Brief
Create a booklet with a minimum of 16 pages about the history of seven words.
Design
The booklet is about the origins of the days of the week. The introduction explains how the words are developed from ancient languages, supported by a timeline of relevant historical events. The words are associated with planets, which are derived from mythological gods. Each planet has a distinctive colour and all gods have symbolic attributes that represent their roles. These characteristics are visualized by colourful dingbat symbols. The design is embodied in a small but sturdy hardcover book with heavy paper.
Evaluation
Initially I was not sure how to approach this project, but my ideas began to develop as I dug deeper into the subject. While trying out several concepts based on symbols and colours, I learned the visual impact of different images, layouts and typographic compositions. Printing out every concept proved what work well or don't on an actual spread. Moreover, dealing with the laserprinter was a challenge. For example, the ink would wear off on smooth paper. An improvement would be making the cover less dull and more durable by perhaps laminating it. As I put much effort into prototyping I realized the importance of tangibility in graphic design. When visualisations become materialized, format and materials do matter.
Process
The first ideas related to mythological gods, symbols, timelines and diary
Subject information gathering
Derivations of the words
Relation between gods and planets
All planets have their distinctive colours
Drafts focused on symbols and colours
The characteristics of gods related to each day are visualized through dingbats
Layouts
Size and material do matter. In the end I chose white paper because the colours of the illustration turned out best on it.
Adjusting font size and tracking for optimal legibility and visual balance
The final cover represents the colours of the nightsky and emphasizes 'days'.
Final test prints and covers on various types of paper. A scratch-proof matte paper and a white spine are chosen to reduce messy folding lines caused by worn off ink.
References
The content of the book is based on the following sources
Seven-day week. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-day_week. (Accessed on 9 December 2014).
