Bought one of these and a couple of tickets to the show at the Independent Record Fair at Spitalfields Market this weekend. Lovely.
FMP: AR Video + Packaging
So these final few days before hand-in have been spent working on the Augmented Reality video. Which works as a proof-of-concept video to explain how the AR part of the project is intended to work, if I were able to spend thousands on buying a Markerless AR program and then hundreds on each individual target. Markerless AR isn’t OpenSource and using QR Codes would ruin the ‘offline’ feel of the magazine by putting irrelevant icons on pages which only make sense to machines, not readers.
I completed the video today and it’s on the Versus website, which is aptly titled versusprint.com for the AR video, go to the AR section.
The video, the ‘instructions’ flap in the magazine and the cards that are part of the packaging for hand-in (above) all seem to hammer home the concept concisely. Which is what I want. I didn’t want to waste time and space in the formats overly explaining the concept of Versus. So I’m glad I’ve managed to keep it to a 1 minute video, a 3 point explanation and a half page (literally).
Here’s the video which is for the versusprint.com website, which gives you an example of how the magazine and the AR side of it is intended to work, by recognising pages from the magazine and then playing extra media based on what’s been shown. This is all part of the ‘print working with digital’ aspect of the project.
As it’s part of the digital—more ephemeral—edition, I decided to include a cat in the video. People love seeing cats in videos.
Original Article
Versus: Printed & Bound
Yesterday was a very strange, but ultimately very good day! I got to Orange for 10 to 9am, they were really great and didn’t mind me pedantically addressing some of the things I wanted sorted for the prints. After that was done I killed some time. Sat in Soho Sq reading Grafik’s design education special—just weeks away from graduating—bird shit landed on the open pages. I searched for a meaning in this Coen bros-like scenario but came up blank. I guess we’ll have to see…
I called ahead to Bookbinders of London just to check what I was trying to do was possible, then headed to pick up my prints from Orange which were looking nice. Next stop: binding.
Had a brief set-back as I hadn’t specified on the phone that my prints were full-colour bleed—this requires a different binding machine and different glue, they had just turned it off and it takes £50 of glue and 45 minutes to warmup again. After trying to work out a solution, I guess they sympathised with my situation because they turned it back on again. I sat in a café and then collected the newly bound magazines an hour and a half later, under instruction not to open them until tomorrow. The spines still felt warm!
I resisted temptation and opened them up today, I’m really very happy with how they turned out!
I’ll keep the rest as a surprise.
Right now I’m working on the proof-of-concept video for the AR workings of the publication.
Original Article
FMP: Preview
I’ll be boarding the 7:40 train tomorrow morning stuffed with commuters from Bedford to get to the printers as early as possible. I’m hoping to hit the binders at around lunchtime so I can take a perfect-bound copy of the magazine home with me to shoot for the video. My mock up was too scuffed to use this weekend!
Original Article
FMP: Final week preparations
So I received my magazine mock-up from Orange this week, which confirmed my suspicions that my main body type for the copy was too large, so I’ve brought it down a couple of points and changed the leading accordingly (which meant re-designing pretty much everything).
I’m happy with the uncoated stock used, which is 320 GSM for the cover + ‘Instructions’ flap (which helps sell the ‘print merging with digital’ concept) but I really don’t like how the magazine sits. As there’s quite a lot of pages and the mock was staple-bound, it naturally opens at the centre spread. To counter this effect, I’m opting to get the magazines perfect bound at Book Binders of London.
This weekend I’m going to start shooting the Augmented Reality video which will work as a sort of ‘proof of concept’ explanation of how the tech side of the magazine is intended to work and going through last minute preparations for the magazines to be printed at Orange on Tuesday. On Wednesday I’ll then be collecting the prints and getting them perfect bound at Book Binders of London.
It’s going to be tight but Orange have assured me there’ll be a quick turnaround for what I want to do!
Original Article
FMP: Print Progress/Deadline Set
I’ve set myself a deadline of this coming Tuesday (24th May) to finish off the magazine, after that I’m taking it to my printers in London (Orange in Covent Garden) to get a couple of mock-ups made and seek advice from GTS, my friend Sam Blunden and a few others about the design of the magazine, I’ll then have a couple of days before my definite print deadline which is Thursday (26th).
If I can finish the magazine on Monday then that’d be even better, but I think this is realistic enough for now.
Original Article
Print Edition Update: Preview Spreads
I’m feeling quite good about how the magazine is shaping up. I’m doing all the preliminary layout and design now, after a crisis of confidence relating to the concept and my original vision of the magazine. As well as one based on fonts…
Font Crisis: A fast-paced split-decision game where you reconsider every font you’ve chosen based on cultural impact & peer usage.
I’m meeting up with a couple of printers tomorrow and meeting Gareth from Bearded magazine next week as he has a few contacts, I’m hoping to finalise a printer all before next Tuesday. Which may be a bit ambitious but I just don’t want to get caught out with last minute printing!
Original Article
FMP: Mood Board & Inspiration
Original Article
