Initial idea for a small publication

This is my initial idea to show the really poor handwriting that I have found in my initial research.

It is made (intentionally) with a very heavy hand. I wanted to convey a sense of lack of care. The binding of the book I have sown with a needle and thread. In the process of doing this, I have a very uneven line for binding which I think reflects my intentions. The cover is made out of a thin coloured paper. The colour is a pastel blue, this was not a really considered choice, I want the publication to look like it has had little consideration to the design process to reflect the little consideration of the handwriting on the signs. 

The images in the book are pixelated. It is ironic that it actually takes quite a lot of design effort to create something that looks like it has had little care put into the designing of it. I made the photos black and white and imported them into an extremely low resolution file so that they created this pixelated effect. I experimented with different amounts of pixelation, I found that if the pixels were overly large then the text could not be read and the image was unrecognizable  In the end, I opted for 45 dpi imagery which works well. You can see the pixelation clearly but you can also still read the handwriting. 

I am not entirely convinced about the idea but I think that it is a good starting point. I like the idea of representing this handwriting in a way which shows that it is unconsidered. 

Initial starting point

The outline for this project has been set by university to give a starting point, though it may be developed in any way that I see fit. The project title is "then and now". I can interpret this any way that I like. I must consider the target audience for the project carefully. I should create one large and one small outcome to convey my idea of 'then and now'. Again, this can be interpreted any way that I like. This is a very open brief.

 My initial concept for this project is to explore handwriting both past and present. I noticed a sign that was scrawled in the street that was advertising a pub and I thought that it was awfully rendered. There was no consideration at all to how the sign was written, but it was supposed to attract attention and make people want to visit the place the sign was advertising. In my opinion, because of the way the sign was written, it did the opposite.

I know from knowledge that I already have that in the Victorian era, people used to write in an old fashioned script that used to be a lot more considered. This is the starting point to this project for me. I am going to explore the Victorian writing style and how the Victorians used to write and then I am going to see where this research takes me. I am not sure of how to gauge a successful outcome for this project at present. I will conduct some research and then I will write a more formal brief which will outline a project that I can respond to. 

These hideous signs have been documented in Coventry and in Bath. I find it fascinating that people would want to represent their business in this way. To me, the signs look scruffy and show a lack of care by the business. So, to kickstart this project, I am going to turn all of the imagery that I have collected showing this awful handwriting into a small publication. I do not want to show these images in a good light, I want them to be presented with the same care and attention that went into writing them, very little! In the process of doing this, I am actually paying attention to how the the pieces are presented which is a bit of a parodox, but I do not mind this. I am going to print them onto standard 90 gsm photocopier paper.