A6 literature- experimenting with layout

The following are layout ideas for the front of this A6 literature. I want to keep it very simple. I want the logo on the front, and a simple explanation of what the leaflet is about. When I come to do the style guide I will explain that this can be about anything to do with the Typography Workshop and any information that they need to distribute. For some reason, the pantones have changed on these experiments, I think that I have imported the wrong pantone list into indesign. Some of the colours are a lot lighter than my final pantone colour range. However, they work perfectly fine for illustrating layout ideas as the composition at this stage is more important than the colours used. 

I am finding it very difficult to get the front of the A6 literature to look aesthetically pleasing and balanced as a composition. Either the type looks out of place or the patterns do not look right. Also, I have noticed that I am using 4mm squares (that I filled in the gutter of the grid) in the coloured grids of these ideas. When I come to design the final ideas, I will remove these. I need to come up with a simpler method of designing the front of A6 literature. I have decided that in the style guide, I am going to define that the logo type requires a boundary of at least one module. Also, I am going to state that the logo can only be produced on a white background. Therefore, because of the size of the grid, the logo on A6 literature creates a rectangluar band across the whole of the composition. I do not mind this, I think it creates an interesting dynamic composition, particularly as I am purposefully not placing this white band in the centre of the composition. 

Here, I am experimenting with 16 point type for the word 'Timetable'. I think that simply writing 'Timetable' is enough to explain what the leaflet is about. Because the typography workshop identity is designed so that it is displayed across the whole of Sion Hill campus, after a short while people should become familiar with the logotype and therefore I am opting not to write 'Typography Workshop' on all literature that I produce. 

I think that the above image is definately getting somewhere, the positioning of the coloured pattern is strong, I like the way that it draws your eye to the top right of the composition, however The typography Workshop Timetable type is far too small. It gets lost in the coloured pattern and the size of the logo. I think that the reason why I am finding it difficult to come up with a design that is aesthetically pleasing is because the logo is so large. However, this cannot be altered as it is designed so that it fits into the gutter space of the document grid. 

Having vertical type certainly doesnt work. It makes for a very confusing layout. 

I have decided that to simplify the design process and to reduce the amount of possibilities of design, I am going to dictate the coloured pattern that you have to use and edit. This will mean that the designer will be able to make a quicker decision for the composition of the front of the A6 literature. It will work following the same principles as design for A2 literature where I define the coloured pattern and the designer edits this. However, I think that I only need one coloured pattern this time