Initial Ideas

What is the object? 

I want the publication as an object to be robust and compact. Something that you can carry around with you easily in your pocket or camera bag. Much like a Lomo camera - it should be fun to use. While being tactile and easy to carry around, it should still be visually intriguing - brightly coloured and interesting. 

What is experience you want to create?

I want to create a publication that is easy to come back to. It should inspire people to go out and shoot film, and take the book with them to refer to. In a way, it should guide people through the process of shooting and get them to think like a lomographer.  

What is the tone of voice? 

Playful, non serious. Lomography is the least serious form of photography there is - so the book should reflect that. However, it should still be intimate, inviting and warm. It should be a fun and engaging insight into Lomography. 

Initial Ideas: 

Initially I think that the best choice for binding is a spiral bind or binding rings. Ideally, something bright, colourful and made of plastic to emulate the toy cameras. I think that this would push forward the fun tone of voice and would not be too overwhelming due to the smaller size of the publication. 

Furthermore I think that the size of the publication is crucial to creating the hand-held effect. It's easy to say that is should be 'the size of a camera' or 6 x 4 - but this is simply not practical as it's too small. I do however, want the photos within the book to be their original format - 6 x 4, so the publication should be large enough to give the photos breathing room, but small enough to carry around easily. 

Furthermore, if the book is intended to be carried everywhere, like a lomo camera, it needs to be robust enough to withstand a battering. A weatherproof solution is a polypropylene plastic covering - like a notebook. These are cheap and available in a multitude of bright colours (that could contrast brilliantly with the binding). It's an option, however, I do worry that it would be one step too far, and begin to make the publication look more like a notebook or activity book. I need to make sure that I keep a good balance between fun and something that can actually be taken seriously,

In terms of the paper stock, I would really like to have all or at least some of the photos within the book be on glossy paper - however, I fear that if the entire page was glossy, the publication would feel too magazine-like. I intend on the having more of a nostalgic quality too them - soft, tactile, a bit worn-in almost. As the book is teaching a new audience about something that started in the early nineties, I want it to almost feel like something of your parents that you've found in the loft. I think that the paper stock that I use really has the opportunity to enhance that nostalgic quality that I'm after - perhaps the weight of the paper should be higher GSM to emulate a phot album? In that case, the text could be on clear sheets of plastic that sit on top. 

Thinking about the external elements - I also like the idea of having something to physically break to get into the publication. Weather it be packaged in an envelope that has to be ripped, a sticker of some sort, or a belly band - I think it would be a nice way of representing how Lomographers break the rules of photography. 

Finally, beginning to think about the design/ layout - I think that it would 100% make sense to follow the 10 rules of lomography for the design of the pages. It would enhance the design so much and make it more exciting and in tune with the photographs. For example, for the rule 'get as close to your subject as possible' the type can be huge and close. Furthermore, the page showing the final rule - 'break all of the rules' should not look like any of the others. 

In keeping with the interactive, engaging, aspect - it could be interesting to have some blank pages with small slits laser cut in as a place to put your own photos.