OUGD401 - Study Task 2: LCA 2012 Prospectus

For a prospectus that is supposed to be convincing people to this art and design university, it isn't exactly very convincing. Although it fits the brief of what it is supposed to do, give information about the courses and university, it does it to the minimal as far as I'm concerned. This is an A&D university with plenty of new talent but instead of asking for input, they have been overlooked. To say too much positive would be a lie.
To start with, the front and back covers. The red writing on the front, in some mirror-like paper, on top of deep blue. It was probably done to stand out, but because of the paper used, it clashes and makes it pretty hard to read from afar, or close up for that matter. It would have been much better if it was a lighter blue or even just a different paper for the red. The back cover is probably the worst bit of the whole thing, the fact that the university name/logo isn't centred, as they clearly didn't think about the binding. On a positive note, at least it was easily seen, although on this occasion it would have been better if it wasn't.
There are a few pages in it that look like they have been done on powerpoint, the first page is one of those. The three/four statements in boxes, which makes it look boring and a lot more corporate than it is. In my opinion this has been made to seem more like a bank or business than an art university. There isn't really much creativity or colour used. The main colour is white, and that is really very clear. The one thing I did actually like about it was the double page photographs every now and again. They added much needed colour and interest to the book. Keeping with the corporate look, the photographs and images throughout are all over the place, all different sizes and practically floating on the page, surrounded by white space., which could have most definitely be filled by bigger, better pictures - which aren't stock photos and barely thought about and hardly relate to the subject they are with.
One of the main issues with it is the navigation. Although there is a contents page, it isn't clear on the pages where one section starts and finishes. There are headings on the pages, I'll admit, but they blend into the rest of the page because there is not much differentiation between them and the rest of the text on the page. A bit of colour certainly wouldn't hurt.
Overall the whole thing isn't very appealing. The blue front cover does get your attention, but then you are stuck trying to see what the words say - 'We are the state of the art' - which does not make sense, that has to be said. Every now and again, there are a few pages of black, with white text, and those are the pages that work the best as they are a little bit more interesting than the standard black on white. It would have definitely benefitted if Graphic Design students - even first years - gave an input, because at least then it wouldn't be so corporate looking. Last year's prospectus was a success and interesting because it was design by Graphic Design students. On a positive note, at least there is a whole year where they can improve and make a better one for next year.