Fine Art Yearbook: Layout Development 02 (cont.)

Below, as mentioned, are my allocation of spreads similarly completed this afternoon.

Having delegated (in no particular) the spreads to Ed, Vickie, Tim and myself, my job was to ensure that the yearbook finished just as well as it began; ensuring also that people would just as much flick through the entire publication, as opposed to just the beginning/middle.

As a general observation, I am relatively happy with my own progress here. However, there are obviously some spreads that I am not too keen on given the fact that these are my first attempts at using the final supplied images.

To break down each spread, my thoughts are as follows:

Jonny Rawlin
In general, Jonny's spread is looking quite balanced. I like the contextual shot on the right hand page. The left hand page however feels... not quite right. I think Jonny could perhaps supply us with a high-res scan of his illustrations so that we can knock the backgrounds out and have silhouettes coming in and off the page.

Leilani Read
Again, Leilani's spread is quite balanced. I feel the hierarchy of the images is correct given her requests. There is another supplied image that hasn't been used, but I shouldn't think that this will become a problem. If it does, then I may have to revise what I've developed here so far.

Laura Rushton
Laura's spread is probably the one I am most content with. Her work is quite tranquil and I feel this layout reflects that. The balance between text and image, in my opinion, is just right. No need to over-complicate something that is relatively straight-forward and works.

John Shaw
John's spread is possibly a little bottom-heavy. I will need to gain feedback from the rest of the group in order to see what they think. Given that we only have one image to work with though, I feel that a full bleed image on the right is most likely the only solution to effectively display the detail in his painting.

Jessie Simmonds
With Jessie Simmonds feature, I have tried to be a little more creative through opting for full bleed imagery over the navigation text on the left. I personally think that these images allow the idea to work, just to long as the ink coverage isn't too heavy with John Shaw's full bleed on the reverse of the same page.

Isabel Skinner
Right, the problem spread... Isabel has stated that she would like this image to be full bleed, however it's proportions in relation to the format of the book mean that it just won't work unless we crop it. I am really reluctant to this - and therefore haven't. I intend to have a quick chat with her in person to see if we can come up with a resolve. I know Bel in person, so I shouldn't think this will continue to be a significant issue.

Stuart Symonds
Another feature where there is only one image to work with. I have tried my best to make this feel balanced, and I think I am just about there. The text could perhaps nudge over to the left a column. Will get feedback from the team on this one.

Nicolas Tighe
With respect, I think Nicolas' image at present is letting his work down; as well as the publication in general. No-one really likes a weak spread and at present I'm certain that this is just that.

The layout itself is working in terms of hierarchy and balance, it's just the content needs to be revised in order to bring the standard up. Will address this with the committee in our next meeting.

Emily Towler
I would suggest quite quickly that this is another instance where we may need to be supplied with another image... It's not bad quality, I'm just uncertain of how representative this is of Emily's exhibited work. Again, this will be an issue to discuss with the committee.

Naomi Wallis
Naomi's spread is quite similar to Laura's in the sense of how pleased I am with it. The layout is complimentary to the content, which in itself is very professional looking and of a high standard. Not much to say here, I think it's working.

Bobby West
Another nightmare spread, or perhaps nightmare is a bit of a strong word? The image content is of a good quality, the size however isn't. What you see here on the spread is the image at 100% scale at 300dpi. I'm going to have to request for bigger images, unless this is a specific focus that Bobby has in mind in regards to his spread.

I'm certain he would like to make the most of the space available to him however.

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Conclusion

All spreads are mostly there, a couple of issues to raise with the committee as expected. Overall though, the publication is shaping up as planned.