OUGD504: Design for print - Page size and distribution.

After deciding that my print info pack was going to take the shape of a recipe book, I started to think about page size, what would be the best page/format of my user. My user is a first or even second year student, not particularly on graphic design but across courses at LCA whom use the print rooms. This is what I really need to consider when pitching the page size.

Distribution:
I considered more deeply where my book would be available from, where it would be kept and what it's uses would be. Since my book is quintessentially a guide of how to print for students at LCA, I thought that it could be distributed in two ways. I found that a lot of students were having the same problem as me in the print rooms, easily forgetting how to use the print equipment after induction and so my product could by in quite high demand. The user may also be travelling between both Blenheim walk and the rossington st print rooms and therefore may need a portable copy to carry from location to location. The demand for a product like this May also mean a shortage if I were to only distribute a small number of guides to the print rooms for use.
Therefore I decided the best way to distribute the information was to produce a small batch for lending out from the library or print room, and also have them available to purchase from the library if students (like myself) would like to have their own copy.

Page shape/ size:
The outcome of this decision meant that the book would be kept in a number of places; the print rooms/ plan chests/ bags/ bedrooms etc and so I would need to consider a page size that is friendly and appropriate to all of these locations.
I already knew that I wanted to emphasises the square shape as having horizontal borders down either side of my page, where I would place photographs meant that when the pages where portrait they very heavily emphasised the vertical, I wanted to help balance this out by using a page that would be more square. Because the book could be very mobile (many students may carry it around it their bags) I wanted to make sure the size would be easily portable. However I did not want to decide on a page size that would compromise the effectiveness/ readability of the examples of each print processes I was going to include (typographic posters). It was also clear when seeing other students that the size of the book, mobility wise would not be too much of an issue as they are used to carrying larger pieces of work around (a3+) however for ease of use, and because it has no necessity to be bigger I did not want to stray above the size of a4. Therefore I began to draw out a number of page sizes that are relatively close to the a4 dimensions but emphasise a squarer shape.

My chosen page size is 190mm (w) x 221mm (h), This page size, was the largest page size and was still easily mobile. The page is slightly larger height wise than a square, however this does not compromise the balance between the horizontal and the vertical. It also lends an appropriate amount of space to create effective and readable typographic examples for each of the print processes.