Publication final crit feedback and evaluation

The draft publication produced for todays crit has pretty much the exact content that is intended for the final outcome, the only difference is the materials and techniques. This gives me great confidence in the validity of the feedback received. In general the peer reception was very positive and far better than I had expected as I have really struggled to get the publication together in time. It is not to the usual polished standard that I would have expected 4 days before a hand in. However I know the process of production now so only need to invest time into a bit of visual development from recommendations and more detailed for production with attention paid to binding.

In terms of peer feedback, particular attention was paid to the concept which was unanimously praised due to its interactivity. This is a big confidence boost this late in proceedings. However there were comments made on the construction and paper stock being too flimsy. This is a fair reflection as it did look very messy when it was finished with, however one other reviewer said they enjoyed the abstract forms and pattern created by the rips. In this respect I feel that there could be some potential to learn from my mistakes as inspired by Steve Hockett. However if I want to create a professional looking publication the paper stock must change. I am currently fairly set on cartridge paper for the internal pages with a red card on the outside. On the topic of the red paper, one peer review complimented it and how it fits with the black and white internal pages. However the original plan had been to print the pages in colour but I didn't mention this in my rational. With this in mind I think I should look into using grayscale for at least some of the internal elements with a spot colour of red to tie in the ironic 'if it bleeds it leads' theme.

Comments were made on the article layouts as their visual representations were strong enough for people to get just from looking at them. However maybe I do to some extent want the impact to be subtle as the text itself should do most of the work as a welcome break from the posters. With this being said though readability shouldn't be my primary concern as I want the publication to have a playful interactivity about it as it tackles serious issues. On a positive, regarding the articles, someone said that they new what every section was about without and labelling or dividing pages which is a real positive, demonstrating the power and suitability of the images and articles. It was mentioned that instructions to tear would be a useful addition however I don't want to weaken the aesthtic with lots of instructions so maybe just a more clear tab on the rip line would be a good addition for the final. 

I think I should play on the two sides theme more possibly by separating the posters by colour also, this was suggested as a positive from the crit and would improve the visual narrative, increasing clarity on why there are two posters. The binding I use was also discussed and 5 stitch was suggested, however I know this wont be possible due to the reverse pages so Japanese is the only conceivable option. I need to look at my type setting to ensure the margins are wide enough as this type of binding will use up a lot of space. 

There was one main technical issue with the rushed production and that was the printing of the cover, which was done at home and therefore wasn't very good quality with limited ink in the printer. I feel the logo type also needs looking at as it may be a little confusing. The name could certainly be refined. I actually really enjoy how the pages ripped but for a more professional aesthetic I should look into using the perforator at uni. Other than that I feel content is good and I'm all ready for production. However the time frame is very tricky to work with.