The book I’m studying has a large variation of organization and layout throughout, but there are some key elements that I noticed that help the book to remain cohesive. First, the design of the cover for my publication sets the tone for some of the key design elements used throughout. It uses a triangular design and color to signify importance, which is mirrored within the text. The hierarchy of text is placed on the location (Montreal) in order to signify that this book is about the city, and subsequently it’s architecture. Although all of the images used in the book are not formatted in this exact way, the way that the image of the highway is blocked in is fairly consistent throughout. The overall look is modern and sleek, which is also the feel of the architecture featured in the book.
The folio has the same diagonal design, and incorporates the pink, yellow and blue colors used in the book that signify different chapters.
The picture above shows the way in which the “triangle” shape created by the diagonal design is used within the text to convey importance. In this case, it is done in tandem with a pull quote, and helps to contextualize the whole page.
In this photo, you can see the way that each of the books four sections (along with the introduction) uses the same style as the cover to signify the beginning of a chapter. While each chapter differs in its organization due to the different nature of its content, the fact that they all begin in the same way visually grounds the reader and works as a visual cue.
The table of contents is particularly interesting to me, as it has an untraditional, non-hierarchical design. I appreciate the way it mirrors the cover and subsequently the beginnings of each chapter with its diagonal design, and also the way that it gives the chapters equal weight visually. To me, it implies that even though the chapters are of varying lengths, due to the aspect of architecture they are focused on, they are all of equal importance to the books entire message. I also appreciate the consistent color usage in this book, as the colors used in the table of contents are prominent throughout each chapter. This means that if I turned to a random page, I would know what section I was in simply by looking at the color.
Lastly, I appreciated the way that even the page numbers remained consistent with the diagonal design, creating a cohesiveness throughout.
