Category: Development Log

They say don’t judge a book by its cover but when I’m buying a book it is often the covers that draws me in and I’m not the only one, research suggests that cover designs can increase the visibility of books by 50% (Morr, 2017). Hooked on Learning’s Book Covers For the cover pages my aim was to create covers for a series of books teaching people ‘How to Crochet’ a variety of items, I wanted the designs to be colourful and bold, yet simple. The target audience is 18-30 year olds and being in this age demographic myself I am aware what would stand out on the shelf to this audience. To create the bold, colourful designs I aspired to, I started by using the Hooked on Learning’s colour palette from the typographical graphic standards to fill each page, whilst keeping the same white margins as in the two-page spreads. I then added the book titles in the typeface Ziclets Medium, point size 55 as confirmed in the typographical graphic standards, on each cover I chose a contrasting colour for the title. I then added the primary Hooked on Learning logo to the top centre of each cover, the choice of title was intended to follow on from the logo, when read continuously each logo/book title reads as ‘Hooked on Learning How to Crochet…’. I now had the base for each design. Rather than fill the covers with multiple illustrations or images of crocheted items I wanted to show one key piece that would draw the target audience in. Looking through images I had photographed of items I have crocheted I found colourful/interesting images suitable for each cover (please see below). Each image was opened in Adobe Photoshop and the background was removed, ready for them to be placed on the covers. I was happy with how the designs were looking but still had a few small details to insert, when researching crochet books, I found that traditionally there is a subtitle that helps consumers know what is inside without having to read the blurb. For the subtitle of Hooked on Learnings books I chose for it to be at the centre bottom of the cover and in the HP Simplified Jpan typeface so as not to be intrusive and detract from the attention of the book title, I also added the author’s name underneath in the same font. Originally this text was black but that did not match the style of the cover, consequently these were adjusted to match the colour of the title. Lastly, I included an illustrative character on each book cover to further imply the fun, quirky mood that the target audience can expect when reading these books. Each character chosen was the matching colour to the text. Whilst the complete book covers are bold and colourful, the design element only uses two colours on each, this means that focus is not taken away from the element that matters most, the crocheted items. Reference Morr, K. (2017) How cover design can increase book visibility by 50% (or more). Available online: https://99designs.com/blog/tips/impact-book-cover-design-on-sales/ [Accessed 8/1/2024]. Whilst I crocheted the contents of the imagery the patterns were written as follows (patterns not mentioned were developed by myself): Sloth – essiebirdies

The layout of a book varies hugely dependent on the genre, creative educational books rely heavily on pictures to give the reader a good example of what the finished product/craft should look like. Four two-page spreads from Hooked on Learning’s Books For this section of the assignment, I chose to create 4 two-page spreads for a book. The book is an informative guide teaching 18-30 year olds how to crochet and includes patterns for creating soft toys. Forming an interesting layout was a priority however, the layout had to be easy to follow due to the audience being crochet beginners. Before designing the two-page spreads I created a master compositional grid to ensure that each set of pages were cohesive and followed the same layout (please see above). For the master compositional grid, I chose to complete the designs on two 200 x 200mm pages because this size perfectly suits the crochet genre, as it allows the reader to fold the book in half and have a 200 x 200mm page on their lap whilst they crochet. Once the page size was determined, I introduced guidelines that allowed for a clear page structure, this included a margin around the edge of each page, page numbers in the bottom right corner of each page and a clear place for the page title, subheading and body text. On each two-page spread I envisioned the right page being an image of the final product that the pattern is teaching, this will allow the reader to easily locate the pattern they are searching for as well as knowing what their final work should look like. On the left page I chose for a three-column approach, the first two columns being the crochet pattern and the third having circular images with text wrapping around them explaining the contents of the image. I choose to have circular images because of the rounded/soft edge nature of the branding for ‘Hooked on Learning’, in addition when looking at the top of a ball of yarn they are circular. Between each heading, paragraph, and column there is a 5mm gap ensuring that the layout is clear. The use of the illustrations allowed for the composition to be stimulating whilst also flowing nicely for the learning crocheters. Once I had created three sets of two-page spreads that followed the layout of the master compositional grid, I had the idea of creating a contents page that didn’t completely match the master compositional grid layout but still corresponded with it. Rather than designing a traditional contents page with no imagery, I thought it would be easier for the target audience and more interesting if they could find the page based on an image of a crocheted soft toy, therefore included the circular images with the wrap around text. I kept the structure of three circular images per column with the crochet stitch illustration as a divider. However, on the left page thought it would be appropriate to include the company logo with a small paragraph about the book and then move straight onto the images of what would be included. References Whilst I crocheted the contents of the imagery the patterns were written as follows (patterns not mentioned were developed by myself): Bee – Hooked by Robin Duckling, Monkey, Bunny – Kristina Turner of Tiny Curl Sloth – essiebirdies Turtle – Yan Schenkel

A company’s logo should be the most recognisable aspect of a brand, Erjansola et al. (2021) describe a logo as a “brand-management tool used in a carefully planned process to create brand equity, customer commitment and competitive distinctiveness.” To create a logo that catches the eye of the company’s target audience it is important to incorporate the company’s key characteristics. Hooked on Learning’s Conceptual Logos To create the conceptual logo for ‘Hooked on Learning’ (a company that’s aim is to teach 18-30 year olds how to crochet) I searched for a cursive typeface, with the aim of it having the appearance of yarn however, I struggled to find one that was appropriate. Consequently, I physically laid out yarn to display the words ‘Hooked on Learning’ (please see below), I then took photographs, uploaded them to Adobe Illustrator and traced over them. Guidelines were used on Adobe Illustrator to ensure there was a baseline and a consistent x-height, cap height and point size. Once complete, the next step was to add a couple of 3D effects to the string like cursive writing, this is when the font took shape and looked like yarn used to crochet. Now that I had incorporated the crochet aspect of the company through the yarn, I planned on including an icon that would represent the learning/teaching side of the company. I considered how I learnt to crochet, which was through using my eyes to look at books and videos, I adapted the ‘oo’ in ‘Hooked’ to look like eyes, specifically the safety eyes often used when crocheting soft toys. For the typography within the logo I chose pink, but wanted to create a background to ensure that the logo would be clearly visible when on a white background, for this blue seemed the perfect choice. With this logo being for a crochet company rather than having a rectangular shape with angular, sharp corners it was more appropriate to round the corners of the blue rectangle and additionally add a 3D effect to link it to the yarn like typography. After the primary logo was complete, it was time to create the full set of logos for the typographical graphic standards. Each of the logos were created with a specific use in mind; The primary logo is a colourful emblem logo, this should be the first choice if spacing permits. For corporate use, I created a black and white version because this design is still identifiable with the brand but is more formal and appropriate for business use. For the correct use of these logos, they should always be kept to the specific ratio when scaled. At times when this ratio does not fit the wordmark logo may be used and for social media purposes the letter mark logo would work best. References Erjansola, A. M., Lipponen, J., Vehkalathi, K., Aula, H., M. & Pirttila-Backman, A., M. (2021) From the brand logo to brand associations and the corporate identity: visual and identity-based logo associations in a university merger. Springer Link, 28(1), 241-253.

Typographical standards ensure that all content created for a company is distinctive and in keeping with the brand’s identity. To create a strong brand identity specific colours, typography, logos, and illustrations are introduced, these elements are what helps the customer differentiate this brand from the rest. Hooked on Learning’s Typographical Standards The task was to create typographical graphic standards for a company that’s purpose is to teach crochet to 18-30 year olds, I firstly had to decide on a company name. To do this I wrote a list of words that were linked to the purpose – teaching and the subject – crochet, I then combined the two and landed on ‘Hooked on Learning’. Once the name was decided it was time to choose a colour palette, due to the audience being 18-30 my immediate thought was to incorporate bright, vibrant colours that drew the reader’s attention. For inspiration, I looked through images that I had taken over the years of items that I have crocheted and quickly noticed that most images were taken against a purple, blue or yellow background, leading to the chosen colour pallet. I wanted to introduce a fourth colour that was coherent, I created an illustration of crochet stitches using the chosen colours and used this to test the fourth colour (please see below). Pink complemented the others favourably and so the colour palette was established. Ward et al. (2020) states that colour “is more challenging to develop as a unique brand identifier due to high levels of competitive sharing.” However, due to the research I had carried out on crochet books and crochet companies I felt positive about the colour palette chosen. The next step was to create the logos to be include in the typographical standards, the creation of these logos and the correct usage is discussed in detail within the post Traditional or Online Conceptual Editorial Masthead (Logo) Design. Typography was the next decision to make, keeping in mind that the editorial pieces I was going to design were books, the chosen font needed to be appropriate for a book cover but also, a supporting font that would be suitable for the contents of a book was required. Initially I used Adobe Illustrator to view ‘Hooked on Learning’ in a variety of typefaces. It quickly became clear that a bubbly, rounded, bold, sans serif typeface fitted this brand’s identity. Ziclets stood out as the perfect typeface for this fun, vibrant and friendly company, as it clearly communicated these characteristics, by looking at the book titles the reader will know what vibe to expect. The accompanying typeface to be used for subheadings and body text was HP Simplified Jpan, it is also sans serif and has rounded ends but is easier to read in a smaller size. The idea for the character illustrations derived from the logo, they connect to the googly eyes in ‘Hooked’ and they add to the distinctive brand identity. The arrow illustrations are to allow key points and next steps within the books to be clearly indicated to the readers learning to crochet. The crochet stitch illustration allowed for the typographical standards pages to be divided into clear and concise sections. Other aspects that I would introduce in future typographical standards would be to include the correct spacing, imagery of branded products and the correct usage of imagery within the books. References Ward, E., Yang, S., Romaniuk, J. & Beal, V. (2020) Building a unique brand identity: measuring the relative ownership potential of brand identity element types. Springer Link, 27(1), 393–407.