Keep calm and carry on.....: October 2009

Hello to one and all, Just a quick note to say that having spoken with a friend who is a graphic designer, he has suggested that InDesign CS4 is the best way forward in producing our booklet. I have downloaded a 30 Day free trial of the software and will endeavour to master the basics as soon as humanly possible. It would be of great help if any of you have any expertise with this programme that I may be able to call upon in the future. I also have another good friend that teaches Graphic Design at University of Kent, so hopefully I'll be able to produce something half decent.

On reflection of the task in front of me some points I feel need to be raised now, so that everybody can have there say and there will be no need for me to become overly agitated as the deadline nears. These are outlined below:

• There needs to be some form of standardisation in the way that I receive all your information, whether this be text or image files. My first impression would be that information should be handed over to me on disc. I really don't want my email being clogged up with huge image files that are going to take eons to download. I'm sure the nearer we get to deadline day, the more this will become unlikely, but it won't hurt to start off this way.
• Each section will demand differing amounts of text, wether that be 100 words or 500 words. This text must be referenced fully, if its not we can't put it in, its my ass that will get done for plagiarism, and frankly thats not going to happen.
• I think it would be a good idea to consider the size of each section in advance so that each of you will know how many words are needed. The only way for me to sort this is to reference last years Booklet to give me some idea. This booklet (Hastings Regeneration) seemed the best of the bunch, certainly in appearance, and although Jamie would not say as to its mark, he seemed releived that I had chosen it as a reference point (you never can be too sure of his emotive responses, so I'm partly guessing!). I took photos of each page and will sort some form of PDF so that we all have a basic reference point. If a section demands 200 words or so, I really don't want 1000 words turning up and then having to decide upon what should or shouldn't be going in. Besides I won't have a clue about the subject anyway.
• This booklet represents everybody, so everybody should have a say. I'm just the dogsbody doing the techy stuff. For everyone to have there say they need to speak to or email me. If you don't then I won't have a clue as to what your thoughts are. I don't want to see any faces come handin day that feel aggrieved that 35% of their mark is not representative of their oppinion or thoughts.
• Perhaps on monday we can all have a chat about peoples views as to how we should progress. The sooner we can set out the parameters the better.
The realisation of producing a fantastic Booklet is quite daunting, and I don't want to let anybody down, hence my points above. I reckon we can do something much better than those before, my jobs just to make it look good and I'll give it my best shot. There are other things to consider as well, such as quality of paper, binding, front cover, costs, etc etc, but these don't need our attention just yet.

Sorry to sound so alarming but I would like us all to have a productive conversation on monday, where we have all had plenty of time to think about things.

I can be contacted either through this blog or my mobile is (see email)

Have a nice day, Elliot.