The final step in my branding process was to finally print my photo book. After ordering the Naturalis paper and sending my design to the printers, I received the flat pages back. I started by folding the pages in half to create the french folds, and cut along the edges to make sure everything lined up and was the same size. The next step was to create the cover, which I chose to do using one of the textured Colorplan stocks from GF Smith in ebony. As an extra cover however, I wanted to have some sort of introduction to the book after opening it, before jumping straight into the photography, and So I printed a blank page with the secondary logo placed in the centre. I chose to use a glossy finish paper as I felt that this would help the page to stand out, and would make a nice difference to the rest of the book. I wanted to incorporate this page more into the design, and as the front cover at the moment was just plain black, I decided to cut a diamond out of it, allowing the logo on the white page to show through on the cover. I really like this as I feel that it not only makes for a more interesting and ore engaging experience, but it also gives an actual cover to the book, rather than just having it black.
Another sample that I asked for from GF Smith was this Transclear stock in Wizard White. This semi transparent stock is similar to tracing paper, and I love the soft feel and look that this paper has. Originally I wanted to print the cover logo onto this paper, but from trying to print with it I found that I couldn’t get the ink to sit on this stock without running. I wanted to still incorporate this stock into my book somehow however, and so I decided to use it as a flysheet, blank in the front of the book. I found that when pressed flat against a printout behind it, the image can actually be seen through the Transclear paper, and so I thought it wold be an interesting addition to place this between the logo and the front cover; acting as protection for the glory paper, but also making for a more interesting design.
After finalising all of these decisions, I finally moved to binding the book. I printed a quick, cheap copy of one of the book pages so that I could fold the paper in half 4 times, as this gave me the equally spaced points on the page that I wold put the thread through to bind. I actually used a leather belt hole punch to make the holes in the book, using the printout as a template over each page to make sure that all of the pages lined up perfectly. This was successful, and the final step was to actually bind the book together, referring back to the videos I looked at, and again using red thread to contrast and stand out from the black front and back covers. Using the hole punch to make actual holes actually made the process much quicker and easier, and I quite quickly had finished binding the book, giving me the finished product.
I am unbelievably happy with the outcome of this book; I think it is a strong example of my design skills and my creativity, and I love that it is a much more personal piece of design, where I have curated it, meticulously chosen the paper, and finally bound the book together all myself. As well as furthering my own skills, I think this is a very strong piece of branding, and is a product that represents the brand I have created in a very strong and exciting way. I love that it is an engaging and good looking piece of design, and I like that I have managed to incorporate most of the design styles and brand aesthetics that I have evolved and created throughout the project. I feel that this is a solid culmination of all of the aspects of the Coleman Customs brand, and it is a strong example of the kind of standard that my brand has. I am proud of this design and I think it successfully works to fulfil the brief, acting as a promotional item, and also a work of art to some extent, that represents the brand in an engaging, interesting, and unique way.