Considering the physicalities of the book

 Physical considerations

Layout

I want the layout of my publication to play around with a balance of context and content; as a result of my concept surrounding the idea of stickers within political movements and the role of stickers in conveying political messages. I definitely want to experiment with using tip-ins to include context/ facts about each political group, as it will provide context to the audience and share the intentions of the stickers more. This will ensure my publication can have a balance of seriousness with non-violent and lighthearted imagery. I also really want to feature images of protests of each political movement, in order to represent their identity more.

Format

In order to relate further to the theme of stickers and their role within politics, I thought it could be interesting to print the whole publication on sticker paper; I could print the front cover on sticker paper so that sections of the cover could be peeled away. Not only would this make the publication interactive through exploring the tactility of stickers, it could also relate to the idea of censorship within politics as the audience can remove part of the image. Additionally, I thought that for the front cover, I could have the sticker paper pasted as a tip-on on top of another image on the hardback, so that when the audience peel back the stickers on the front cover, it reveals another image.  

I want to take inspiration from 'Wrappers Delight' in how my publication is packaged physically; I thought it could make my design more playful if the publication is wrapped in a sweet wrapper poster. This would be a sheet of paper folded the wrap the book, that would also be transformed into a fold out poster when unwrapped. This would provide a fun and lighthearted element to the design through taking inspiration from vintage sweet wrappers and their visual language; at the same time, using a poster format in the publication would also play as a homage to posters used in protests and politics.  

Binding

I really want to use a ring bound binding technique for my publication, as it would allow me to use it to add a playful plastic element to the outcome; I know that I want my publications visual language and tone to be fun and playful, so using bright colours in every element of the books design is essential. 

As well as this, ring binding could be nice in relating to the collective nature of sticker and sticker collecting - almost like a scrapbook. 

Paper stock

The key feature for my publication is the content being printed on sticker paper; this will ensure that the whole outcome is interactive and links to my interest thoroughly. I need to consider what kind of vinyl I want to print on; e.g. glossy or matt? Also, in order for my front cover idea to work, I need to think about the transparency of the sticker paper as I want it to reveal an image. I also want my front cover to be a hardback paper stock, as I want it to have some kind of sturdiness due to being wrapped. In terms of coloured paper, I think bright coloured paper could work really nice for the the tip-ins, as it will ensure my publication has a strong fun atmosphere.