silent crit

"Rationale"
the dos a dos binding is used to represent the two different sides of Folehavna(a fort from ww2), the pretty hiking trail and the history from the war. This book showcases the journey taken whilst gathering information. the back showcased the history from the 1940s in Norway.


Do you get the idea even if you don't understand what is written?
Does it need a belly bind if so which one is the best?
What should be better?


feedback
The theme/ concept is clearly represented through the two sections of the book, and having one side dedicated to the history and one dedicated to the documentation of the journey works clearly to create an interesting concept throughout - the images don't get boring or old despite using the same layout.

BELLY BAND - I think the belly band is needed to help the reader establish the start of the book (the front from the back) and also to keep the book held together when it's not being read. My favorite colour option is the blue as it is more related to the imagery with sky and sea (due to similarity in colour) and helps break up the white areas on the cover and inner pages.

The concept could be clearer but if it is an abstract representation of the war and its two sides this is obvious through the war imagery and how the book is bound. If you wanted it to be clearer I think a small statement at the start would help. You could also repeat this statement at the back in German to show the importance of the context and the origin.
The colour of the belly band depends on what element you want to emphasize, eg. blue feels like a sad reflection on the history whereas green feels like the book is celebrating something.

• I understand instantly that it's about Norway and WW2 but not about how it affected society.
• the belly bind could make it clearer that there are two books and which way round they are.
• war side belly bind should be blue because its sad and nature side should be green so a duotone belly band.

The books to parts work well in dividing up the themes of what is being covered. I think a belly bind would help hold it together, I like the blue the best but I don't know why it just works well with colour and texture of the cover. What is the embossing of

really like the embossing

The binding of the book is well justified and a unique bind, it helps show the contrast of the bunker and a belly bind would hold it close perfectly

why is the tracing paper in the book

I really like the whole concept and idea behind your book, i think its really successful in the execution. personally, I think the green belly band would work well with your book, i think it would add a nice pop of colour and grab the readers' attention. I also think that thicker tracing paper would work better in your book, I think it would make it much easier to read without the pages sticking together?