Studio Brief 01 - Refining the booklets cover

After finalising the general outline of the publication's look, initial research into the production process produced some ideas that could potentially refine the key elements in the publication design.  

In the book is an example of Chinese bookbinding that can be used for the booklet on Chinatown. The binding is a lot simpler compared to the various other Japanese examples. There's far less intricate cross stitching that results in a basic pattern that is becomes a stitching that has function rather than form. For example, as opposed to Japanese books, Chinese books are narrower and longer which means it needs more support in the middle for reinforcement. This Chinese technique is exactly like the four-hole binding technique that was taught in the bookbinding introductory workshop.

Looking further into binding techniques, it was this picture in Handmade Books by Kathy Blake above that inspired a refinement in one of the ideas for the booklets. The books in the picture are cloth bound by a textile pattern that posses Chinese motifs. Instead of this, the publication should be covered in the tiling patterns of the shophouses as a replacement for the textile patterns. This will reduce the reader's confusion as to why textile patters are used on a publication about shophouses. As for Telok Ayer, which has no clear cultural influences, could use a geometric almost graphic pattern to symbolise its modern businesses inside the shophouses and its proximity to the Central Business District.

The book also teaches techniques on soft cover, hard cover and preparing the cloth for a cloth bound technique. This will be useful in understanding the basics of production before experimenting with the construction. 

Another image that provided inspiration is the one above. These books were cloth bound but yet had an area of white space on the cover that can be used as a identifier for each of the booklets. The booklets then retain the design element that allows the reader to identify each area quickly from the opening of the book sleeve, whilst incorporating design elements from the shophouses that creates a cohesive motif throughout the publication. 

This is an example of a radical and unorthodox bookbinding technique. Using skewers in the same way as stitching holds the pages together, this technique would be most appropriate to the Arab Street section of the publication. In every culture food is a focal point in its identity and for the Malay and Arab food culture, skewers are used to make one of their more recognisable food items such as Kebabs and Satay. This association however is slightly far fetched, especially since the publication is about shophouses and not about food. Furthermore this binding technique would only work if the size is substantial enough to use a noticeable amount of skewers in the technique. A thin booklet would probably require only 1 or 2 skewers, which makes the binding technique seem as a afterthought or tacked on for the sake of 'design'. What would be more appropriate is finding a binding technique that can be used for all of the booklets that successfully communicates a sense of culture or a technique that lets the content speak without distraction.