Brief 12: Book of Monkman Design Boards and Evaluation

Given that this was a live brief set by a Creative Advertising student, he was very particular about what he wanted. This was to be a bible-looking digital portfolio, playing on his name - Will Monkman. He told me that he wanted it to appear aged and weathered, with some illustrative embellishments on the page. I made the point that embellishments on the page could distract from the work itself, but he was adamant that it wouldn't.

There are some aspects to this brief that worked well and some that I don't worked as well. The parchment style texture works for the theme of his portfolio, as does the aged leather cover. The front page as a whole gives the appropriate impression of his work, and also insinuates that his work is like following a religion and he is hugely dedicated to it. However, the cross on the front page could easily be taken the wrong way and may even be seen as blasphemous or disrespectful. However, Will was sure that people seeing his portfolio would understand that it is just a play on words.

I managed to change his mind in terms of the embellishments, and they ended up being just on the front two and back two pages which didn't hold any work. This made the portfolio appear much more professional. However, the type used could be considered too decorative, and may distract from the work further. A simple Roman typeface would have been more appropriate, but not as in keeping with the theme and type examples Will had chosen.

Overall, this was a client brief and the client was happy with it, but if it weren't there would have been several changes I would have made to it. However, this was a good lesson in working for clients, and understanding that I may not like everything I produce, but as long as the client does it's a job well done.