The book design process was fun but stressful as there were so many different options that it was a little overwhelming. However, I played around with composition and then realised there was something about the images that just didn't seem to give the aesthetic I was imagining it to have. I then realised that it was the contrast between portrait and landscape images that seemed to stall the project rather than let it flow. Therefore, I considered re-shooting all in the same format but then realised from previous exhibitions and works I had seen that projects focused on a sensitive subject or delicate themes used a lot of square images. I tried this for myself and it not only added to the abstract nature of my photographs, but also gave an authentic and warm feel to the images which gave me the aesthetic I had been wanting.  For example, the image below I feel doesn't zoom in on the skin or his personality connected with his skin. However, the zoom on the right feels more concentrated and enables a closer view at his skin and facial textures.

I then went on to choose the paper type. This was quite easy as I didn't want a high shine to images as this would feel produced and manufactured rather than feeling homely and like a small low-key project; so I decided against gloss. I also didn't matte due to personal preference and also not wanted the shadows to look chalky and the images to seem flat. Therefore, I decided on lustre paper as I have read about it previously and it seems to pick up colour better than matte and also have a slight shine without causing the book to have glare on the images so this would allow the images to still look as though they have texture rather than looking flat which is fitting for my theme of looking at development of lines and creases in the life of skins.

I then went on to consider cover type. For the most part of my book creating I had a hard cover and designed this with a title down the spine. However, after looking at more photo books, I changed this to a softback cover just to add a more low-key feel the book rather than having a very strong and bold cover to then hold a delicate theme inside. This for me felt a bit disjointed so I felt that hanging to a softback cover enabled a more gentle touch to the book and then this would mean that there was a continuation from the feel and appearance of the cover through to the content of the book. This, once changed, felt to bring to project together more naturally.