Publishing Design

October 01, 2025

Publishing Design

22/09/25 - (Week 1 - Week 15)

Publishing Design GCD61404 / Bachelor in Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Anggia Tsani Rachmadiyanti, (0368487)

Publishing Design - All Works Compilation

CONTENT LIST

Task 2 - Content Generation
Task 3

Final Book
Promotional Poster

Module Brief:

Lecture Notes:

Lecture 1: Formats (1)

Publishing design entails the use of typography layout design & visuals.
Publishing is for communicating to others and preserve it.
Always keep in mind that whenever you publish, you are publishing for a mass audience.
The focus in this module is solely on book format, because it is the oldest formate of publishing and most important and influential formats.
The book is a medium to document and transmit ideas, knowledge, records and more.
To design a book, we must have a good understanding of typography, good sense of space, eye for details and understanding of publishing softwares.

What factors influence & determine the format of a book?

Content & Genre
Target Audience, eg: kids, adults
Purpose & Use

Historical Formats of the book:

Iran-Iraq = Mesopotamian civilization

Early forms of pictographic writing on clay tablets.

(Fig. 1) - Week 1, example of mesopotamian civilization writings

Egypt = Ancient Egyptian Civilization

Wrote Hieroglyphics
Wrote on a special paper called "Papyrus". They wrote on the tomb walls too.

(Fig. 1.2) - Week 1, example of Egyptian papyrus writings

India-Pakisatan-Afghan = Indus Valley civilization

Not much about record keeping but they had compex writing system.
Wrote records of government, religion & trade.
Cuneiform was written on soft clay tablets with sharp pointed tools.

(Fig. 1.3) - Week 1, example of Indus Valley civilization writings

China = Han Chinese Civilization

Characters were written in vertical columns = thin strip of bamboo for a single column.
For longer document = two lines of thread link bamboo strips together.
They then moved on with wood blocks & scrolls.

(Fig. 1.4) - Week 1, example of Chinese civilization bamboo writings

Europe = European Civilization

Parchment was invented in Turkey 197-159 BC, which then spread to Europe.
Parchment is made from animal hide. >> Parchment books was then made.

(Fig. 1.5) - Week 1, example of Parchment paper writings

Lecture 2: History of Print (2)

2nd - 8th century AD

Chinese emperor commands the 6 main Confucianism carved in stone
Simply layed sheets of paper on engraved slabs and rub it over with charcoal, taking away a text in white letters on black ground.

(Fig. 2.1) - Week 2, example of Stone carved writings

Korea & Japan: 750-768 AD

Earliest known printed document is sutra printed on a single sheet of paper in Korea.
Earliest recorded use of woodblock printing was in japan.

The first printed book: 868 AD

Earliest printed book is Chinese at the end of Tang dynasty.
It was a scroll, 16 feet.

(Fig. 2.2) - Week 2, Diamond Sutra

Saints & playing cards: AD c. 1400

Technique of woodblock printing introduced to Europe.
Playing cards were an early part of the western trade.

Gutenberg & western printing: AD 1439 - 1457

Introduced printing press concept.
Gutenberg has skills with metal and ink.

(Fig. 2.3) - Week 2, Gutenberg press

Lecture 3: Typo Redux (3)

Typography is the most important graphic design area to master. It's the art of arranging and composing text, very important for communication.

Characters in a typeface:

Small Caps
Numerals
Fractions
Ligatures
Punctuations
Mathematical signs
Symbols
Non aligning figures

(Fig. 3.1) - Week 3, Characters in typeface from lecture video

Legibility

First thing in making type legible is to choose text typefaces that are open and well proportioned eg:
classic serif: Garamond, Bodoni, Bembo, Minion Pro, Baskerville, Jenson, Caslon
sans-serif: Frutiger, Gill Sans, Helvetica, Myriad Pro, etc..

(Fig. 3.2) - Week 3, Typography guidelines chart

Legibility - Special Styles

1. Underline - should be lowered so they don't touch the characters.

(Fig. 3.3) - Week 3, Underline legibility example

2. Small Caps & All Caps - Small caps are good for subheads / first line of paragraph.

text set in All Caps should be used in short headlines or subheads.
all caps should never be used for long sentences / for emphasis.

(Fig. 3.4) - Week 3, examples of caps

3. Special-Purpose Style

(Fig. 3.5) - Week 3, examples of special-purpose styles

4. Text Scaling: - Never stretch the font horizontally or vertically, squeeze or stretch it as it distorts the original design of the font. It makes the messaging appear cheap.

(Fig. 3.6) - Week 3, examples of stretching the text

5. Outline & Shadow: - Avoid Outlining and shadow on text as much as possible,

Legibility - Type size, line length & line spacing:

Text which flows naturally when read is achieved when there harmonious relationship between 3 of the elements.
A column of text is usually about 50 characters across, NOT MORE than 65 characters.
If the type is too small it will cram too many letters per line and hard to read.
Type that is hard to read may NOT be read at all.
Font size determines line length >> determine line spacing.

Leading/line spacing factors and rules:

The font used - some fonts need more line spacings as we need to keep the ascenders & descenders from touching.
Line length - longer lines need more leading for easier reading
Type size - the larger the type = more line spacing needed.
Headlines which are normally larger may be set tighter line spacing.

(Fig. 3.7) - Week 3, examples of line-spacing

Line length:

Overly long or short lines of type tire the reader and destroy reading rhythm.

(Fig. 3.8) - Week 3, examples of line-length

Legibility - Character & word space:

Larger type sizes need adjustments to the space between characters and paragraphs need to be adjusted to eliminate widows & orphans.
Kerning - Inter-character spacing create more pleasing look to the whole text. Some need manual adjustments.
Word spacing - consistent word spacing provides even typographic "colour", referring to overall lightness and darkness of the text.

(Fig. 3.9) - Week 3, examples of typographic "colour"

Italics - best suited to create emphasis within text rather to function as text.
Capitals - consumes more space. Capital letters lacks visual variety, meanwhile lowercase imbue text with visual cues created by many different letter shapes.

Legibility - Alignment:

Flush left - gives even letter & word spacing. Readers easily locate each new lines.
Flush right - difficult to find each new line. Not suitable for large amount of text.
Centered - very formal look and ok if used minimally. Dont use centered for large amount of text.
Justified - can be very readable if we makesure the spacing between words are consistent and gaps called rivers do not interrupt the flow of the text.

Legibility - Paragraph Spacing:

Paragraph spacing is a more elegant way to space out paragraphs than simply double spacing returns.

Legibility - Paragraph Indent:

First-line paragraph indents only should be used if there is no paragraphs space because the indents & the paragraph space exist to inform the reader when a paragraph stops and a new one begins. Using both the indent & paragraph space is overkill.
Standard amount of indent = type size.
Widow - single line of text at top of a new page separated from its paragraph.
Orphan - single line of text at bottom of a page separated from its paragraph on the next page.

Specific Formatting:

Hyphens - divide words/numbers but also to break words from one line to the next
2 types of hyphens - en-dash and em-dash

(Fig. 3.10) - Week 3, examples of 3 dashes

Drop caps - used to start off new chapters & special sections of a report. Can set this using Character style.

(Fig. 3.11) - Week 3, example of drop caps

(Fig. 3.12) - Week 3, use of quotes

Sidebar - text that accompanies the main body. It's usually an added description that is abit related to the main narrative but isn't important enough to be part of it. It is sometimes used to highlight alternate facts or describe an image used in the main body text.

(Fig. 3.13) - Week 3, sidebar example

Character styles vs Paragraph styles:

(Fig. 3.14) - Week 3, lecture video screenshot

Lecture 4: The Grid (4)

RASTER SYSTEMS - The grid dividing 2d plane into smaller fields or 3d space into smaller boxes. The fields of compartments maybe the same of different size.
The grid is a practical and historical tool in publishing design, essential for creating order, coherence, and clarity in visual communication. It functions as a modular, constructive framework that reflects the designer’s mental attitude, beliefs, and values.
Purpose of the grid - to place and arrange texts, photos and diagrams in a coherent and functional manner. Gives compact planning and clarity. Also so that information is presented clearly and logically set out titles, subtitles, texts, illustrations so it can be read quickly and easily and better understood and remembered in our memory.
Readability & Legibility - The Grid helps make the user experience seamless. It allows the work on the pages do the talking clearly, logically with elegance.
The grid is a hidden framework.
"The grid is modular in nature."

(Fig. 4.1) - Week 4, raster systems grid

(Fig. 4.2) - Week 4, example of grid's use

Lecture 5: Elements that make up a book (5)

3 MAJOR ELEMENTS OF ALL PUBLICATIONS:

Type
Colour
Image

Variation - when using all these 3 elements in a grid system, we must make variation within the layout but also maintain consistency across the whole book.

End result would be a sequence of layouts that gives a surprise to readers at every turn of page. Re-use or rotate formulas in the book.
Design principles stress balancing variation and consistency: variation keeps layouts engaging, while consistency ensures cohesiveness. The grid system organizes elements logically and attractively, allowing modular layouts that can be rotated for surprise without losing harmony. Variations may include large images with captions, side-by-side text and visuals, or full-page visuals with text.

(Fig. 5.1) - Week 5, example of variation of image, colour, texts with consistency

Week 1: Task 1 - Exercises

Timeframe: Week 01 – Week 07

Deadline: Week 08

Instructions: Complete a series of exercises to build both theoretical and practical knowledge in book design.

Exercises:

Text formatting
Mock-up making
Signature folding systems (8 + 8 = 16)
Classical Grid structure
Determining Grids
Form & Movement (Thumbnail)
Colour applications:
- 1 Colour
- 2 Colours
- 2 Colours + Image
- Colour + Image + Text

Learning Goals:

Develop knowledge/skill in book formats, binding, and formatting.
Enhance design sense in use of space.

Assessment Criteria (20%)

All exercises completed comprehensively.
Mastery of:
- Space usage
- Colour + space + image + text
- Neat/clean mock-ups
- Proper formatting (¬ & ¶)
- Flexible use of grids
- Technical execution (folding, grid, layout, paper creaseless)
Well-crafted, clean, neat outcomes.

Task 1 Progress:

Exercise 1 - Book size mockup

We watched the youtube tutorial by Mr.Vinod in class while doing it. All of us had to take an A3 paper and fold it into half (A4 size). And then we marked and traced the size of an A5 paper which is 148 × 210 mm. Our book size for the final project needs to be larger than A5 and less than A4 size, so we can custom our size depending on what book we want to do. I went to the library to check on some books which I would like as to be the size of my book later on since i'm planning to go to the direction of poetry and photography.

(Fig. 6.1) - Week 2, doing exercise 1 and finding the size of our book, 1/10/2025

Then, I marked out that I want my book to be somewhere bigger than A5 but B5 or lesser in size. I wanted to make a more squared shape since my direction later on is photography and poetry, so a more square would suit that genre better. We asked ms Vitiyaa about the book's spine and she said that spine is the last thing to work on when publishing a book because the thickness of the spine depends on the amount of pages we will have.

Extra Important notes from Ms Vitiyaa in class:

Spine size is determined by 2 things: Number of pages and Thickness of paper inside/outside.
Cover page is thicker than inside pages
The order of making a book is:

Content writing
Content page
Opening page
Cover (last part)
Spine design

(Fig. 6.2) - Week 2, exercise 1 book measurements experimenting sheet on A4, 1/10/2025

(Fig. 6.3) - Week 2, Exercise 1 - my final book measurement and size, 1/10/2025

Change of size: I found that the book is abit too big for a poetry book, so i reduced the size a little bit, but maintaining the same aspect ratio....

New final book size: 17.2 cm x 21.8 cm

Exercise 2 - Signature Folding Systems (8+8=16)

(Fig. 6.4) - Week 2, Exercise 2 - Folding A4 papers into 8 parts, 1/10/2025

(Fig. 6.5) - Week 2, Exercise 2 - Numbering the pages, 1/10/2025

After finishing the mockup size of our book, we proceeded to do the next exercise which is the signature foldings just to help us visualise how a book can be made.

I first folded one A4 paper into 8 parts and then numbered the pages till 16. After doing that we had to cut the closed edges so that all pages can be flipped like a mini book. Finally, we stapled twice on the center to finish it up.

(Fig. 6.6) - Week 2, Exercise 2 - Cutting the edges 16, 1/10/2025

(Fig. 6.7) - Week 2, Exercise 2 - Stapling the book in the middle, 1/10/2025

Exercise 3 - Van de Graff

The Van de Graaff canon, often called the "secret canon," is a historical method for dividing a page into pleasing proportions and establishing harmonious margins, primarily used in medieval manuscripts and incunabula. It provides a consistent grid for page layout that allows book designers to position text and content effectively, creating balance and readability across different page sizes.

(Fig. 6.8) - Week 2, Exercise 3 - helping each other to draw the line :), 1/10/2025

The third exercise was introducing us to this methods by drawing a line graph of Van de Graff using one A3 paper and a long ruler and pencil. This chart helps us with our grid system in our design layouts. The primary purpose is to achieve visual harmony and balance in book design, ensuring that the text area and page dimensions relate pleasingly to each other. This can help guide us when designing a book or publications.

(Fig. 6.9) - Week 2, Exercise 3 - My final Van de Graff line drawing on A3 paper, 1/10/2025

(Fig. 6.10) - Week 2, Exercise 3 - Extra researched from online pictures of Van de Graff, 1/10/2025

Exercise 3A - Van de Graff Digital InDesign Exercise

I watched the tutorial by Mr Vinod on youtube on how to apply this graph on InDesign and he taught us more on text formatting using the grids.

(Fig. 6.11) - Week 2, Exercise 3A - InDesign Grids exercise screenshot, 2/10/2025

(Fig. 6.12) - Week 2, Exercise 3A - PDF InDesign Van De Graff with Grids, 2/10/2025

(Fig. 6.13) - Week 2, Exercise 3A - PDF InDesign Van De Graff with NO Grids & Guides, 2/10/2025

Exercise 4 - Form & Movement

I watched the tutorial by Mr.Vinod and tried practising the grids & movement in Indesign by using boxes, playing around with the images and rectangles. I am doing a poem book which has many stanzas, so my direction is more simple and not too packed, with breathing space.

1.) Form & Movement - Contact Sheet Spreads Layouts (Thumbnail)

(Fig. 7.1) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement All Spread Layout BnW, JPEG, (16/10/2025)

(Fig. 7.2) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement All Spread Layout 2 colours, JPEG, (16/10/2025)

2.) 1 Colour Grids:

(Fig. 7.3) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement 1 colour without guide, PDF, (16/10/2025)

(Fig. 7.4) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement 1 colour with guide, PDF, (16/10/2025)

3.) 2 Colours Grids:

(Fig. 7.5) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement 2 colour without guide, PDF, (16/10/2025)

(Fig. 7.6) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement 2 colour with guide, PDF, (16/10/2025)

4.) 2 Colours + Image

(Fig. 7.7) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement 2 colour + images without guide, PDF, (16/10/2025)

5.) Colour + Image + Text

(Fig. 7.8) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement 2 colour + images + texts, without guide, PDF, (16/10/2025)

(Fig. 7.9) - Week 4, Exercise 4 - Form & Movement 2 colour + images + texts, with guide, PDF, (16/10/2025)

TASK 1 REFLECTION

1) Experience

After doing these set of exercises, I learned to apply the Van de Graaf grid in InDesign to create proper and consistent layouts. Working with the grid gave me a clearer structure to follow, especially when placing text and images. The form and movement exercise, where we used block shapes to visualise layout flow, helped me experiment more freely before committing to final designs to makesure there's consistency. Folding an A4 sheet into a 16-page booklet was surprisingly fun, it made me understand how physical pagination works and how each page connects when printed and folded. Overall, the exercises strengthened both my technical and hands-on design skills.

2) Observations

I observed how much easier layout decisions become when a solid grid system is in place. The Van de Graaf grid helped maintain balance, margins, and consistency, which made every page feel more intentional. While doing the form and movement layout with blocks, I noticed that simple shapes can guide the rhythm of a publication even before adding real content. This made me more aware of visual weight, pacing, and how the reader’s eye travels across a page.

3) Findings

I found that good layout design depends heavily on structure. The Van de Graaf grid taught me that even creative pages need an underlying system to feel coherent. The form and movement activity showed me that planning visual weight early helps avoid clutter and imbalance later. The boovklet-folding exercise helped me understand the physical reality of a book. Putting all these together, I realised that strong publication design is a combination of technical precision, visual logic, and practical thinking. These exercises prepared me well for creating my actual poetry book layout later on.

Task 2 Content Generation Writing:

For this we have to design and create a 32-page book, 3000 words, that is smaller than A4 but larger than A5. My size chosen was 16.5 17.2 cm x 21.8 cm

Topics to choose:

Yourself
Your family
Someone who inspires you
Your hometown
A meaningful experience, belief, or idea

Structure Requirements:

At least 3 chapters
3 to 5 subtexts (sidebars or supporting content)
1 caption per chapter

For my book, I chose to write a 3000 words descriptive poem about the contrast between the countryside and city life. I want to write about how we should learn to appreciate nature more and not forget our roots even if we are living in the cities. For the first part i'm going to reuse a 1000 words poem i've written back in highschool and then writing and adding more chapter, stanzas and extra poems to reach 3000+ words. I have chosen to do a poem as I personally love and enjoy writing poems and it feels more personal writing it in first person as well.

Before writing it on docs I adjusted and edited and made some idea drafts of handwritten notes on paper to brainstorm some lines to put for the poem. I also realised some stanzas need to be rearranged:

(Fig. 8.1) - Week 3, picture of my draft writing idea for my poem on paper, 8/10/2025

Ms Vitiyaa said that we can go above 32 pages, and since I am doing poem it will be a bit thicker. We are also allowed to have more than 16 photographs if it's necessary. Afterwards, I started writing down the poem on google docs which dividing them into several chapters/sections for the book. I asked Ms Vitiyaa in week 3 class about my draft idea and she approved it and also showed me an inspiration from Rupi Kaur who is a poet and she is famous for her poem books....

(Fig. 8.2) - Week 3, Searching Rupi Kaur's book for insiration, 8/10/2025

(Fig. 8.3) - Week 3, Rupi Kaur's poem inspiration, 8/10/2025

Final Poem Content: (3053 words) :

(Fig. 8.4) - Week 4, Final Poem Content writing PDF, 18/10/2025

Highlighted Parts for Visual/Photos:

(Fig. 8.5) - Week 4, Highlighted parts for visuals, PDF, 18/10/2025

My Photographs For The Book:

These were all of the photographs I put in my poem book. All the photographs were taken and edited by myself using apps like Adobe Lightroom, Snapseed and Photoshop for some minor adjustments such as saturation, presets, brightness and curves.

(Fig. 8.6) - Week 5, Photos for my book, 28/10/2025

TASK 2 REFLECTION

1) Experience

Working on the content generation for the poem was both challenging and rewarding. I personally am a person who likes writing poetry. Writing 3000 words of my own poetry pushed me to tap deeper into my emotions and personal memories than I expected. At the same time, selecting and capturing photographs to support the poems became a creative journey on its own. I learned to be patient with my writing process, revisiting drafts, rearranging lines, and trusting my instincts. Bringing together writing and photography made the project feel like building a world that represents my voice as a designer and storyteller.

2) Observations

I noticed how text and visuals naturally influence each other. Some poems changed after I reviewed the photographs, while certain images inspired stronger or clearer writing. I also observed how different moods, colours, and compositions in my photos affected the emotional tone of the poetry when placed side by side. Another important observation was how much planning is needed in publishing, from pacing the content to deciding the visual flow of the printed book. Every creative choice plays a role in guiding the reader’s experience.

3) Findings

I discovered that poetry and photography strengthen each other when thoughtfully combined. I found that my writing becomes more expressive when supported by visuals that carry the same message or feeling. I also learned that publishing a book is not only about creating content but curating it with intention. The process taught me to think like both an artist and a designer, consiidering meaning, aesthetics, layout, and storytelling all at once.

Task 3: Book Design & Layout

(Fig. 9.1) - Week 7, Draft Grid layouts for the pages, Contact Sheet, 3/11/2025

Feedback & Check on Contact Sheet:

(Fig. 9.2) - Week 7, First Checking with ms V on A3 Contact Sheet, 5/11/2025

(Fig. 9.3) - Week 7, First Checking with ms V on A3 Contact Sheet, 5/11/2025

(Fig. 9.4) - Week 7, First Checking with ms V on A3 Contact Sheet, 5/11/2025

(Fig. 9.5) - Week 7, First Checking with ms V on A3 Contact Sheet, 5/11/2025

Final Book Cover Design & Spine PNG:

(Fig. 10.1) - Week 9, Final Book Cover & Spine, JPG, 19/11/2025

(Fig. 10.2) - Week 9, Final Book Layout A3 Contact Sheet, 20/11/2025

(Fig. 10.3) - Week 10, Final Book Spreads PDF, 26/11/2025

In week 8 and 9, I finalised all my pages layout including all the necessary changes and tweaks ms V told me to do.

In week 10 I printed my book at Mummy Design, together with my other friends. I first went through the paper types and chose what I wanted for my book. I ended up going with 310gsm art card matte and laminated for my cover, and 128gsm art paper gloss for the contents. In the end, I liked the final quality and colour of the actual physical book, however, the staffs were quite messy as they redo my spine for 3 times, but the shop still made the spine abit off and messy, but other than that it was ok. Ms Vitiyaa said I don't have to reprint as it is not a major mistake.

(Fig. 10.4) - Week 10, Printing at Mummy Design, 27/11/2025

(Fig. 10.5) - Week 10, Printing at Mummy Design, 27/11/2025

Flip HTML Final E-Book:

(Fig. 10.6) - Week 10, Final E-Book FlipBook, 28/11/2025

Physical Printed Book (1st Print):

I printed my first book at mummy design. I showed the book to Ms Vitiyaa and she said I don't have to reprint as there isn't major mistakes. However, I was quite bothered because some of the images was cut off by the inner book margin, so I wanted to reprint again to feel satisfied. The spine was also very messy so I hoped for a better one later on on my 2nd reprint. After this first test print, I adjusted and increased more for the inner margins of all the pages in Indesign.

(Fig. 11.1) - Week 10, 1st Test print, 27/11/2025

(Fig. 11.2) - Week 10, 1st Test print, 27/11/2025

Final Physical Printed Book (2nd Print):

This is my final reprint of the final book:

(Fig. 12.1) - Week 10, New Final Print, 29/11/2025

(Fig. 12.2) - Week 10, New Final Print, 29/11/2025

For this final reprint, I made the cover background colour more brown and slightly darker as in the first test print it looked too white. The staff also told me to make the pages to 84, so i added extra 2 pages at the beginning which had the tree branch with leaves and bird flying as an opening of the book. Also, the pictures now is not cut by the inner margin anymore...

(Fig. 12.3) - Week 10, New Final Print Extra first 2 page, 29/11/2025

(Fig. 12.4) - Week 10, New Final Print fixed inner margin, 29/11/2025

(Fig. 12.5) - Week 10, New Final (right), Old (left), 29/11/2025

(Fig. 12.6) - Week 11, Final Book Flip Through Video, 29/11/2025

Promotional Poster:

(Fig. 13.1) - Week 11, Promo Poster JPEG, 5/12/2025

Promotional Poster Mockup:

(Fig. 13.2) - Week 11, Promo Poster Mockup, 5/12/2025

(Fig. 13.3) - Week 11, Promo Poster Mockup, 5/12/2025

(Fig. 13.4) - Week 11, Promo Poster Mockup, 5/12/2025

(Fig. 13.5) - Week 11, Promo Poster Mockup, 5/12/2025

Presentation Slides:

(Fig. 13.6) - Week 11, PDF Presentation Slides, 5/12/2025

Feedbacks:

Week 1

General Feedback: Ms Vitiyaa briefed us on the module brief and told us to finish watching all the lectures first while writing down the notes first so that in the following weeks we can focus on our tasks. She told us to bring a paper & ruler next week.

Specific Feedback: None

Week 2

General Feedback: We started doing the exercises in class while watching the tutorial video by Mr Vinod. We experiments on 2 a4 papers and decide the size of our final book later on. It must be more than a5 but less than a4. Ms Vitiyaa said that the spine is the last thing to do when doing a book. She said to start getting ideas on what to write for the book so we have more time later on.

Specific Feedback: Me and my friend asked more about printing the books and Ms told us to download the cheatcode template so that it can be our guide when we work on the book in InDesign. Ms Vitiyaa said since im going to photography and poetry direction, a more square shape for the book is good.

Week 3

General Feedback: Ms V lectured and breakdown the lecture notes abit for us and talking about the main element of a publishing. She told dus to start writing our original content for our book which is due week 5 and upload it on the drive folder.

Specific Feedback: I asked ms V if my book can be more than 32 pages, and she said yes as long it's even pages. Makesure the images are related to the topic. I also showed ms my draft idea for the content of my poem and she approved mine. Ms also showed me an inspiration from Rupi Kaur who is a poet and she is famous for her poem books. I should look at her works.

Week 5

General Feedback: Ms V said to makesure we finish our exercises including the grids and movements and put it in the blog by week 7. She also said that we must makesure there's enough outside margin for the final book.

Specific Feedback: She said I should start picking which photos to remove which is not really necessary as too many pictures make it less "mystery" feel.

Week 6

General Feedback: Ms vitiyaa told us to makesure we have read all the notes for publishing on google drive as it will benefit us as we work on our books and works.

Specific Feedback: Ms Vitiyaa said that I should makesure I follow the grids properly and start creating the content page.

Week 7:

General Feedback: Ms V gave us a long tutorial on how to start making our document on indesign by making master pages and facing pages. Makesure we set the bleed as well and create the columns and grids. We can always change our grids exercise 4 as we are doing our final book layout in indesign. Never use png or jpeg for images, only use photoshop cmyk file in .TIFF or vector or EPS. Click overprint preview to see the original quality of the images. Ms taught us how to add paragraph style for headings and subtexts and also how to add image placeholders so indesign can do the cropping for us. We ignore the cover page first, so the first page on the right is the first blank page of the book. Ms also teached us how to add auto page nnumbers too.

Specific Feedback: Ms vitiyaa said my amount of photographs is ok even though its quite alot since i am doing a descriptive poem. She said that I can always change my grid boxes for my exercises after doing my final layout. Ms told me to also try printing an a3 contact sheet so that next week she can check on what I should modify. Ms vitiya told me to add page number embellishments for decorative style as well as adding small simple graphics illustration to support what the text on that page is describing about. for example if a page talks about flower, I can put small flower deco on top or at the corner, so my poem book doesnt really have to be just photos but a mix of illustrations.

Week 8:

General Feedback: Ms V told us to already start to finalise the layout and putting the contents in our book as well as the illustrations. For next week we need to prepare contact sheet for her to check. Ms V also taught us how to save the pdf contact sheet of our indesign book pages layout on a3 paper. Ms V also told us that makesure there are NO ORPHANS in our texts.

Specific Feedback: I was almost done with my book, even though not fully edited finished yet. Ms V told me to print the contact sheet during class so I printed my whole 82 page contact sheet on a3 paper and gave it to ms V to make corrections and check on my whole pages layouts next to each other. After I gave ms V my first contact sheet paper of all my current pages, she said the composition and layout is good, but there's little few touchups and certain bits of things I had to edit and tweak abit. Firstly, I need to make sure there aren't "odd" pages, like the long rectangle should have a consistent look across the pages. All the subtexts should be placed as a caption below the images and not one subtext above as it may lose the consistency. She also told me to check on the font sizes and makesure it is all correct and not too big and small. Other than that, for the 'cooler' snow picture, since it is blue, meanwhile the majoirty of all the othe rphotographs in the book are more to warm, she told me to adjust the cooler looking pictures ot look abit more warm like editing the warmth and hue of the cool looking photographs so it looks more cohesive. For the cat in the window illustration, she told me to fill it with more black to match with the other illustrations. Ms V suggested me to put the same yellow leaves branch in the "The End" page with vines going up, like the same colour on the leaves for the Content page.

Week 9:

General Feedback: Finish up our pages and test print next week

Specific Feedback: Ms V said that it's all good, except change the position of the illustration on the 4th last page.

Week 10:

General Feedback: Print the book for next week

Specific Feedback: Ms V said that I can print already, but change the position of the title of the book on the cover so that the words "The roots beneath the towers" title are below the illustration I did, and make the left side more negative space.

Week 11:

General Feedback: Makesure to prepare the promotional poster and presnetation slides for next week submission.

Specific Feedback: Ms V saw my final printed book and said it was ok and good, no need to reprint.

Week 12:

General Feedback: We all presented our slides on our book synopsis in class and submitted our books.

Specific Feedback: No specific feedback.

Final Reflection

1) Experience

My journey through this whole Publishing Design module has been both challenging and eye-opening. However, Ms Vitiyaa guided me so well from the beginning, so I thank her for all the advice and help. From the very beginning, we were tasked with producing a fully printed, perfect-bind book using our own written content and photographs. This meant taking full responsibility for everything from concept development to final print production. Learning Adobe InDesign was central to this process. I spent a significant amount of time understanding layout structures, grids, paragraph styles, and how to maintain consistency across more than a hundred pages. Apart from that though, I enjoyed writing the poem for my book as a person who loves writing poems.

Another major part of my experience was learning how to prepare images correctly for print production. I learned how to batch-process photographs from RGB to CMYK TIFFs using Photoshop which Ms taught us, which helped speed up what would have been a very time-consuming task. Despite these new skills, the printing stage brought many unexpected challenges. I experienced multiple reprints due to margin issues, alignment mistakes, and realising too late that the inner margin needed to be increased to accommodate the spine. I also learned alot about bleeds settings.

Ms. Vitiyaa also required us to print our entire page sequence as an A3 contact sheet layout. It felt like extra work, but it ended up being one of the most helpful parts of the process. Seeing all the pages side-by-side on a single sheet gave me a clearer understanding of which spreads felt unbalanced, which images didn’t sit well together, and where inconsistencies appeared. It made me more aware of the flow of my book as a whole rather than judging each page in isolation. Printing the final book was another learning curve. I encountered issues at the printing shop, the workflow there was disorganised, and at times the staff were messy with handling prints and making the cover and spine. This caused delays and misprints, which were frustrating but ultimately taught me to double-check everything and remain patient. It also made me appreciate the importance of giving clear instructions and verifying print quality on the spot.

2) Observations

Throughout the module, I observed how much difference the details make in publishing design. Small decisions relating to typography, spacing, alignment, margins, and type hierarchy completely changed the feel of each spread. The consistency of grids became crucial, because even a slightly misaligned element stood out immediately when printed. Another important observation was the difference between on-screen design and printed design. The colours on screen were always more vibrant, while printed colours appeared more muted. Font sizes also looked different physically. This reinforced the idea that print tests are not optional, they are necessary. The A3 contact sheet layout proved to be one of the most effective tools for evaluating the overall book. Viewing all pages simultaneously made it much easier to identify which spreads felt too heavy, too empty, or visually disconnected from the rest. It taught me that editorial design must be viewed holistically, not page by page. The printing shop experience also revealed something important: even if my design work is ok, external factors like printing staff, production environment, or lack of organisation can affect the final outcome. Observing how careless handling or disorganisation can lead to errors reminded me that being present at the printing stage is crucial.

3) Findings

After finishing the module, I realised that publishing design requires both artistic and technical precision. I found that producing a printed book demands patience, because one mistake can lead to a chain reaction of problems. I also discovered that understanding print requirements, from CMYK conversion to bleed settings, inner margins, paper weight, and binding, is as important as the creative process.
A major finding was how valuable it is to review layouts physically. Digital mock-ups are helpful, but holding printed pages, comparing them side-by-side, and analyzing them in contact sheet format revealed issues I could not see on screen. Another key finding was the importance of choosing the right materials; paper quality, weight, texture, and cover finish significantly change how the reader perceives the book’s quality.
Overall, this module has deepened my respect for publication design. It taught me technical skills, strengthened my eye for layout and consistency, and made me appreciate the craftsmanship behind every printed book. The journey, though filled with challenges, has made me more confident in handling real-world editorial and print design projects.

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Anggia Tsani Rachmadiyanti (0368487)