Week 7 - More Page Planning and Pinterest Deep Dives

Hi guys and welcome back to my blog post! This week was pretty similar to what I was doing earlier, I just took it a step further. 

I was doing a lot of layout experimenting last week on paper, so I decided to transfer the sketches to my iPad. Don’t ask why I didn’t do that earlier, I don’t know either. There’s just something about a pencil and paper I guess! Anyway, I continued to make layout outlines for each page on Goodnotes. Mapping out my ideas has definitely been helpful in visualizing how the book will end up.

Like any good design session, I fell down a Pinterest rabbit hole. I looked through hundreds of pins for design and layout inspiration. Although I’m proud of my free-handed layouts, I’m glad I looked at some existing infographic styles for new ideas and made a Pinterest board for design inspiration. I spent a crazy amount of time scrolling through Pinterest, but it gave me a better understanding of what kind of visual vibe I want the book to have. 

Midweek, I met with Teacher Jasica where we briefly discussed how to actually make the book. We talked about how the LitMag team at school uses Mixam Studio and what platform they use to build their templates. I ended up talking with a few people, and they recommended using Canva to design each page before transferring it to Mixam. 

Before jumping onto Canva, I decided on the printing style for the book. I’ll be going with the “handbook” option on Mixam, which feels like the right size and format for what I’m trying to accomplish. I plan on talking with Teacher Jasica once again to determine the ideal dimensions and page count, just to make sure I’m on the right track before locking anything in.

Thank you for reading and see you after spring break!