Lesson 4: Give the book a body

    Yesterday, you worked on order. You decided how the reader moves through the structure you created.
    Today, the question is: How does this order become an object? A book object. Something with a body.
    Today, you will make the publication printable.
    It does not need to be perfect. It needs to exist.

    From order to form
    A book is not only made of texts. It is made of decisions.
    • Page size is a decision.
    • Margins are decisions.
    • Density is a decision.
    • Blank space is a decision.
    • A title is a decision.
    • No title is a decision.
    • A raw trace is a decision.
    • A polished page is a decision.
    • A cut is a decision.
    • A pause is a decision.
    • A repeated page is a decision.
    • A difficult-to-read page is a decision.
    • A very clear page is also a decision.
    Form speaks. Today we will work on understanding what does the form do to the reactor?

    Part 1 — Return to what already exists

    Before opening a design program or arranging pages, return to the decisions you already made.
    Write down:
    • Reactor:
    • Selection groups:
    • Chosen order:
    • Opening material:
    • Closing material:
    • Residue:
    Now write 3–5 lines on:

    Part 2 — Decide the relation between form and reactor

    Form is not neutral. It will talk.
    The size of the page talks. The margins talk. The density talks. The blank space talks. The font talks. The placement of a fragment talks. The presence or absence of images talks. The decision to make something clean, raw, fragile, crowded, distant, compressed, handwritten, printed, scanned, or almost unreadable talks.
    There is no such a thing as the "right" form. Because in art there is no general answer.
    A book around distance does not automatically need space. It may need lack of space.
    A book around pressure does not automatically need density. It may need emptiness around pressure.
    The question is: What do I want the form to do to the reactor?
    Choose one main relation for now.
    The form can:
    • illustrate the reactor
    • complicate the reactor
    • oppose the reactor
    • hide the reactor
    • exaggerate the reactor
    • protect the reactor
    • disturb the reactor
    If the form says the same thing as the content, it works as illustration.
    If the form creates another layer, a contradiction, a tension, or a problem, it begins to work as a concept book.
    Neither is automatically better. But the decision should be conscious.
    Now write 3–5 lines: decide the relation.

    Part 3 — Choose the object

    Now decide what kind of object this publication is for now.
    Choose one, or name your own:
    • booklet
    • zine
    • score
    • chapter file
    • small edition
    • other

    Then choose the basic format:
    • A4
    • A5
    • folded A4
    • portrait
    • landscape
    • square
    • digital PDF only
    • handmade / scanned
    • other

    Part 4 — Choreograph the pages

    Now place your ordered material into pages.
    Do not only paste texts one after another.
    Think of the page as a space.
    For each material, decide:
    Does it need to stand alone?
    Does it need to share a page?
    Does it need blank space?
    Does it need compression?
    Does it need to stay raw?
    Does it need a title?
    Does it need no title?
    Does it appear as text, image, score, note, trace, or fragment?
    Work page by page.
    Pay attention to:
    • openings
    • pauses
    • cuts
    • gaps
    • returns
    • visual pages
    • transitions
    • fragments standing alone
    • blank spaces
    • dense pages
    • the rhythm between pages
    The reader should not only read the book.
    The reader should move through it.

    Part 5 — Decide the title system

    Not everything needs a title.
    A title can guide.
    A title can delay.
    A title can frame.
    A title can mislead.
    A title can protect.
    A title can open a door.
    A title can close one.
    Do not title everything automatically. Choose where naming helps the book, and where silence is stronger.
    ​Choose:
    • Book / chapter title:
    • Subtitle, if needed:
    • Section titles, if needed:
    • Text titles, if needed:

    Part 6 — Create the first printable version

    Now assemble the publication.
    Prepare a first printable PDF.
    It should include:
    • cover or first page
    • title
    • your name / artistic name
    • the ordered materials
    • page breaks
    • blank pages if needed
    • visual pages if needed
    • section titles if needed
    • credits: date / module / School of Disobedience
    This version does not need to be perfect. But it should be printable.
    Do not wait until everything is ideal.
    Today, the book has to exist.

    Part 7 — Week 4 experience

    Before sending the final material, please take a moment to give feedback on Week 4 as an online process.
    This helps us understand how this format worked for you, and how to improve it.
    You can think about the rhythm, the daily lessons, the clarity of the tasks, the step-by-step process, the feedback rhythm, or the fact of working independently from home.
    Please be concrete.
    Was there a moment where you felt lost?
    Was something missing?
    Was one task too large, too abstract, too repetitive, or too technical?
    Think about what happened specifically because of this online format: having time alone, making decisions day by day, returning to your material, working toward a printable object, or standing behind your own choices.