Art Direction: Proposal

Define your Collection:
The history of skateboard art and culture from the early surf to skate transition until the present day skate culture.

Define your creative approach:
The book I will be producing will document the history of skateboard focusing on the history of the deck art. I hope to produce a book with a contemporary design and a modern look and feel.

What are your influences and comparative research:
I am influenced by both skate and BMX culture and will gather research from film books and magazines:
Thrasher
Lodown
Sidewalk
Sidewalk surfer
Skate
DigBMX
Document
Kingpin
Ride UK BMX
Wallride
I will look through skate and street art books such as dysfunctional, concrete to canvas and board. I have watched the films ‘Dogtown and Z-boys’ ‘Lords of Dogtown’ this was a major influence on choosing this subject. I am going to watch the documentary film ‘Rollin’ Through the Decade’ and ‘Black Flys’. I will source the films on dvd and take still images to use in my book or research.

Consideration of structure and sequence of information:
Chapter 1 Early days, surf to skate
Chapter 2 The early style riding low and flat
Chapter 3 Riding pools
Chapter 4 The move to vert
Chapter 5 The evolution of the skate board
Chapter 6 The deck graphics: early graphics
Chapter 7 The deck graphics: modern day graphics

Approach to Layout and Editorial Design:
I am going to keep the layout design contemporary and the style of the book clean.
I will show both whole page images and single deck art frames. In will use my references for research to compare layouts and styles.

Imposition Planning:
I will start by constructing a booklet showing the pages as they will appear in the book.
This will also be shown using a flat plan of every page that I can work on as the book develops.

Format and Size:
The book will be 25.4mm by 20.3mm and will be in landscape.

Page Length:
The final page count will be 120 pages.

Binding:
The book will be Perfect bound with a printed cover and a matt finish. I will research prices and time scales from local printers and organises a suitable time for printing.

Production and Timescales:
Week 1 write proposal and gather images and body text.
Week 2 finishing gathering images and editing them, work on layout and layout plan, setup indesign document CMYK 150dpi.
Week 3 start work on the book production laying out main images and chapter divides.
Week 4 finish the image placement and start designing the cover.
Week 5 add in body text and proof print/read.
Week 6 finish work on the book ready for printing.
Week 7 book is away for printing.

Specialist Requirements:
Finding a printer and getting the book bound.

Workflow, Appropriate to Project:
I will be working on Indesign CS2, I will be using designers spreads.
All of my images will be .jpeg or . tif
I will be using CS2 as I can then work both at home and at college

Sourcing of Text and Use of Others Images:
I will need to use all of my influences and references to source the body text for the book, I may also have to rely on the Internet for extra body text. I will also try to get movie stills from ‘Dogtown and Z-boys’ and the other movies I will watch.

Credits, Copyright and other Ethical Matters:
I will need to include any sources I have used for images and text, I will have a separate page of credits and will have a referencing section at the back of the book.

Quality of Images:
I will use images in .jpeg .jpg .tif formats and they will be CMYK colour for printing at 150dpi. I hope to be able to take some of my own photographs as well as using high quality scans and images from other people and the Internet.

File Backup Method:
I will back up my files regularly on a memory stick and on my home Mac. I will burn final versions on CD/DVD.