gobi: [Do] Second pass at the layout

Gobi (

gobi) wrote,
@ 2009-07-02 12:05:00

Entry tags:

[Do] Second pass at the layout

Stayed a little late and got up a little early, but I managed to bang out a revision to the layout and it's looking pretty cool to my weary eyes.

Working in more of the postal/passport imagery, inspired by Tazo Tea packaging.

Along the top, you can see the "progress meter" gimmick I used when I layed out Reign. It keeps track of how long a section is and how far along you are in it. If you know about it, it's useful, but subtle enough to just be a dingbat.

I tried making individual layers of the drawing blue, but decided that this sort of iridescent sheen had an interesting Final Fantasy vibe. What do you think?

(29 comments) - (Post a new comment)

	amanofhats 2009-07-02 05:09 pm UTC (link)
	Oh. MY. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 06:33 pm UTC (link)
	That bad, huh? :P (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	amanofhats 2009-07-02 07:32 pm UTC (link)
	Seriously, man, you should be ashamed. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 07:47 pm UTC (link)
	I'll go back in my hole now. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	joshroby 2009-07-02 05:12 pm UTC (link)
	My only real constructive comment is that I'd like to see a little more whitespace: thicker margins, more space around image wraps, etc. These two spreads seem just a little cramped, and I think a lighter, more airy feel would be more appropriate to a game about flying monks and worldlets. Secondly and far less helpfully, dude, is that Remi on the cover? (Reply to this) (Thread)

gobi
2009-07-02 06:40 pm UTC (link)

Ha! Wow, I guess there is a resemblance! I don't know what Liz used as reference, but I don't think she knows Remi. :) Also, that's not the cover, it's a double-page spread. She's doing a full spread for each chapter because she is awesome.

As far as the margins go... Man, I already doubled their width from the last pass.

My challenge right now is getting across the airy feeling of pilgrims in flight with the cluttered anarchy of trouble that pilgrims get into.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	joshroby 2009-07-02 09:02 pm UTC (link)
	Actually, I don't mean page margins, I mean the gutters and spaces around text blocks. That was me thinking in css and not in page. ;) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 09:09 pm UTC (link)
	Oh! Okay, I'll see what I can do about that. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2009-07-02 05:31 pm UTC (link)
	Beautiful! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 06:41 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks, mysterious person! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	littlestkobold 2009-07-02 05:32 pm UTC (link)
	Beautiful! I love all the various elements on the page, like the calling card-esque boxouts and the progress bars. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 06:42 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks! I hope to include more variety with the boxes. RIght now I'm just using the same postcard texture for placement. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	gamera_spinning 2009-07-02 05:52 pm UTC (link)
	Unrelated layout question: where did you find (or did you make up) the graphics you used in HoTB and Reign? In particular, I'm thinking of the "hoolidanders" (what a term) in Reign and the fancy almost Moorish-art details in HoTB? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 06:44 pm UTC (link)
	I got pretty much all of it from iStockPhoto and re-purposing some loose graphics and textures I came across during my day job. When I was working with Greg, I asked that a part of the budget be set aside just for credits on iSP. (Reply to this) (Parent)

viktor_haag
2009-07-02 06:22 pm UTC (link)

I like the wider sidebar in the middle spread over the narrower one in the bottom spread. I like the part number in the bottom spread - I'm not sure how you'd harmonize those two elements: I don't think widening the diameter of that part number graphic would be a good idea. Maybe centering it over the side bar text column?

This is shaping up to look very, very attractive, Daniel. I look forward to having it on my bookshelf.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 06:51 pm UTC (link)
	Ah yeah, I narrowed the sidebar in the bottom spread to mitigate the orphans that were all over the place. Maybe I should just revise the copy and keep the sidebars as is. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	princejvstin 2009-07-02 06:55 pm UTC (link)
	Now this is what I meant in my comment on Pass #1. Made of awesome! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 07:00 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks very much! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	greyorm 2009-07-02 09:02 pm UTC (link)
	Man, sweet. It catches my eye much more than the previous. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-02 09:08 pm UTC (link)
	Ah, but what catches the eye for a moment can be hard on the eyes during extended reading. Finding the balance between the extremes can be tough. :\ (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	greyorm 2009-07-03 02:51 am UTC (link)
	True. But here eye-catching in the sense that it pleases the eye and doesn't make me go "meh", not in the sense of "Is that Las Vegas up ahead, dear?" Besides, with technology today, if they destroy their eyes reading Do, they can just buy new ones! Ok, maybe not so much... (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-03 07:47 am UTC (link)
	This was exactly my thought when I was laying out Lacuna! :D (Reply to this) (Parent)

	benlehman 2009-07-03 02:56 am UTC (link)
	Thoughts: Hrm... is double-spacing the text really a good idea? Are the address labels at the top actually useful? Do they do anything in terms of usability? Are the things at the bottom page #s? If so, maybe a little bigger, or less cluttered with other graphics nearby. Where are the calligraphic bits going to go? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-03 07:51 am UTC (link)
	Does the text look double-spaced? It's 8 over 14, which is pretty generous leading but I thought that helped air out what had been pretty dense text in the previous pass. Maybe I can knock it down to 8/13? I think 8/12 would be too dense with this typeface. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	benlehman 2009-07-03 01:33 pm UTC (link)
	I think at least 8/13, yeah. I'm biased against big spacing though. But I think, especially for a layout this cluttered, it's good to have the text blocks actually hang together as an object. When I try to read them, my eye keeps wandering off and getting lost in the illustrations. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-03 03:22 pm UTC (link)
	I'll space out the margins around the text, too, so the text blocks will feel a little more cohesive. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	gobi 2009-07-03 07:57 am UTC (link)
	Re: The calligraphic bits: Depending on how this main body text treatment turns out, I think they're going to be in the headers for the examples of play sections that come after each step. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	benlehman 2009-07-03 01:44 pm UTC (link)
	Man, I would totally put that shit all over the headers. It is hot. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	gobi 2009-07-03 03:22 pm UTC (link)
	Oh man, but that's a lot of work for every main header in the book. :P (Reply to this) (Parent)

(29 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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