Thursday, September 10, 2009

Miskatonic Notebook Layout

Here's the preliminary design for the Miskatonic Field Journal. The minor title and font change should avoid any problems with the nice folks at Field Notes while still capturing the look of a period fieldbook. The front cover elements are slightly off center (about 1/16th of an inch to the right) to account for the distortion from the cover fold.



As always, your feedback is appreciated. If the cover meets with your approval I'll get everything ordered later today.

Update: A few minor revisions based on your excellent suggestions. I shrank both the seal and the title to open up some more space on the cover and added the "No __________ of __________" line to the back cover. If the Miskatonic books go over well I'll use the same layout for the expedition books, but with "Expedition Fieldbook" as the title.

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12 comments:

  1. Dissimulato NomineSeptember 10, 2009 at 3:08 AM

    When on fieldwork with the uni we were told to note the weather along with the date and location. Crappy weather tends to mean crappy notes and you may not remember that once your writing up your field report.

    Otherwise it looks pretty spiffy.

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  2. PropnomiconSeptember 10, 2009 at 4:07 AM

    @ Dissimulato

    Excellent observation, no pun intended. I'll tweak the listing to include that.

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  3. drjonSeptember 10, 2009 at 5:13 AM

    Noice. I'll be getting one.

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  4. afflictionSeptember 10, 2009 at 6:08 AM

    To me the design looks very strong and bold, which is usually good. I'm curious though, how does it look with the scale of the title font, seal and ruler brought down a notch? I could be alone in this, though...
    Our old highway project 'field books' have "project _____" and location. I especially like "Book No __ of _____ " for those extended explorations or campaigns.

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  5. Doc AtomicSeptember 10, 2009 at 9:09 AM

    I like it. I'd buy it as is. However, since you're asking, here are a few small nitpicky suggestions off the top of my head.

    1. As "affliction" noted above, it might be worth shrinking the crest/text on the front cover. It just feels a little too overbearing. I wouldn't make it too small, but maybe 10% or so...

    2. I don't know if I love the font. There's something about the dual-weight risers in the word "Journal" that kind of turn me off. It's not terrible, but I think sticking to Futura -- or something a bit more closely related -- would feel more appropriate.

    3. I love "affliction's" idea of including a "book No." type of notation. Field books tend to breed on an exhibition and a built-in system for numbering them would come in handy.

    All in all, though, I think you've got another winner!

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  6. Rev. MarxSeptember 10, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    I agree with affliction about the "project _____" and location and "Book No __" stuff.

    Also, I'm not really wild about the font. It looks too bold and modern to my eyes. Especially in contrast with the kind of fonts used in the seal above it. Maybe see how a serif style font looks, and maybe a little smaller. Just my $0.02

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  7. AgentPnakotusSeptember 10, 2009 at 10:39 AM

    I'm a supporter of the "Book No __ of _____ " idea. :)

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  8. TylerSeptember 10, 2009 at 10:43 AM

    Affliction's got a good idea, scaling down the front art. A little white -- or khaki, really -- space can be a good thing.

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  9. UnknownSeptember 10, 2009 at 12:45 PM

    The name "Miskatonic" is more proprietary than the term "Field Notes," which cannot be protected for reasons already enumerated. I can understand not wanting to step on toes, but it seems to me that your design is quite different enough that there could be no confusion with the company in question, *especially* since your product will not even be going out through any retail channels. That being said, it is your project and so your conscience that needs be assuaged--do what you feel is right and I'm sure everyone here will support you.

    On the other hand, "Field Journal" seems to me to be more indicative of a record of how one feels about the research rather than the scientific observations made during it. I like "Expeditionary Fieldbook" better, personally, as it could be either/both. But that's just a matter of semantics, and as you know by now you can't please everyone all the time, let alone come up with something that's "perfect."

    I'll be buying some no matter what the final design is ;-)

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  10. UnknownSeptember 10, 2009 at 12:47 PM

    Ooops. Should have put the comment on the previous post here. That's what I get for using a computer with such a tiny screen...

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  11. LaurentSeptember 10, 2009 at 1:28 PM

    I would say the logo is too big, the same about the font. The cover must "breathe". I thing you should take inspiration form the 30's US passport cover.
    like there : http://www.cthulhulives.org/toybox/PROPDOCS/SAMPLES/Passport37.gif

    And that would be cool !

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  12. LaurentSeptember 11, 2009 at 1:00 AM

    The new cover is great. I really like the back cover.
    As for the fornt one, I completely agree with Doc Atomic about the dual-weight font. I think the seal and text should be shrank a little more and the text raised a bit form the bottom of the page.
    Else, it's perfect

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