Starting the guide...

So this is the third year that I've designed the contents of the Bath Fringe Festival guide. I thought, especially for the benefit of some of my students you might like to see how I do these things. I'm not saying it's the best way, and I expect there will be many trials on the way.

For a reminder this is what last year's cover looked like - I didn't do this it was a student from Bath Spa University, I did the contents.

To make the cover design feel like it belonged with the rest of the publication, I spent and hour or two dropping ink onto paper until I got some nice blobs. These were then scanned, covered to 2-bit graphics and colourised in InDesign. They used a Multiply blend so that you could see through them to what was underneath and so that the colours mixed on the pages

Incidentally, all these pictures are quick screen shots I did while working on the 2015 guide. That's why you can see the construction lines and guides.

Here's a spread from the finished 2014 guide. Makes use of cutouts and text wraps to add interest. Also angled text. Challenge is to make this year's different enough. Quite happy with the blobs although they did get a lot of remarks. Curiously, this year's cover (2015) which I'm not going to show until it's published - also features blobs. But I'm definitely not going to use them again!

This is the FAB (Fringe Arts Bath) side of the A3 flyer, It's a pretty formal layout that contrasts well with...

...the rear, which is designed to have a 'home-brew' look about it. This year I'm trying to think of better, out-of-the-box print solutions for this. I guess in the end time and money will decide.