Thinking about my layout


Although I'm creating an e-Book in this project, I still need to have a creative layout that sets it apart from others. With my choice of layout, I can either warp the shape of paragraphs to give the book a more illustrative layout, or even use a traditional layout of another genre to mimic/parody. I have tried to look at a relevant range of layouts that I found interesting.

Examples of shaping text placement

This is a good example of how text can by placed within an image as a substitute. By directly connecting my story's text with the accompanying illustrations, my e-Book will highlight the importance of the images. I could shape paragraphs of text as key objects within an illustration. For example, as the sunken chest is a key object in 'the Tale of the Three Apples', I could manipulate a passage of text into the shape of the chest. This would highlight that it is an important object at this point in the story. This could also be done with the boulder that blocks the entrance to the cave in 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'. A disadvantage to this design form however, is the fact that some shapes may make the paragraph of text difficult to follow, compromising the functional aspect of the e-Book.









With this example, the passage of text is manipulated in a way that flows towards the imagery smoothly. the text substitutes the spray of the perfume, but also brings peoples attention to the illustration at the end of the text. I like the pattern that cradles the text as it breaks up the white space.


When I first looked at this layout, I thought that the shape of the fish was cut out from the mirroring blank page. This would then allow the text on the page behind the fill out the silhouette making the shape seem it was made out of words. This is an interesting idea, yet it might suit a printed publication more than an e-Book.



This design is similar to the first two, as the text is used to substitute an image (in this case, the steam from the kettle). However, this example is more creative. The curved flow of text is eye-catching and naturally fits the accompanying illustration. This is something I definitely want to experiment with in my design phase.
Here, the manipulated extracts of text aren't warped into an image, but rather just regular shapes. Paragraphs are rotated or slanted to make them stand out from block of text (right page). Although visually attractive, I feel that it would break up the natural flow of reading and some readers may find it confusing from a functional stand point. I do like the large stranded key words 
though.


This lithographic poster is an illustration from 'Alice in Wonderland' that consists of text from the entire story. The image has been created by changing the font colour of certain words. This is an interesting method as it still keeps the text legible, whilst also creating an image. I want to try this, yet I wont use white font, as legibility is important to my aims.



Examples of clean, uniform text layout

These are examples of more simple, modern layouts. The clean style of these are beautiful from a design standpoint. 

With this first example, the majority of the text seems traditional. It's the paragraph on the right that catches your eye as it is slightly slanted. This shows that any subtle alteration can manipulate a reader in to glancing at it. I also like the placement of the overlapping header. This overlapping theme is continued with the diamonds on the right page. Another aspect I admire is monotone look, with only one additional colour. It means that anything that possess this pinkish hue stands out straight away.





This is an example of a page from the minimalist magazine layout I looked at in my 'interactive e-Book' research. This very subtle approach is simple, yet professional. The fact that only text exists on the page means that there are no distractions. However, as I want to have interactivity, and visuals in my e-Book, I would add some in. I would have the page look like this at first, keeping the uncluttered look, but then have visual flow in at as the user swipes along. Almost like a animated transition from page to page, at key moments.









Looking at an Arabic newspaper layout

Since my aim is to tell the story from a modern media perspective, portraying the events through several mock newspaper articles would be effective. For each page, I could have a headline, highlighting the typical way western media portrays issues in the Arab world. For example, for 'the Tale of the Three Apples', on the page where the Caliph finds the dismembered body in the chest, I could have a headline such as ''Muslim man found with dismembered body of woman''. This would emphasise the fact that western news outlets always seem to find a way to bring Islam into Arab issues. Not to mention, many villanize Muslim men as abusive towards women. I think this would be a hard-hitting method of portraying the story, and emphasising issues in media.