Michigan Agriculture
2021
Editorial Design
Graphic Design
Print Design
A 160-page soft cover book on Michigan fruits
& vegetables.
For my Fall 2021 Advanced Typography course, I was assigned with creating a book focused around a subject of my choice that included 75 different recipes. Over the course of two and a half months, I researched & curated content, explored grid layouts, type pairings, and colors, finalized the spreads using InDesign, and printed & perfect-bound a soft cover copy of the book.
Process :
1. Research/Content Curation
Content Collection
Content Organization
2. Design Development
Grid/Layout Exploration
Type Pairings
Color Studies
3. Digital Refinement
Details
Adding Illustrations
4. Fabrication
Printing & Binding Soft Cover Copy
To skip the process and jump right to the final book, click here.
Research
Affinity map organizing my research according to individual fruits/veggies & common informational themes.
The colors indicate my early sorting of the different types of information; these early categorizations informed my thought process when it came time to consider the hierarchy of information on the spreads.
Early outlining of sections and information with style sheet suggestions.
Color & Type Studies
Original 6 color palettes with 4 Pantone spot colors each.
I narrowed it down to two palettes : one was reminiscent of the fields & land, and the other that more accurately invoked the colors of the produce itself. Through testing, I decided to use the palette on the left, as its muted, natural colors provided a better counterpoint to the vibrant food photography throughout the book.
I explored 4 different typographic pairings that coupled a sans-serif with a serif typeface, looking for pairings with similar structures and proportions.
I chose to use Le Monde Livre & Soleil, based on their humble, inviting, & organic qualities, which most accurately represented the friendly midwestern vibe of my book.
Grid Exploration & Revision
After exploring two different grid structures for my content, I decided to use option B as I found it to allow for the most flexibility & variety across spreads.
After settling on a grid, I continued to explore spread layouts, using my content hierarchy chart to guide my thinking.
One week before the final, I printed a full rough draft of my book and continued to mark up sections that felt disjointed and paragraphs that needed wordsmithing & sense breaks.
Editing for sense breaks
Perfect-Binding
