Task 1- Exercise (Publishing Design)

August 29, 2022

Task 1- Exercise (Publishing Design)

30 AUG 2022- 11 OCT 2022 ( WEEK 1- WEEK 7)
CHIN ZHI XIAN / 0344352
BACHELOR OF DESIGN (HONS) CREATIVE MEDIA / Publishing Design

TASK 1

Lecture

The Book

As you have experienced in your previous semester, there are many types of publications that fall under the term publishing; books, newspapers, and magazines, to name a few.

Our focus this semester is solely on the book format, simply due to its historical significance. It is the oldest format of publication and the most influential format. The most important advances in publishing were centred around the book.

The book is a medium to document and transmit ideas, knowledge, records, history, and so much more.

Designing a book requires you to have a comprehensive understanding of typography, a good sense of space, an eye for details, and a good understanding of publishing software.

The Book/ Historical formats

We will now take a look at the different forms of expression across time in different civilizations around the world, their uniqueness, and the possible reasons for their decline.

Iran-Iraq= Mesopotamian civilization.

Egypt= Ancient Egyptian civilization,

India-Pakistan-Afghanistan= Indus Valley civilization,

China=Han Chinese civilization.

Europe (Turkey & beyond) = European civilization

Innovation almost always shadows technology. New technology creates opportunity. If the technology had potency, it would have a cascading effect on other areas of life.

As mentioned earlier, the following are the regions and civilizations we need to investigate. We start with the earliest civilization, Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamian civilization

For Mesopotamia, Denise Schmandt-Besserat (1995) contends in her essay on the token system, "Record Keeping Before Writing," that "It is remarkable that the first writing system developed from a counting technology."

The progression from simple and complex tokens to bullae set the stage for the early forms of pictographic writing on clay tablets.

Indus Valley civilization

In the Indus River Valley Civilizations(Harappan & Mohenjodaro), there is not much known about record keeping, but we do know they had a complex system. Their writing was cuneiform, They wrote records about their government, religion, and trade. Cuneiform was written on soft clay tablets using sharp pointed tools.

Ancient Egyptian civilization

The scribes were the only people in ancient Egypt that could read and write hieroglyphics. The Egyptian scribes wrote on a special type of paper called papyrus. In addition to writing on papyrus, the Egyptians also wrote on the tomb walls.

The word papyrus refers to a thick type of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus).

Han Chinese civilization

Chinese characters in the early period are written in vertical columns, so a thin strip of bamboo is an idea for a single column. To create a longer document, two lines of thread link each bamboo strip to its neighbour. The modern Chinese characters for a book evolve from a pictogram of bamboo strips threaded together.
An imperial count eunuch by the name of Cai Lun submitted a report in 105 CE of a new substance;

The first printed book: Diamond Sutra 868 CE

The earliest known printed book is Chinese, from the end of the T'ang dynasty. Discovered in a cave at Dunhuang in 1899, it is a precisely dated document.

Using paper, it is in a scroll format. Paper was invented, as mentioned earlier in179-41 BCE.

Chinese publishing:10th - 11th century
Printing from wood blocks, as in the Diamond Sutra, is a laborious process. Yet the Chinese printers work wonders. In the 10th and 11th centuries, all the Confucian classics were published for the use of scholars and officials, together with huge numbers of Buddhist and Daoist works (amounting to around 5000 scrolls each) and the complete Standard Histories since the time of Sima Qian.

The carving of so many characters in reverse on wood blocks is an enormous investment of labour, but the task was unavoidable until the introduction of movable type. This innovation, once again, seems to have been pioneered in China but achieved in Korea.

European civilization

Parchment was first invented in Turkey, in 197-159 BC, and later spread to Europe. Parchment is made from animal hide. With papyrus and bamboo, one could make scrolls, but with leather, this was not possible as it was too thick and heavy. Around 50AD, Europeans started making parchment books.

The use of paper would make it a slow journey from China to the Persia-Arab empires and eventually through Turkey vis-a-VIS THE ottoman empire to mainland Europe.

Paper became widely available in Europe during 1400-1500 CE. The ingredients for making paper changed until the 1860s when wood pulp was first used to print the Boston Weekly Journal.

While paper made its journey relatively late, the folding format started to take a foothold in the west at the turn of the century. First with wooden blocks with thread sewn to hold them together, then with parchment, and finally with paper, where the paper was sewn, bound, and glued together.

History of Print

2nd-8th century AD The emperor of China commands, in AD 175, that the six main classics of Confucianism be carved in stone. Confucian scholars eager to own these important texts simply lay sheets of paper on the engraved slabd and rub all over it with charcoal or graphite taking away a text in white letters on a black ground. Korea and Japan: AD 750-768 The invention of printing is a sriking achievement of Buddhists in east Asia. Korea takes the lead. The word'searkiest known printed document is a sutra printed on a single sheet of paper in Korea in AD 750. This is closely followed in Japan by a bold experiment in mass circulation. In AD 768, in devoutly BuddhistNara, the empress commissions a huge edition of a lucky charm or prayer. It is said that the project takes six years to complete and that the number of copies printed, for distribution to pilgrims, is a million. Many have survived. The Hyakumanto Darani literally the One Million Pagodas & Dharani Prayers, is a famous large-scale wppdblock printing, the earliest recorded uses of woodblock printing in Japan. In 764 the Empress Shotoku commissioned one million small wooden pagodas, each containing a small woodblock scroll (typically 6 x 45cm) printed with a Buddhist text, theHyakumanto Darani. These were distributed to temples around the country as thanksgiving for the suppression of the Emi Rebellion of 765. These are the earliest examples of woodblock printing known, or doucumented, from Japan. The first printed book: AD 868 The earliest known printed book is Chinese from the end of the T'ang dynasty. Discovered in a cave at Dunhuang in 1899, it is a precisely dated document which brings the circumstances of its creation vividly to life. It is a scroll, 16 feet long and a foot high, formed of sheets of paper glued together at their edges. The text is that of the Diamond Sutra, and the first sheet in the scroll has an added distinction. It is the world's first orinted illustraton, depicting an enthroned Buddha surrounded by holy attendants. Chinese publishing: 10th-11th century Printing from wood block, as in the Diamond Sutra, is a laborious process. Yet the Chinese printers work wonders. In the 10th and 11th centuries all the Confucian classics are published for the use of scholar officials, together with huge numbers of Buddhist and Daoist works (amounting to around 5000 scrolls of each) and the complete Standard Histories since the time of Sima Qian. The carving of so many character in reverse on wood blocks is an enormous investment of labour, but the task is unavoudable until the introduction of movable type. This innovation, once again, seems to have been pioneered in China but achieved in Korea. Movoble type: from the 11th century Movable type (separate ready-made characters or letters which can be arranged in the correct order for a particular text and then reused) is a necessary step before printingcan become an efficient medium for disseminating information. The concept is experimented with in China as early as the 11th century. But two considerations make the experiment unpractical. One is that the Chinese script has so many characters that type-casting and type-setting become too complex. The other is that the Chinese printers cast their characters in clay and then fire them as pottery, a substance too fragile for the purpose. Type foundry in KOrea: c.1380 In the late 14th century, several decades before the earliest printing in Europe, the Koreans establish a foundry to cast movable type in bronze. Unlike earlier Chinese experiments with pottery, bronze is sufficiently strong for repeated printing, dismantling and resetting for a new text. The Koreans at this time are using the Chinese script, so they have the problem of an unwieldy number of characters. They solve this in 1443 by inventing their own national alphabet, known ashan'gul. By one of the strange coincidences of history this is precisely the decade in which Gutenberg is experimenting with movable type far away in Europe, which has enjoyed the advantage of an alphabet for more than 2000 years. Saints and playing cards: AD c.1400 In about 1400, more than six centuries after its invention in the east, the technique of printing from wood blocks is introduced in Europe. As in the east, the images are printed by the simple method of laying a piece of paper on a carved and inked block and then rubbing its back to transfer the ink. And as in the east, the main market is holy images for sale to pilgrims. Playinmg cards are another early part of the western trade. Later in the 15th centurey, technical advances are made in Germany which rapidly transform printing form a cottage industry to a cornerstone of western civilization. Gutenberg & westernnprinting: AD 1439 -1457 The name of Gutenberg first appears, in connection with printing, in a law case in Steasbourg in 1439. He is being sued by two of his bussiness partners. He is being sued by two of his bussiness partners. Witnesses, asked about Gutenberg's stock, describe a press and a supply of metal type. It sounds as though he is already capable of printing small items of text from movable type, and it seems likely that he must have done so in Strasbourg. But nothing form this period survives. By the time heis next heard of in connection with printing, he is in Mainz. He borrows 800 guilders in 1450 from Johann Fust with his printing equipment as security. The resulting story of Gutenberg and Fust is a saga in itself.

Gutenberg's great achievement in the story of printing has several components. One is his development of the printing press, capable of applying a rapid but steady downward pressure. The concept of the press is not new.

More significant are Gutenberg's skills with metal (his original trade is that of a goldsmith). These enable him to mater the complex stage in the manufacture of individual pieces of type, which involve creating a master copy of each letter, devising the moulds in which multiple versions can be cast, and developing a suitable alloy (type metal) in which to cast them.

All this skilful technology precedes the basic work of printing- that of arranging the individual letters, aligned and well spaced, in a form which will hold them firm and level to transfer the ink evenly to the paper.

No date appears in the Gutenberg Bible (known technically as the 42-line Bible), which was printed simultaneously on six presses during the mid-1450s. But at least one copy is known to have been completed, with its initial letters coloured red by hand, by 24 August 1456. The first dated book from these same presses, in 1457, is even more impressive. Known as the Mainz Psalter, it achieves outstanding colour printing in its two-colour initial letters.

The rest is History

Many Inventions to improve on the printing press and its quality was invented on modified over the years.

The industrial revolution brought in precision engineering and the printing press was one that benefited tremendously.

The World's Largest Book

''The world's largest book stands upright, set in stone, in the grounds of the Kuthodaw pagoda (kuthodaw, "royal merit") at the foot of Mandalay Hill in Mandalay, Myanmar(Burma)."

Each stone tablet has its own roof and precious gem on top in a small cave-like structure (Stupa), there are a total of 729 stupas and they are arranged around a central golden pagoda.

Conclusion

Paper was invented in China 179-41 BCE. It is probably one of the most important ingredients in the process of printing.

Transfer was initially done via rubbing (stone to paper). hence mass production was enabled. The earliest printed document was in Korea, wood block printing in Korea & Japan takes place around 750-768 CE, text carved into wooden block. These were great achievement of the Buddist era.

The introduction of moveable type was introduced in the 1000-1100 CE. This innovation was pioneered in China but achieved in Korea (Diamond Sutra). In the late 1300-1399 CE, several decades before the earliest printing in Europe (Guttenberg's bible 1439),

the Koreans establish a foundry to cast movable type in bronze.

Week 1 -30 Aug 2022
Today is the first class of Publishing Design, our Publishing Design Lecturer is Mr Vinod. Mr Vinod starts to brief us Module Information Booklet. Firstly, Mr Vinod tells us to put our portfolio (Blogger) on the link that he sends to us. Mr Vinod starts to brief us on the Task 1 Exercise.

Exercise 1- Text Formatting

Exercise 2- Mock Up Making

Week 1

The module was explained to us. Mr Vinod wanted us to gather the materials we would need for the exercises the following week. We require the following:

A4 paper / A3 paper
Large rubber band/thread with needles
Adhesive Tape (masking, cellophane, scotch)
Steel Ruler (16'' if possible)
Cutter
Pencil

Week 2

In class, we completed the activity while viewing the recorded lecture. The dimensions required to be larger than A5 but smaller than A4. We must come up with three sizes and choose one to make our book.

Figure 1.1 Book Size Exploration

I came up with the following dimensions:

170mm x 270mm
200mm x 250mm (selected)
180mm x 240mm

Below are photos of the book mock-up:

Figure 1.2 Final Book Mock-Up

Figure 1.3 Final Book Mock-Up - Open

Figure 1.4 Final Book Mock-Up - Stapler Binding

Figure 1.5 Final Book Mock Up - Flipping GIF

Exercise 3 - Van De Graff

We were required to do the Van De Graff exercise both on paper and in InDesign. The submissions for the exercises are listed below:

Figure 1.6 Van De Graff on paper

Figure 1.7 Digital Vann De Graff

Figure 1.8 Digital Vann De Graff with text

Figure 1.9 Digital Vann De Graff with text without guidelines

The exercise submission in PDF format is provided below. The margin guidelines are apparent here, as they are in the JPEG submission:

Figure 2.1 Vann De Graff (PDF Submission)

Exercise 4 - Signature Folding System

Week 3

We worked on this in class, using an instructional video as a guide. We had to fold an A4 paper three times to get 8 pages on one side, for a total of 16 pages. When it was folded, we numbered the pages. The results of the folds are as follows:

Figure 2.2

Signature Folding

Figure 2.3

Signature Folding - Folded

Figure 2.4

Signature Folding (Video)

Exercise 5 - Determining Grids

Week 4

We had to pick three different spreads and figure out what grids the designers used to build them. My submissions are as follows:

Figure 3.1

Determining Grids

Figure 3.2

Determining Grids without Spread

Exercise 6 - Form & Movement

Week 4

We had to complete our form and mobility exercises in class. The following is my first try at the exercise:

Figure 3.4

Form & Movement JPG - Attempt 1

Figure 3.5

Form & Movement PDF - Attempt 1

After receiving feedback, I do a correction attempt for the exercise:

Figure 3.6

Form & Movement JPG- Attempt 2

Figure 3.7

Form & Movement PDF - Attempt 2

Figure 3.8

Form & Movement (GIF)

Week 6

After completing the B&W version, I proceeded to colourize it:

Figure 3.9

Form & Movement JPG - Colour

Figure 4.1

Form & Movement PDF - Colour

Figure 4.2

Form & Movement - Colour (GIF)

After that, I went on to add the image:

Figure 4.3

Form & Movement JPG- Image

Figure 4.4

Form & Movement PDF - Image

Figure 4.5

Form & Movement - Image (GIF)

Finally, I proceeded by inserting dummy text into the layout. Here's my attempt:

Figure 4.6

Form & Movement JPG - FINAL

Figure 4.7

Form & Movement PDF - FINAL

Figure 4.8

Form & Movement - FINAL (GIF)

Feedback

Week 2 Organize the whole story, you need to segment it, if there is no segment, the whole story will be messed up

Week 3 There is a running foot at the bottom and a page number which I can draw a guide there. There is no need to draw these guides because these guides are unnecessary. Sometimes when I look at the guide, I need to look at the distance I have and also sometimes I can kind of guess maybe they are using 8 rows. Sometimes if I create when I calculate or I create the guide it will calculate the page beginning to the page end right from the top to the bottom, so we need to create it from the margin within the margin area.

Week 4 Mr Vinod suggested that my second spread at the right bottom is white so my third spread right bottom makes it black and the left whole page can change it whole black or whole white or maybe make it a whole page white and the right bottom leave it a small column. The next page cannot need to change because it is too decorative, I need to simplify it so I have an outline with one slight white spot over there maybe what I can do is I just increase that and maybe I can Introduce two more right like two patches across. The last three page I need to redo the.

Week 5 I get a covid so I can't get the feedback

Reflection

Experience :

I would like to think that I have some experience in the field of publishing design. Because of my concerns with the organisation of this book and the directions in general, I was busier than the other students with the information that I had obtained before we really began the class. When I found out that we had to produce a large number of visual effects in a short amount of time, and that I was also suffering from a sickness that I shouldn't have had, which was covid, I gritted my teeth and proceeded to do it. I was able to get through it because I had a lot of support from my coworkers. This unit has a lot of different activities going on, particularly at the beginning of the exercise and the concurrent project. Despite this, I feel that I picked up a lot of useful information from the courses. Because of this class, I have a deeper understanding of the topics that are being discussed. I also think that my capabilities with Adobe software have grown thanks to this semester and the programmes that came before it.

Observation :

Due to the fact that the burden for the professional module seems to be less, it is imperative that I pay careful attention to what my peers are doing. I started to pay more attention to what other people were doing and how my behaviour may vary from theirs. The fact that I like the work of many of my classmates serves as motivation for me to improve my own performance. As a direct consequence of this topic, I've seen that I'm relying more and more on AI, and although I'm interested in expanding my knowledge of other applications as well, I find myself relying more and more on AI. It is essential, in my opinion, to be able to utilise more than one application since some responsibilities are accomplished much more quickly and easily using other types of software. There is no question that I need to start challenging myself by doing activities that are outside of my comfort zone.

Finding :

I just came to the realisation that feedback from other people on my work is very necessary. Because other people will be providing me with constructive feedback on my work, I will be able to perform more effectively in this module. I also found out that I was bad at selecting the appropriate font and coming up with concepts from the beginning. Even though I was clueless about how to complete these responsibilities, they nonetheless occupied a significant amount of time and made me feel anxious. In addition, I remember being busy with other work throughout the current semester, which has caused both my grades and my ability to focus to decrease as a result. This has led to a downward spiral for both of these factors. It's possible that I can only focus my attention on one thing at a time. It would seem that I am in need of a break at this point.

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CHIN ZHI XIAN (0344352)