Studio Brief 01 - Final Print

Speaking to Nick, the crinkled book cloth was probably caused from not watering down the pva glue and not using a thick enough stock for the backing. He explained that even if it is a flaw in the overall design there are still ways to embrace it. By embracing it he says that it adds to the overall handmade and personal feel of the publication and is reminiscent of guidebooks of old. He also added a new perspective on the whole publication. He touched on how there's the theme of contrast that runs throughout each booklet. How the tightly formed layout of the content contrasts against the roughness of the production and how these old shophouses that sit next to the tall modern glass buildings. 

The colour of Telok Ayers booklet was changed to white due to the limiting colour range of the book cloths for purchase which also dictated the shades of colours used for the other booklets. White was chosen because of its use in representing professionalism and sophistication.

Screenprinting the titles proved to be not an effective design. Speaking with a technician, the slightly rough texture of the cloth could have caused the uneven registration as the ink does not have a smooth surface to be applied on.  

In this trial the spot varnishing was done a lot better, producing more consistent finishes. The only errors are the circular imprints that highlight an uneven registration. 

As for the binding, the knot at the end had to be moved to the inside to ensure that the cover of the book be flush against the spine of the content.

In the final trial of embossing, the alignment of the sections are a lot cleaner showing each section with a clear outline. What was still a difficulty was the composing of the embossing on the page, e.g. Telok Ayer's window is not perpendicular to the page.

As a whole each element of the publication's design work together to effectively represent the antiquity of the Singaporean shophouse. The visible grain of the eco stock, the saddle stitch binding technique, the imperfections in the production process and cloth bound cover come together to achieve a handmade look for the publication. This is contrasted against the rigid page layout that puts the images paramount to the readers attention and creates an effortless reading experience. Having 5 individual booklets makes each location special and highlights how each one is uniquely different from the other.

Being that each area of these Singaporean shophouses are showcased individually, the wooden sleeve help tie these booklets together. The wooden sleeve helps the reader store the booklets into one convenient place where its material directly relates to the construction of a shophouse window. The engraving on the sleeve summarises the topic of the booklets content and is an addition that makes the overall product more appealing to readers because of its novelty.