YEARBOOK - poster design

Now that the yearbook itself was complete, myself and Jenna set out to design the wrap around poster that would be featured on the front cover. A few days previous, we saw Textiles student Phoebe Baskett down in digital print, printing off some of her final designs. We both noticed one print in particular that we felt would be perfect for the yearbook in terms of its colour and overall aesthetics. We therefore got in touch with Phoebe to ask whether or not it was ok to feature her design on the cover, and to see if it would be possible for her to send us a high res version of the print.

Myself and Jenna then started to develop some possible layout designs for the posters. The front would evidently feature the print, and we wanted the reverse to list the names of all the students on the course so that it could be kept as a keepsake and a reminder.

We started off by simply listening the names on a document the correct size for the wrap around cover. We then split these into thirds and experimented with possible layouts, trying to make effective use of white space. The design was evidently too sparse, so we change the weight and pt size of the type to see whether or not this would improve it.

It was initially a struggle to find a composition that suited a long list of names, as it was quite hard to fill up the space with text that was necessary. In order to try and break up the design, we explored the inclusion of linear spacing, as well as placing in the title of the course, which was a vital piece of content. 

As these designs weren't working visually, I suggested that we see what it would look like if the date was large scale and placed behind the names, placing focus on the year as a cohort.

We picked out colours that were featured in Phoebe's design, and experimented with opacities so that the names were still readable, as well as looking at using different weights and compositions. 

As the design was quite hard to visualise on screen, we decided that the best idea would be for us to print out some mock ups. We could then place it on the wall so that we could consider scale and legibility. 

Changes to be made:

1. Large scale date needs to shrink to be more centralised

2. Space between course title and names needs to be decreased

3. Title needs amending

After these changes were made, we felt that the design was much more focused and centralised. I then suggested the possibility of defining Phoebe's print as a pattern, and using it to fill the numbers. Jenna thought that this was a great idea, and it would add more context and relevance to the poster.

After utilising the pattern, we printed off some more mock ups, experimenting with different weights in order to increase readability of the poster. We felt that this design was extremely successful and reflective of the vision that we initially had. We will show the design to Emily tomorrow in order to gain her feedback.