History Book Front Cover – Rationale

I ended up being assigned the front cover for the history book. I wanted the cover to look like it covered various times throughout history but I also wanted the cover to hint at what was inside. I knew that when we made our spreads that only certain topics were included, so I decided to take classmates spreads and make a collage out of them.

Some of the successful things I did were making the cover look interesting without being too busy or messy. I also think the placement of the title works well as it grabs your attention. I also like the title I used because it sounds more interesting than just titling it “history book”. I also made sure to give the cover bleed room which is why the edges are white and red.

Some things I could improve on would be to format the spacing of the title better. I also wish I had waited longer for the ink to dry because some parts smudged a bit.

I would give myself a 9/10 for this cover. I think the finished product looks really good and it really captures your attention.

Survey 8: Project Rationale – Artifact (1895 – 1905)

I was made the designer for a geopolitical artifact from 1895 – 1905. I debated making something for WWI, but ultimately decided that the Chinese Immigration act of 1885 was more interesting to me. I chose this topic because I thought it was an important topic to cover, and I knew what kind of artifact I wanted to make with it. I covered both the initial head tax in 1885 as well as the immigration act in 1923 because I felt that they are crucial to one another and help people understand the depth of the issue.

I made a newspaper mimicking the font and design of the time. I think my title is very easy to see, and I think I did well in putting together the newspaper itself. I also think the black and white composition of the spread helps set the serious tone of the topic. I also think that the addition of hands holding the objects adds to the spread, because they feel less like random history events but they feel more personal and connected with people’s lives.

I think I could have incorporated the body text better, as it gets difficult to read because of the dark shadow and the small size. I couldn’t get the spacing right, so the bleed lines and the centerfold spacing is not correct, but I know I can correct that later on if this spread ends up in the history book.

I would give myself a 7/10 because I think the spread works really well for the topic and I had good research but I also think that the spread itself could be easier to read.

Survey 2: Science and Discovery (0-1450) Rationale

The spread that I made for survey 2 is about the four temperaments, which is the first attempt at giving reasons to why a person becomes sick. I copied an illustration from a book about the four tempers. I used the round formatting found in some books written about the four humors as well. I expanded on the two figures towards the edges to make sure that the bleed would not ruin the illustrations at the edges. I also kept the writing away from the center to prevent it getting lost in the centerfold.

Some things that I could improve on would be the size and colour of the title and the headings. It is not clear that the inner parts of the circle fall under the categories of the four tempers. The title is also very small, and I could have made it more distinct so that it wouldn’t get lost within the other elements of the spread.

Overall, I think I made a very interesting spread and I am happy with the result. I would give myself an 7/10 for the strong composition and overall look of the piece, but I could have put more information about what the temperaments were and give more context to the reader.