Conventions of the book

The properties/ conventions of the book:

- The tone of voice is witty, relaxed, and comforting to read. It's aim is to put young graphic designers at ease, so this style of writing is definitely appropriate. 

- The book is purely type - the headings, a strong and angular sans-serif that asserts the honest truth within the writing. It is bold, eye-catching and fluorescent (due to the simple fact that Craig Oldham has a love for fluoro).

- It's A5 - but feels very chunky to hold. Their is a mixture of stocks - but the most used one is a weightier GSM, more card like than paper. This gives the book a robust, strong feeling. 

- The copy text is laid out in a grid of four columns - this makes it a very easy and quick read and flows nicely with the relaxed tone of voice. Each page also has a word of a quote overlaid on the page - this encourages the reader to look back through the pages and give them a quick summary of the chapter.

- The only thing that I don't like about the book is the exposed spine. The pages have been bound together using a stick spine that makes the pages difficult to turn and susceptible to falling out. 

The aim of the book is to answer any questions that young designers may have about The Industry, such as getting a job, dealing with clients, opinions, etc. I think that already, the way that the type is laid out as well as the typeface used throughout make the book engaging and easy to follow - which is key. However, I think that in some ways the design does exude style over substance as it feels awkward to turn the pages - and one has already fallen out. I understand that a book about design needs to be well designed, but I think that some considerations should have been taken in terms of the binding - maybe even a hard cover would have been more appropriate?