Nmonter
12-27-2006, 05:41 AM
Download PDF (http://www.geocities.com/veganmonter/VWrk_CVG_122606.pdf) of guide.
My friends and I had the idea to create a guide of vegetarian restaurants in the Cleveland (Ohio) area. There are similar guides out in other cities as well as a guide of Ohio done by a Columbus based animal rights group. But the guide isn't comprehensive for the Cleveland Area.
Thinking that this would a fun project and being a bit more technically savvy than my friends. I took on the project. That was a few months ago and I had to overcome some various learning curves.
This is my first serious project I have done in graphic design/page layout. I don't have any "training" or previous experience in the field. I have done simple flyers for events and groups done in Microsoft Word. I did make a one page booklet a month ago in Serif's PagePlus SE (a free program.)
I can now say I am comfortable with the program of choice: Scribus (it's free and my InDesign demo timed out). And figured out Access to create the database for the list of restaurants. And I figured out what needs to go in the guide. Now that all of those hurdles have been overcome, I am figuring out the whole art of Lay-O-ut. A ancient and medieval art of hand-to-hand combat with my mouse and eye. Hiyah!
Design Restrictions
The biggest design restriction (aside from my inexperience and trouble with time commitment) is the budget. Really there isn't a budget, I don't have the money. And I don't have a product or the time to commit to getting advertising and donations.
So I am going to pirate the photocopier at work.
I have poor luck with photocopiers. Large blocks of black look as if an eraser was taken to them. And grays tend to look alike. So I have to keep the use of graphics to a minimum. Absolutely no images. Any inline graphics used will have one color: Black. I have to black sparingly or the copy machine will use it's eraser on my project.
Organization & Visual Hierarchy
Maybe there is a better way to organize the data but I have decided to organize the places by city. People are lazy drivers - Clevelanders tend to stay on their side of town. So I have decided to organize it by city, than a alphabetical list of restaurants in that city (with description)
Here is the hierarchy:
City Name >> Restaurant Name >> Address & Phone >> Descriptors
The descriptors are anything that describes or gives the reader more information on the restaurant other than the address and phone number. I really don't have a good name for organizing that point. So I am probably making up or using a word wrong. But hey words describe right?
Here are the descriptors:
Number of vegetarian items
Number of vegan items
Average cost of meal
Summary
I am still figuring out a better way to organize and give the reader an idea of how friendly the restaurant is. I am even debating about using 1-4 "V's" or 1-4 dollar signs to give the reader the cost and friendliness of the restaurant. For example, have 4 V's to say that it is very friendly or all vegetarian and 2 dollar signs to say that it has an average price.
Using icons or symbols may look better but is it intuitive enough for people to figure out? I am creating a food guide not a guide to Washington D.C. As well my experience is that unless there is a big ugly box that says, "friging map key!" people will miss the legend. But that is anecdotal. What say you all?
A lot of the problem of organizing really is a problem of it's own. Problems I have with what I have now tackles on issues such as, what counts as an item. And do we really have to count. What if it is a small vegetarian cafe with 3 or 4 items but it is all vegetarian. Another problem centers on the average cost of the items. This is really more me saying, "Yeah that is about average."
Going back to the weight of the matter. Have I weighed the items effectively? The number of items and average cost are 10 points while the address and summary are 12 points. Should I put the items at 8, summary at 10 and address at 12?
The Cover
I have a feeling I am going to keep playing with the cover for a little more while until I like it. It is simple but not something that isn't fantastic or "cool." I have had it on the back burner for a while, keeping focus on the inside of the booklet. Once the other pieces come together I will take more time and creativity in the cover.
Your Critique
Feel free to critique the guide. Please keep in mind the limitation of using a copier. But I can still make a good booklet and any critiques will help. I haven't read any book's other than some of Robin Williams' books. I found the Cleveland library system has a number of good design books that I will have to get from them.
Oh and thanks :D
My friends and I had the idea to create a guide of vegetarian restaurants in the Cleveland (Ohio) area. There are similar guides out in other cities as well as a guide of Ohio done by a Columbus based animal rights group. But the guide isn't comprehensive for the Cleveland Area.
Thinking that this would a fun project and being a bit more technically savvy than my friends. I took on the project. That was a few months ago and I had to overcome some various learning curves.
This is my first serious project I have done in graphic design/page layout. I don't have any "training" or previous experience in the field. I have done simple flyers for events and groups done in Microsoft Word. I did make a one page booklet a month ago in Serif's PagePlus SE (a free program.)
I can now say I am comfortable with the program of choice: Scribus (it's free and my InDesign demo timed out). And figured out Access to create the database for the list of restaurants. And I figured out what needs to go in the guide. Now that all of those hurdles have been overcome, I am figuring out the whole art of Lay-O-ut. A ancient and medieval art of hand-to-hand combat with my mouse and eye. Hiyah!
Design Restrictions
The biggest design restriction (aside from my inexperience and trouble with time commitment) is the budget. Really there isn't a budget, I don't have the money. And I don't have a product or the time to commit to getting advertising and donations.
So I am going to pirate the photocopier at work.
I have poor luck with photocopiers. Large blocks of black look as if an eraser was taken to them. And grays tend to look alike. So I have to keep the use of graphics to a minimum. Absolutely no images. Any inline graphics used will have one color: Black. I have to black sparingly or the copy machine will use it's eraser on my project.
Organization & Visual Hierarchy
Maybe there is a better way to organize the data but I have decided to organize the places by city. People are lazy drivers - Clevelanders tend to stay on their side of town. So I have decided to organize it by city, than a alphabetical list of restaurants in that city (with description)
Here is the hierarchy:
City Name >> Restaurant Name >> Address & Phone >> Descriptors
The descriptors are anything that describes or gives the reader more information on the restaurant other than the address and phone number. I really don't have a good name for organizing that point. So I am probably making up or using a word wrong. But hey words describe right?
Here are the descriptors:
Number of vegetarian items
Number of vegan items
Average cost of meal
Summary
I am still figuring out a better way to organize and give the reader an idea of how friendly the restaurant is. I am even debating about using 1-4 "V's" or 1-4 dollar signs to give the reader the cost and friendliness of the restaurant. For example, have 4 V's to say that it is very friendly or all vegetarian and 2 dollar signs to say that it has an average price.
Using icons or symbols may look better but is it intuitive enough for people to figure out? I am creating a food guide not a guide to Washington D.C. As well my experience is that unless there is a big ugly box that says, "friging map key!" people will miss the legend. But that is anecdotal. What say you all?
A lot of the problem of organizing really is a problem of it's own. Problems I have with what I have now tackles on issues such as, what counts as an item. And do we really have to count. What if it is a small vegetarian cafe with 3 or 4 items but it is all vegetarian. Another problem centers on the average cost of the items. This is really more me saying, "Yeah that is about average."
Going back to the weight of the matter. Have I weighed the items effectively? The number of items and average cost are 10 points while the address and summary are 12 points. Should I put the items at 8, summary at 10 and address at 12?
The Cover
I have a feeling I am going to keep playing with the cover for a little more while until I like it. It is simple but not something that isn't fantastic or "cool." I have had it on the back burner for a while, keeping focus on the inside of the booklet. Once the other pieces come together I will take more time and creativity in the cover.
Your Critique
Feel free to critique the guide. Please keep in mind the limitation of using a copier. But I can still make a good booklet and any critiques will help. I haven't read any book's other than some of Robin Williams' books. I found the Cleveland library system has a number of good design books that I will have to get from them.
Oh and thanks :D