Layout Testing #1
After my 1:1 with Geraint, I started to focus on trying to place all of my images into a layout created in Adobe Indesign and start to get an idea of how my book could look like. I have chosen to create an A4 book layout as I want to be able to stick to the size that recipe books usually are so that I am able to really portray that my book is a recipe book rather than a normal book that doesn't have a meaning. As I already had a similar layout ready, I used that layout to start placing my hero photos into each page to see how they would work. I firstly tested out the Mexican Wrap hero image as it was and then compared it to the content aware fit placement as I always tend to find that I much prefer the aware fit version as it helps to focus on the whole image rather than a section of it. The first image is when the photo has just been placed into the layout which I do like but felt as though areas such as the bowl were too much in the frame and would rather have snippets. With the content aware fit placement, there is a snippet of the bowl which could allow the audience to wonder what is beyond the image and as there isn't a whole wrap with ingredients within the layout, it also makes the page more interesting to look at.
After I placed all of the hero images into the layout, I tested out placing them on the left and right page to think of what would work best for the recipe book as well as working alongside the text. I noticed straight away that the hero image should definitely go on the right hand side as you get to read the recipe and then see how the recipe could turn out once cooked. I then tried the hero image in full bleed and non full bleed as I wasn't sure what would be better as they both work and have their positives and negatives. I decided to leave the image as no full bleed for now as I wanted to have the text typed up first before deciding fully what layout would work best for me and my project.
Next up, I re thought certain hero images because I was unsure they were the right ones to portray the recipe perfectly and wanted to compare them together. With the Pie & Mash shoot, I had two specific photos that I wanted to choose from as they both had good qualities to them whether they focused on one dish or they focused half and half. After looking in them in detail, I decided to choose the first one shown in the second grid as not only did the photo only focus on one of the two bowls, it is much more simple to look at and shows the reality of how the dish came out once I made it.
After the hero images were placed into the layout and the double page spreads were there ready to have the method images placed onto them, I started typing out the actual recipe of each recipe so that I could get an actual idea of how the text and image works together. Though the text is currently very rough, one of the positives that has come from it is that having the recipe on the left hand side and the hero image on the right hand side works really well throughout the book and I won't want to change that. I then started the two double page spread layouts so that I could have every image roughly in the layout ready to edit the layout further. I decided to place each image side by side in a row as I thought it would be a lot easier and simpler for the recipe book but now looking back at the layout and these screenshots, the way I have placed the images just doesn't work for my project and to me looks rather boring to look at. For my book to work, I need to work on the double spread pages to not only keep the method shown throughout, but to get the right flow which is why I want to try and use the scatter style to portray the recipes in the right way.
I am currently unsure about the front and back cover as well as the extra pages inside of the book but I feel that after another chat to gain some feedback on what I have created so far and see what could be done with the rest of the book. I have a rough idea that I would like to have a tiny written section at the beginning to hint at what the book is about and have an acknowledgements section thanking everyone who has helped me create this project and throughout the course of the 15 weeks it will be once I hand in. There will also be a little 'About Me' page where I would speak about how much this book means to me and why I created it but I currently would like to have this section at the end of the book so that the readers can get an idea about me throughout the recipe book before ready the section about me. I will learn more about what to add and what to get rid of as time goes on.
