What is this?
The goal of this project was to create a book consisting of a list of at least 10 items in any format. This can be done in the form of just stating the items in any order, or it can be done in the form of a listicle, where the items are given an order for specific reasons. My favorite format was the all but familiar listicle, so I had a good starting point to go with.
How'd You Come Up With This?
The scope of this project was very open-ended, so choosing exactly what to talk about was one of the greater challenges of the whole process. My portfolio was still in need of branded work, so I took this as an opportunity to get that going! This time, I went with some of the most well-known type of brands in the world... fast food. The idea came up when I was researching listicles for material, and stumbled upon this one talking about the Top 50 most successful fast food restaurants currently in the U.S. For condensing reasons, I went with just the top 10 of those 50 listed. Funny enough, I ended up using the sketch with the "Burger King Foot Lettuce" as a base for my visual flow.
The Process Begins...
For each of the Top 10 restaurant chains, I made the spread in Photoshop, since it gave more room for styles and overall graphic beauty opportunities over InDesign. Pages such as the Dunkin Donuts and Panera Bread would not have been possible without the use of Photoshop magic. For the visual flow, I was trying to recreate the experience of Top 10 Videos such as WatchMojo's, but in print form. This would have the number, name of the list items, and their reasons all put together with a cohesive theme that feels as if it is constantly moving. I based each spread after actual advertising/brand work that exists for each restaurant. The Wendy's Page is my favorite, as it matches the brand the most perfectly. It looks like something you would see posted in their drive thru or in the windows.
...And Ends.
After the designing was done, it was time to print and bind the book together in the real world! I chose the simplest technique I could find on the internet, and I think it did just what it needed to! This technique consisted of cutting slits down the spine, and applying a generous amount of glue to it, letting it seep into the slits. Once the glue dries in the slits, it acts as beads of thread between the pages. The setup I had to dry the glue was hilariously improvised, but it got the job done, while saving a lot of time and money that could've been spent on materials to perform the other binding methods out there. I personally added red duct tape to the spine for good measure, as it holds the glue together even more, and gives the book a good looking spine to complete it. However, the duct tape was not easy to put on evenly, given it was an 11in. strip. The spine ended up taking a hit in terms of visual quality, but this is a fast food book we're talking about. Overall this project was fun! Each spread having a slightly different theme made the project feel like a breath of fresh air each time the restaurant changed, as it gave me a new color palette, new logo, and new food to work with. The binding was supposed to be a challenge, but I found a way to make it the easiest part.
Lessons Learned:
-Check how the final prints will look if creating document in Photoshop, as some logos got cut off due to bleed. The Subway logo for example, fell victim to such a misfortune.
-There are countless ways to bind a book, from sewing, to simply gluing and taping the pages together like a small child. All of these tactics work.
-When creating spreads this big, the amount of pages (and printing costs) can stack up fast! Since I had 2 spreads per list entry, I totaled at 42 pages.
-Duct tape is harder to put on things without wrinkles when in longer strips.
