Week 19

Grid layouts

This week my class had a lecture on graphical layout, I was so thankful as at that moment in time it was just the perfect refresher course for me. It made me think about how to display the information presented in my book to maximise its potential. I like the idea of lots of white space in my book as this will create a sense of calmness when reading. I like the visuals of a page bleed so I will definitely include that also. I have attached some layouts that please my eyes, unintentionally I admire the colour scheme that appears in this collage, I would like to include a lot of cool tones within the graphics.

Name generation

After a conversation with my dad, he brought to my attention the idea of Japanese terminology, he uses it regularly within his business. I went onto research multiple terms and shortlisted the following:

Kata

Kata literally means “the form and order of doing things.” Obsession with quality and executing processes in the correct and appropriate order is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

Instead of rushing to fix a problem when you have little to no insight, Kata encourages thinking before doing. When plant managers coach Kata, they stress the importance of periodic observation, critical thinking, guidance and problem-solving skills. Through Kata, managers are able to focus on not only continuous improvement, but also innovation.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese business philosophy that focuses on gradually improving productivity. Kaizen translates to "change for the better" or "continuous improvement."

Hansei

Hansei is a Japanese word that approximately means “Self-reflection”; it is a practice where we talk to our inner self and understand our strengths and weaknesses in terms of thoughts, behaviours and actions.

Poka-yoke

Poka-yoke (ポカヨケ, [poka joke]) A Japanese expression meaning “common or simple, mistake proof”. A method of preventing errors by putting limits on how an operation can be performed in order to force the correct completion of the operation.

I have decided to go with the name The Hansei Journal, I think this saying relates to my concept perfectly as it is all about recognising the past to improve the future.

Japanese Culture

When gathering inspiration for the name of my project, I began thinking about the Japanese lifestyle. I became really intrigued about Japan and done a bit of research into their culture. I like their aesthetic styles I gauge a very calming vibe, I believe with the right colour palette added it will be very pleasing on the eye and create a safe environment within the book.

I have attached some inspiration that I will take forward for the booklet:

Japanese Inspired Typefaces

I have researched into Japanese typefaces to keep with the entire theme of my project, I would like the typeface to be quite informal but also easy to read. I like the hand-written style that I included in my mark 1 prototype so something like that would be great.

These are some styles that appealed to me. Andrew mentioned that I must watch to make sure the typefaces are culturally appropriate.

After last week’s values and mantras presentation and my work on branding this week, I feel as though my project is really starting to take shape and that I am building a form of identity which I think I really needed at this stage of the semester. After realising the extent of work that I have put on myself to complete this project, I have decided to outsource an illustrator. We had an initial virtual meeting and have agreed on a set up that will work for us both. She will create small illustrations that will appear on the pages, also give some help with graphical layouts. I am happy to release a small part of my project, it will allow me to focus more on the contents of the books so that it includes the most relevant content, I will also be able to spend time prototyping possible binding solutions and complete other important tasks such as user experience experiments and blog updates that will allow my project to be a successful one.