completing the puzzle.  

Reflecting:

• I feel like the publication is becoming much more refined and less of an experimental zine, I'm feeling more confident with the compositions working this way around than the previous method it's helping to navigate the book.
  - Finding work methods that are suited to me, this is good as it'll help with my upcoming briefs. 
• Think I could do more to demonstrate points of struggle or difficulty, should explore these next. 
  - Could do this through tip ins, have a look and experiment with this on indesign and physically (is possible).