Work
- Creative Direction
- Typesetting
- Layout Design
- Image Editing
- Print production
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North American
Literary Agency
Transatlantic Agency is a leading literary management company with a vibrant and diverse team of 18 experienced agents based in cities across North America. Transatlantic represents more than 700 American, Canadian and internationally bestselling and award-winning clients.
Their client’s books range from commercial to literary for fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books. They regularly appear on notable bestseller lists across North America and have won major awards for both adult and children’s literature in Canada. Transatlantic Agency are recognized in the industry for their sales success and their reputation for integrity, passion and commitment.
Project Aim: Design the print publication that focuses on their full spectrum of career representation to authors; adult, children’s & young adult, as well as illustrators, and storytellers; speakers, industry leaders, and influencers across all genres and formats for book, content development, speaking and TV & Film.
Project Goal: Create a branded publication for their team to show their potential new clients about their services during conferences and meetings.
Requirements: Offset printing, digital PDF, and for in-house printing.
Creative Direction
Theme/ Concept: A storybook Layout
My creative approach is to create a visually captivating design that emulates the look and feel of a storybook. The focus is on text placement, typography, illustrations, images, and other design elements to create an engaging and cohesive reading experience to reflect the company. This concept aligns with TLA company's mission of showcasing a diverse range of books for both adults and children.
Challenge
1. Printing Limitations - Consider factors such as colour accuracy, paper stock, ink coverage, and resolution to account for printing limitations.
2. Use of Colours - Ensure the layout is suitable for in-house printing with minimal ink usage.
3. Cost and Budget Constraints- Explore options such as reducing the page count and using CMYK colours instead of incorporating Pantone to manage the budget effectively.
4. Proofreading - The iterative process of making changes within the internal team posed challenges during the pagination process.
Pagination
Layout Process
During the layout creation, I ensure that the company visual identity and branding element were effectively incorporated in the publication. This was achieved through the use of brand colours, typography and other visual elements that aligned with the "Storybook" concept.
The typesetting was formatted to reflect the style typically found in storybooks, and particular attention was given to designing a layout that could be easily printed in-house, with minimal ink usage.
1. Grid Layout - I considered the overall layout grid and column structure to ensure consistency and balance. The use of the baseline grid helped align the text effectively, and I made sure to utilize appropriate page size, margins, and gutters for the publication.
2. Styles - I created a comprehensive set of paragraph and character styles to maintain consistency throughout the publication, ensuring font size, kerning, leading, and spacing are formatted for headings, subheadings, and body copy.
3. Text Flow & Hierarchy - To ensure better readability, I focused on the important elements of the layout with the use of headings, body copy and imagery to create a clear visual hierarchy. I considered the placement and sizing of images within the layout, paying attention to alignment, cropping, and visual treatment. It was essential to ensure that images complemented the accompanying text and enhanced the overall design.
4. Master Slide - To maintain consistency across multiple pages, I used the master slides in creating the publication. This approach established a cohesive layout and design throughout the publication, incorporating headers, body copy placeholder, page numbers, and other recurring design elements.
Preparing Image for Press
When comes to images for offset printing, I make sure we are using the right colour profile to ensure the images are given their full potential. GRACoL® has proven to be an excellent specification for colour production on a quality stock with a sheetfed press, especially when comes to prepress production for publication. I usually use the "Convert to Profile" option and select "GRACoL2006_Coated1v2.icc" for CMYK.
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Profile Name: GRACoL2006_Coated1v2.icc
Color Space: CMYK
Final Outcome
Team
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Designer: Prateeba Perumal
President: Samantha Haywood
Copywriter: Megan Philipp
