Final Developments

Through printing out each of my developments I was able to identify things that weren't working and what needed fixing. Some essential things that I changed were:

• Changing the font to sans-serif to have more of a playful and joyful vibe
• Swapping the colour of the font from white to black to make it more legible
• Only have the three close ups of the playgrounds on the last page to minimise the amount that is going on in the first spread 
• Added pull out quotes to fill the awkward spaces created from the body text
• Use thread to join the brochure so the overall quality increases

Sourcing Body Text

I found it useful in this process to identify the key points that I wanted to have in each spread so I could create a concise section of information that highlighted all you need to know in approximately 100 words. Although, since I did need a lot of information so a few of the spreads are closer to 120 words but I felt that it was necessary.

To start with I wanted to include price information of some activities at the playgrounds but due to space issues I decided to cut them out. This decision was also influenced by the fact that this information is easily available on the internet if the parent really needed to find out about it.

Critique

In this class we all got to look at each others brochures which was helpful to me because I was able to identify areas I was lacking in my design as well as getting good ideas for further development. We also gave each other constructive comments to help each other along in our process. Many of my comments said that my illustrations and overall design suited the topic well which boosted my confidence that what I was doing was on the right track. One suggestion told me that the cover wasn't really working as well as it could be which I completely agree with as it needs improving. Tulia commented that there was a lack of information for parents that would need to use the brochure. This is somewhat relevant as I have not yet sourced the text for my pages, however, from this I did get the idea to highlight key points so it would be easier to spot for people quickly flicking through the book.

Introduction and 'Wild' Page with Maps

Taking the critique from Donald on board, I focused on my second concept by mapping out my first and last spread with the exact same aesthetic. I used the colours in my colour palette that where present in each of the three spaces so the pages were more neutral and linked well with the rest of the brochure.

For the last page I decided on mapping out the different activities and places that would be useful for parents. By adding this information it can aid the user of the brochure to make a more educated choice when deciding on which playground/s to go to.

The style I chose for the maps is similar to that of normal google maps but swapping out the colours to following my colour palette. I thought that having the maps in this style would  suit well with the block coloured illustrations I already have present on the other spreads. 

Alternate Layout

Looking through my concepts I felt that I reached a final development too quickly and didn't explore enough with different compositions which I think is very limiting to my design. I decided to jump back a step and look at mixing up the layout while keeping with the same aesthetic.

However, I talked to Donald and he suggested not to bother doing something different, rather develop on the same idea and try make it the best as possible.

Colours for Third Spread

Experimented with the colour combination for the text and background to find the best in terms of legibility as well as following the aesthetic.

I settled on the top middle one as the tittle was dark enough to be able to stand out from the white background as well as the mustard coloured background doesn't loose the white body text.

Third Spread

For the Freyberg Beach Play Area, I decided it was too complicated to incorporate both the beach and the play equipment,  therefore, I feel just the climbing rope pyramid would suffice in describing how this space is different from Frank Kitts and the Botanic Gardens.

This illustration took a very long time and I was a bit apprehensive about it to start with, but I think has turned out well. The only thing that concerns me is the colour palette of this third spread is  making the title and body text hard to read. I want to use a bright yellow to continue with the kid theme but I may have to make a compromise to allow the type to be legible.

Needs further colour development / experimentation.