SB2: Initial Front Cover Designs

Last night I finished creating the initial front cover designs for the Pisces issue of the collaborative publication that I'm doing with Jocel, Olivia and Nusheen. I created these five design from Olivia's collages that she created, as well as a collective decision we discussed during our meeting about the aesthetic of it and how we want it to look. We discussed that we liked the bluey tone therefore I tried to keep it to this theme, whilst incorporating other colours which I thought suited the theme visually and conceptually as well. 

Idea #1

For this idea, I tried to emphasise the 'escapism' that we are trying to get in order to portray the sign 'Pisces' on the front cover. I used kind of 'literal' visual which emphasise, especially with the person prominent on the foreground of the design. I decided to use Olivia's collage as the main design as well as I liked how she used different shapes and co posed them in a way which balanced out the whole shape of the collage. Particularly, how she cut the black and white picture really helped complete the collage. Through this, I found it quite easy to visualise where the type should be laid out. 

I decided to lay out the custom typeface in a 'collage' style as well creating more depth to the design like there are several layers to the design, referencing to the 'daydreamer' character of a Pisces and how they are constantly thinking of things they want to do and being clouded   their own thoughts. The type I used for the sub headings e.g. February 2019, is Helvetica Oblique complimenting the serif custom typeface of the title, with the contrasting smooth qualities the sans serif type has. However, the 'Pisces' sub heading is written with the custom typeface indicating to the readers that it's the second most important information to be read (though it's only a couple of points bigger than the other sub texts). Furthermore, the colour scheme I used has aspects of the blue theme that we talked about before as well as rely on the overall colour scheme that's prominent on the collage (as I didn't want to edit the collage to much), though using this colour scheme helped me a lot as I think it make the title stand out against the visual enough. In addition, I used a subtle grain effect to the design creating a deep kind of nostalgic effect, along with a gradient effect on the sub texts complimenting the whole design whilst still being legible enough.

+ strong eye catching visual

+ composition of visual and type compliments each other 

+ colour scheme refers to the theme of escapism very well

- however, type may not be as legible? might confuse people

- orange doesn't make the title stand out as it should. 

Idea #2

For this design in general I tried to keep it quite simple still keeping the collage visual prominent in order to give the cover as strong first impression. The face of the person has been liquified which might be quite confusing at first, however upon closer inspection is resembles the fishes that symbolises Pisces, referencing back to how Aphrodite and Eros became fishes in order to save themselves from the monster in the Pisces myth. The black 'space' background and the colourful gradient prominent gave it an added mystical feel that I didn't want to interfere as I thought it would look gaudy if I tried to edit or add something to it. I also a slight motion blur effect in order to create a more 'dreamy' atmosphere that compliments the existing atmosphere of the design. Again, the blue colour palette is prominent which added hints of pink and purple hues, referencing the 'fantasy' characteristic of Pisces. Helvetica is once again used with the custom type used on 'Pisces' however it's laid out is a dynamic way reference to water and waves. The sub headings are added on the upper corner of the page creating an upside down triangle format which centres towards the title, giving it a good strong balance, added by the white space which takes over 1/3 of the upper foreground of the page. The title is also laid out in an irregular way complimented the 'movement' of the page, making it look more active, just like the minds of Pisceans and their creative and innovative character. The readers will automatically be drawn to read the title due to the composition of the collage as well as type, which will also hopefully focus the on the liquified fish as its overlapped with the title. 

+ simple but eye catching, due to intriguing liquified effect 

+ type reinforces hierarchy of information

+ colour scheme is subtle on type but the prominent colours on the collage balances this out.

- 'Pisces' sub heading composition kind of looks off and unbalanced

- title composition could be done better (maybe I could try making it linear to avoid clashing with the liquifying effect?)

- is the bottom too bare? should type be moved down there?

Idea #3

For this idea, I tried to give focus on the title by using similar/minimal collages on the design. Unnoticeable at first, the collage design on the top is upside down giving a reference to the fishes being on opposite facing directions of each other and how one is looking down on the other. It may also refer to the 'escapism' and the desire to escape reality where reality becomes the opposite of what one may want. The rest of the design are segments from the flowers taken from Olivia's collages, where each segment is place in accordance to the constellation arrangement of Pisces, in which the bigger the segment is the bright that particular star on the constellation is. Using, the flower segment also evokes a feeling of utopia and ethereal atmosphere - something magical. Having, the collages black and white allows the title stand out very much, grabbing reader's attention at first.

The title being centred on the design not only makes in clear and prominent it also assess's in importance on the page and with the blue-yellow gradient; it further emphasises the 'dreamy' mood as well as subtle references to the water element of Pisces and it's lucky stone 'Yellow Sapphire.' The sub headings also vary it styles in accordance to its importance in the hierarchy. I used style instead of size to indicate its importance as I thought having them in different sizes would break the uniformity of the design. Rather, having some italic e.g. February 2019' will indicate the readers to look on the top left due to the slight movement of text (also the fact that the left side of the collage has less black has influenced my decision for this style, as opposed to the 'Pisces' which is in regular style as it's easier to read. Adding to this, the typeface I used for the sub headings is 'Times New Roman' as I thought the serif type compliments the title well without straying away from the style too much. As well as the subtle gradient on the '#2' and 'The Fish' completes the design, keeping it consistent and looking sleek and not overpowering.

+ looks very simple and sleek
+ consistent, type layout ties the design together (balanced)
+ subtle abstract references adds intrigue to the publication

- try a different title composition
- space out the letters more? (in accordance to the flow designs?
- or tighten it up, using the serifs and thin stems/curves?

Idea #4

This idea is a variation I tried to create from the first design. I thought giving it a more abstract and conceptual feel of 'escapism' could work but keeping the initial collage only. However, I found it to create more of solemn atmosphere and quite dull. However, I tried to use the type as a way of making it more impactful through composing the letters in a very tight way and having them big with some letters coming off the page, which I think complimented the collages' '3D' ish quality. I also manipulated the 'O' resembling the tree branches on the collages. In addition, used the edges of the black and white collage as grid for the sub headings and how they are laid out. Experimenting with this created a more interesting and balanced look to the overall type lay out and making them black gave them the opportunity to be seen clearer against the overpowering title. Although, the custom type is the same colour for the 'Pisces' on the bottom centre of the page, it didn't turn out quite well as it almost blends in too much with the collage and becomes illegible.

+ enlarged title compliments the collage really well - highlights the overlapping aspects of the collage, gives it more depth
+ black and white against the blue and yellow highlights the colours well as well as the collage

- title could be more centred, a bit too far up 
- 'Pisces' is not legible enough - maybe change the colour ; possibly yellow or blue?
- placement of type could be more experimental to reinforce the collage visual not just with the images but also the type?

Idea #5

For this idea, I wanted to create a simpler, more sleek and contemporary look for the cover. I used the collage from the second idea, with the manipulated liquified face in order to evoke the same feel and mood of escapism. However, I made the collage smaller and more squared in order to act as grid for some of the sub headings. In addition, the title is angled creating a layered effect (3d ish) with the 'Astro' reflected, referencing the positioning of the fishes on the Pisces symbol, similar to the liquified effect on the face. I didn't add any colour other than the ones of the collage as I thought that the collage itself already evoked the dreamy, mysterious feel that I'm trying to highlight for the cover. Furthermore, I used the custom typeface for 'Pisces' and it's a bit bigger than the other sub headings, indicating it's the second most important information readers should read then directing them to the smaller point sized text indicating additional information. They are also laid out in a way which reference the shape of the Pisces constellation, but also at the same time creating a well balanced overall design with the use of white space of the page. Furthermore, I used Didot for the sub heading, fitting the the title as it's the base font that the custom type face is based on.

+ looks very sleek and contemporary, clean

+ the custom type is very well highlighted - thin stems and curves

+ colour stands out as well 

- looks too magaziney?

- a bit too formal?

Thoughts & Reflection:

After creating all five designs I feel like some would be more appropriate than other e.g. I think Idea #5 sin't as effective as it looks a bit too formal and very commercial-ish. as opposed to Idea #1 and 4. For me personally, I liked Idea #3 the most as I liked how it's a balance between looking quite professional but also very fun and engaging to look at. I think it also shows a more subtle and conceptual meaning and description to the sign Pisces which keeps in very intriguing and interesting as the meaning isn't literal to it's name and element. 

I also asked Olivia and Jocel's opinions on the covers and asked them which one they liked the most and why. Both Jocel and Olivia (#4) also liked Idea #3, as they mentioned how it's clearly shows the them of escapism and is very interesting to look at, therefore I think I'm going to use this design as the final cover. I also talked to Jocel about how we could keep aspect of the two publications (Aquarius and Pisces) consistent in order for readers to recognised they are editions of one publication. We came up of the idea of putting the name of the animal.object representing the sign on bottom centre of each publication as a subtle indication as well as having the Issue number written for each to clearly show it's order and indicate that there's other editions as well. Other than that, we felt that the title and other layout should rely on the actual content and design as well as feel of the overall publication as the purpose of the front cover was to express each individual signs right of the bat before the readers open it, having too many rules may break this unique aspect and make the whole publication look to boring. 

Olivia, said that she has also started to work and design other collages and sent to me, with more pink and purple hues to address the mystical and fantasy aspect of Pisces as well as I replied back to tell her that having blue to purple would be a great idea, as the whole book could be a gradual gradient of these colours evoking different characteristics and moods throughout the publication which still references back to Pisces and it's personality. 

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