The document discusses the research, planning, and design process for a book on film photography, including researching similar vintage books, experimenting with layout designs, managing time, learning InDesign software, and ensuring audience appeal through a retro aesthetic. Key aspects included taking inspiration from photographers like Ansel Adams, using a three-column text layout, and incorporating colors from the cover image throughout.

1. Evaluation
Adam Christie-Mileham

2. Production Process Evaluation

3. Research
For my research I knew id need to do lots more in depth design research to make sure that for my FMP I
was finding the most helpful media to inspire my designs for my book as I knew what kind of style I
wanted in my had but I needed to see some similar physical products that I could work from.
I think the strengths of my research was managing to find products that were a similar style to what I had
planned as I knew I wanted something classic like an old-fashioned book so I purposely looked at older
books by classic photographers like Ansel Adams who had that kind of style from their work and that
helped me imagine what mine could look like and take a lot of style choices from his books using the
simple design of having one image in the centre then having a nice frame around it for my text was an
idea id taken from his work from the start as I thought I looked like the smartest way to have the front
cover look.
The other products I looked at influenced my final product massively as there was lots of other peoples
work that looked a lot like how I wanted my own product to work but I didn't’t want to just copy
someone else's so I had to make sure mine was different enough for it to be original so I decided to make
mine more colourful on the cover and inside the pages as most of the books I read were all black and
white pages inside so I added coloured borders to images and titles with bright reds so that it stood out
more than what id seen which I thought made my work seem more enjoyable to read and too look at for
the viewers.
I also knew that id have to research products that were going to pair well with my target audience which
I knew would mostly be for an older generation or at least people over the age of 16 and I know a lot of
older people like the kind of style that they’ve grown up with which is the old-fashioned book covers and
a certain style that they’ve grown to love, this kind of old fashioned style has also become popular of
younger adults that like retro and classic styles so I think I found a good in-between balance for both
sides of the demography.
I knew I also needed to research what the insides of my pages would look like as I knew most magazine
and books had their text in certain styles so after I tried a few different variants I thought having 3
downwards columns on each page would look the best as I could then format my images where I needed
and it would look natural to break the text up in that way

4. You can see the similarities between my work and the work I researched from Ansel Adams I really
wanted to keep that simplistic design on the front but I thought what id researched was not enough
for what my book was going to be so I added lots more information to the cover to help out the
reader like adding a little sentence or two about what the book contains and what its all about.
I also thought the black and white was too dreary for my book so I decided to try make it as colorful
as possible as it looks dull to the reader and mainly because the original book I based some ideas of
was published in a time where color printing on that scale would have been very expensive
My final design Researched product

5. Planning
• The strengths of my planning was having a set idea that I could
form different designs around so I managed to come up with quite
a few ideas on layouts and designs that I thought would look good
for my final product I knew my final idea would have to be made in
either Photoshop or InDesign but I hadn't used InDesign before so I
decided that for my planning experiments I would practice and
learn how to use the software as I knew It would be a much better
tool to help me with my final design so I started working on laying
out a front cover based on what I had looked at in my research

6. The 1st few designs I planned out on InDesign weren't
what I had envisioned and weren't too similar to what id
researched so I went back into what id looked at and
tried working from what id originally planned and I
finally started getting it to look how id pictured with the
one big image and a nice frame which is where my other
designs went wrong as they were just all one big image
and everything looked too spaced out and you couldn't
focus one what you needed to read which was the title.
I was using images from my own portfolio that id taken
recently but the images id tested on the 1st two designs
felt either too dark and gloomy or too washed out and
bright whereas I wanted a nice neutral color that didn't’t
overwhelm the reader, then I found an image id taken a
year or two ago of this bench and I thought it would be
perfect as its not too distracting from the text and it’s a
nice neutral photo and to keep with the theme I used
the palette tool where I can get a selection of colors
taken from the photo and I used them for the text and
background so everything had a theme and
synchronized well with each other. This let me to my
final experiment which is almost the same as my final
design as I liked it so much as it really fit well with the
final idea.
Final experiment before
making final cover

7. Time Management
• On this project I tried to manage my time better than on previous projects as its what I usually
struggle on and end up rushing certain parts of my product so I tried to completely stick to the
timetable we were set at the start of the product and leaving any last bits that needed fixing right
at the end so I could focus on making whatever I was working on that week the best I could with
the time I had which I think definitely helped out a lot more as some weeks I found myself on top
of everything I needed to do and managed to get some things finished earlier than I expected so I
could start moving on to the next parts.
• I also have been keeping a weekly diary of what I managed to get done during that week of work
which I think helped me a lot to see what kind of work I was getting and what parts I wasn’t doing
so well in or not making as much progress as other sections of the project.
• I think if I had more time on my project I would have maybe added some more pages into my
book as I wanted to have quite a few but I decided I preferred quality over quantity and if I had
done loads of pages I probably wouldn't have been able to make them as well as the ones I have
finished now but I definitely had a few ideas for more but finding a style to lay out my text in
columns took longer than expected which next time I will have to plan in advance more
thoroughly.
• If I had more time I would have gone back and
taken some more images for the page I did about
loading 35mm as I struggled to get good photos for
it as I couldn't find the angle where it showed off
the right section of the camera without it looking
funny to the reader so if I could go back id have
thought more about it as now I've moved on I've
thought of a few ways where I could have made it
work out and get those better images.

8. Technical Qualities
For the technical side of my work I had a lot to learn as the software I had chosen to use which was
InDesign I had never used before but I knew it was the best software for the type of project I was doing, as
its what most professional graphic designers use and what most real books and magazines will be made on.
for my experiments I practiced a lot and learned all the basics of setting up the pages and using the grids so
that I could get everything lined up perfectly as with books and magazines its vital that all the text is set up
right and everything is coordinated in straight lines and all in the right shape otherwise it just looks messy
and unprofessional.
Over the time spent on my final product I managed to learn a lot on how to use the software but it was
quite a learning curve at the start as its quite different to software's like Photoshop and premier and before
id only really used those too for my projects and at home work.
I found the software InDesign really useful as there was lots of tools I used to make the actual theme and
colors of my book especially with the palette tool where I could click an image and take a selection of the
primary colors in that image and I used hose colors to format my texts and backgrounds so I had a nice
matching set of pages and designs.
For a few of my pages I needed to take some pictures of the cameras I own as I was doing some reviews on
them and the lenses on them but the problem I had was the only cameras I own were film cameras and I
couldn't use them to take pictures of my other cameras as id have to wait awhile to get them developed
and scanned so I booked out a digital camera from college to use for a few days so I could get all the images
of my cameras I needed, they came out just how I liked where I had the camera just up against a nice
simple white background so it keeps it nice and clean looking and fits well into my pages.
The only thing I wish I could have done better was some of the images for the 35mm guide page as I
struggled to find good angles to show off how to do the steps so some of them don’t look as good as id
liked.

9. As you can see in the images above there are two examples of the column design I decided on as
there's a lot you can do with filling up your page using text and images and it looks really smart. This
design I thought also helps with reading as in lots of magazines people struggle to know where the
text carries on as it seems to be jumbled all over the place and you can loose what you were reading
easily. These pages specifically I think use this design to its full potential as they look exactly how I
envisioned my final page to look like.
I had originally set my pages up more like a reading book where it would be just text in boxes with a
few images either on the top or bottom but realized it looked way to simple and nothing really like
how a informational book/magazine should really be set up and I ended up having to read through
some magazines about photography just to see physically how their pages were set up which helped a
lot.

10. These were some designs I made
early on of what I thought my
pages would look like as a plan but
this was before I realized the
importance of using columns and
having a set style with how my text
would be laid out on the pages as
on this plan I made it looks really
untidy and all over the place so the
reader would struggle to follow the
words this is why changing my text
made the pages work out a lot
better otherwise they could of
looked like this which is why I'm
glad I did more research and read
some real physical magazines that
are more modern.

11. Aesthetic Qualities
Overall I believe my work looks good in terms
of aesthetic as it’s the part I put the most time
into to get right as with a book like this the
looks and layout are one of the most important
parts maybe except from the text and content.
I started out by making myself a column design
which I talked about in a previous slide which
was perfect for keeping my images and text all
how I wanted without overfilling my pages and
keeping the pages look streamlined and easy to
read.
I'm happy with the images I selected for my
pages as while I was taking them I already
knew what kind of layout I was going to have to
I could see in my head what kin of crops I
would need and what kind of shots would look
great on my pages.
This page below is a good example of what I
was thinking as it’s page all about on specific
camera and how It works I knew I needed a
variety of images in close and far away to show
off the entire thing from the best angles
It took quite a lot of trial and error to get all
the pages lined up how I wanted and I'm
still not sure on some of them but with my
skills I think I did the best that I could to
replicate and take inspiration from the
work I looked at while researching I think If
I could go back I would have maybe
changed he fonts on the titles of some
pages as not all of them are not how I like
them and I think they could be better

12. The top image is a page from a photography
magazine that has a similar layout to mine
where it uses 3 columns as a theme for all its
text this carries over on the other pages too
which is where I took a lot of inspiration
from as its good to keep a consecutive style
throughout all of the pages and I tried to
replicate this style in my work which is the
image at the bottom.
Both these products have the intention of
having the photos displayed as large as they
can while having enough room on their
pages for text and space so this type of text
alignment really helps out as you can tuck
your words under the images and it looks
really smart.
The other product has gone to the lengths of
keeping the page in one set theme by having
it all black and white even with the images
and text which makes it look really nice and
sleek but I knew with mine I was going to be
using color photos as that’s what the person
the page is about shoots with so I decided to
make those photos stand out by giving them
a nice dark frame around the images and
keeping the text nice and black with a bold
font.

13. In a previous slide I briefly talked about how I wanted to find a way to make my pages stand
out from the ones I had researched from the 1900s as they were all mostly black and white
pages with minimal images and very rarely any color, I tried mine without color and it looked
nothing like how I wanted it so I decided to use the palette tool to take colors from my front
cover image and I used the individual colors as frames for the images I had selected for my
pages which I think turned out really nice and livened up my work and what makes it nicer is
that its all colors that fit into the central image on my front cover so there's a nice theme
going on in all of my book.
Color palette choices

14. This is a
screenshot of
the color palette
I used from my
front cover to
set a theme for
my whole book
which took
awhile to find
the right image
but in the end I
was super
happy with all
the colors that
came out of it
for the frames
and the
backdrop on the
pages.
Software used
was InDesign

15. Audience Appeal
In terms of audience appeal I think I've managed to keep my product relevant to the
demography that I had planned as I knew that my age range would be around 16 year olds
onwards even people as old as 80s as there is still a big community of older photographers
that never moved on to digital as they were so used to using the classic cameras they grew
up with that’s why I wanted a lot of my designs to replicate the sort of classic old style
book/magazine style. My thought process was that the older generation would see my
book and like it as its something familiar to them or even nostalgic which could interest
them to pick it up just based on looks but then I also thought that would be good for the
younger generation as its popular to have things that are vintage and retro as it comes in
and out of fashion all the time especially at the moment so that could encourage any
young people who are interested in that old fashioned style and then they could become a
part of the photography hobby which the book I've made teaches, whether or not that is
actually how people would see the book but that’s what my thought process was when
designing it but I think I've tried my best to replicate what id read from that time era which
was mainly the Ansel Adams series of book about camera work on producing film as they
are very popular books in the world of photography as he's a very well renowned person in
the knowledge of photography.
In terms of my audience for the more educational side I think I've managed to include
enough information and helpful reviews that someone who was interested in the hobby or
wanted to learn more might be interested on picking it up.

16. Peer Feedback
Questionnaire

17. Feedback 1
What did you enjoy about the product:
I liked the fact that it wasn’t all just writing as I don’t like books or magazines that only
have loads of words and no pictures especially since it’s a book about photography.
What did you learn from the product:
I learnt a lot about how to use the cameras if I wanted to ever try it and I learned some
nice things about the photographer who's book was reviewed on one of the slides
What could I have improved on the product:
I think maybe there could have been a few more pages as there isn't as many as a
normal book would have and maybe make some of it more simplified for non
photographers in the way you talk about the cameras.

18. Feedback 2
What did you enjoy about the product:
I enjoyed the theme of the book a lot as its not something you see a lot of nowadays
and I really liked the style you went for especially the colors of the book as it all looks
really pleasing to the eyes and doesn't’t confuse the reader.
What did you learn from the product:
since I knew a fair amount about film cameras from when I used them years ago it
was good to see a refresher on how to load the film as I think by now I would have
forgotten how to actually get the film into the camera and remove it without ruining
my photos, so it was good to see the guide.
What could I have improved on the product:
I think you could have maybe made some of the pages more informative to people
who don’t know anything about photography like the lens reviews as people who are
really new to the hobby wont really understand what your saying.

19. Feedback 3
What did you enjoy about the product:
I enjoyed the pages a lot because there was a nice mixture of photos and words and
I'm not a big fan of reading too much but there is a nice amount of information to read
without being bored
What did you learn from the product:
I learnt a lot about why you might want to use certain types of film for certain places
you go or for certain sceneries you see
What could I have improved on the product:
I think there could have been a bit more as it’s a small book but there is a lot on all the
pages so its filled up well but another set or two of pages would have been nice

20. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
• I agree a lot with the feedback that I collected as most of them had similar thinking
to me especially with the fact that I would have liked to have added more pages
but I would have needed more time to make them as detailed and look as good as
the other slides so I decided not too last minute. I also agree with some of the
slides maybe being too complicated for non photographers or beginners to read
especially the lens review pages as they were meant for more informed
photographers looking for something new but I could have made it a bit easier to
read or more accessible. I agree that I worked well around having enough photos
and not too much text as that’s one of the main things I didn't’t want to do wrong
as lots of text can be very boring especially for a photography book as a lot of
people prefer visual learning in books which is why I tried hard to get that balance.

21. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
• I think disagree with one of the feedback points which was that more than a few
pages were too complicated for the standard reader and that the whole thing
needed to be more simplified for non photographers and the reason I disagree is
because the book was made for beginners and people who have been in the hobby
for years as I wanted a good mix of learning and giving out information to people
that want something quite specific which is why the lens reviews are there and the
book review as those are things that are mostly interesting to people who have
been in the hobby for awhile and aren't just beginners.
• Apart from that big point I think most of the feedback on improvements was good
and usefully to me as I knew a few of them already were things I wish I could have
done better/taken more time on.

22. Peer Feedback Summary
Based on what my feedback says and how I feel about my work I think
there's a few things I would have done differently while making it and
mainly it would have been to plan for an extra few pages so that I could
have fit it into my timeframe instead of thinking about it last minute when
there wasn’t much time to get the pages I wanted to add to the required
detail needed. I would have liked to do some pages more about an
interview with a photographer and maybe have some questions and
answers from them about what they do and why.
I think I also would have make some of the pages that are meant to be for
intermediate photographers a little bit more accessible for the readers
who are new to photography so they can understand and learn some more
from it.
I would make all these changes based on the feedback I've gained as that’s
who its made for and its meant to be for a wide audience so it has to cater
for a lot of people.
I think this feedback has helped me a lot for future projects of this kind as
ill know if I have an idea that could benefit my work make sure to plan for
everything even if I don’t end up doing it in the final draft otherwise I can
miss out because of time and be able to add things I that make the final
piece much better.