www.joeewong.com

Some good news

Ahhh! My book was printed and bound today.

I actually changed the size of my book from 8.5x8.5" to 5x7". Though it is significantly smaller, I thought the size was fitting as it has a handheld map quality to it.

I also didn't do white/white cover. I drew out the topographical map of Algonquin Park and by the looks of it, it would have been more than complex to apply a vinyl sticker on the cover due to the tiny islands and levels of relief. Instead, I opted for the topographical map to be on the cover at 75%, which I'm satisfied with.

I did end up going with perfect binding and I am happy I did. The design of my book and cover is very contemporary and fits well as a unified piece. I'll try to take some photos tonight. Although I'm worried that due to the size of my book, people will think it is a book that lacks content or even quality. :( I think my book was nicely designed and it is reflective of my experiences, it's just I've seen books from my peers and they used complex materials and binding - while I stuck to more contemporary forms that suit my book. Or maybe I shouldn't worry. I'm happy with what I did for this class. If there were more time, I would definitely add more content from my trips.

The only thing: I printed one copy...
I'm now afraid to leave this out when I'm not present at my booth because I want this book to be in pristine condition for external assessment. Worse comes to worse, I can print and bind another copy on Tuesday.

I hope everyone else's books are coming along great. I can't wait to see them all!
I'll try to post some photos of my finished product.

I'm kind of undecided about this spread... Any thoughts? Thanks :)

I'm well on my way with my book!
It's stressful since I've been balancing my book with advanced packaging and workshop but I think I can do this...

I just wanted to thank everyone for their valuable input! I think everyone raised interesting and valid points and I will definitely consider them as I progress with the book. I hope my input was helpful to everyone as well. Thanks again! :)

Here are few more spreads that I've been working on the past few days.


My other sister and I have this inside joke about deers. We haven't seen any on our trips but we always joke around about them. This spread is different from the others, in the sense that it is black/white but only because there's another part of the spread coming :) You'll see!


A few years back, a little frog decided to hang out where we'd enter/exit our campground to go canoeing. My sister and I nicknamed him Joey - for some unknown reason - but I was able to get some super great shots of him, and I knew I had to include him. I think this spread is missing another element? I feel like putting in an illustrative pattern.

Question #3 - Style

With each of my spreads being treated differently in terms of typography, composition, etc., will that make my spreads disconnected from each other?

I mean, each spread has a story to tell... an experience to share. These stories have happened (for example, I was in a canoeing and happened to canoe right under a low tree filled with spiders) or these stories were made up based on the content (like the ant eating spread - obviously I couldn't hear it crunch on the leaves but that's what it was doing when I was taking the photo - see the image below)

So uh, my question again is: with each of my spreads designed differently, will that make my spreads disconnected from each other? Will it still look "together"?

I hope that makes sense..

Question #2 - Binding

I like the idea of having a perfect bound book. It looks clean and it looks professional. I'll also be able to do the labour myself at the print shop I work at, which will save me some time.

But am I closing my options? Should I consider other binding options that were demoed in class?

I do like the idea of a hardcover book... but I think that the time frame between now and Grad Show is too short if I did it by hand or at a professional binder. :(