Putting my book together once I had finally printed everything off and collected my materials was a process that didn’t have too many issues. I was able to cut the board by using a ruler and a Stanley knife and was able to use the previous measurements that we were given when we created out design manifesto at the beginning of foundation. I was able to create two boards that were symmetrical to one another and a spine that was thick enough to hold the book together. Choosing the right type of cardboard was essential because if the material had been quite thin it would not be able to support the book. The spine is the most important part of a book because its where all the pressure is directed and is always fiddled with.

I used PVA glue as an adhesive because I knew that a glue stick would not be strong enough to hold the book cloth and cardboard together. In terms of timing I think because I was prepared with all the materials that I needed and putting the book together was familiar to me, it didn’t take a long time. I was able to successfully put the book together in two days and thankfully didn’t have any obstacles that were extremely bad to overcome.

Using book cloth and some glue I was able to successfully create the cover of the book. I found that the glue was a slight issue for me. I had  few air bubbles and creasing form because of the glue but using a card, I was able to press it down. It also affected my end paper when sticking it down to the board. I found it difficult to stick the book pages into the book cover because it wasn’t even on both sides. I found myself having to tear the book off of the board more than once and sticking it back down to ensure that when you close the book, the pages don’t look uneven and fall out, making it look uneven and cheap.

I found the whole process of the making fun and interesting. It was useful to learn so many different key skills that I can later apply when creating any other book in the future. I was able to learn o a method of binding a book, creating a front cover and creating and sticking down end paper

When I had finished putting my book together I was pleased of the time I had done it in but however I did think that when I folded the book cloth over to stick onto the board I didn’t fold it correctly and it turned into quite a big bump that made it heard to close the book. To solve this problem I had no choice but to cut part of the book cloth so that each side of it would even out. I had to deal with the difference of the edges of the book because of this but overall it was the best option in terms of fixing the problem.

Overall I didn’t find this process time consuming and although I faced one or two problems, they were quite simple to fix and it was also a nice opportunity to use the skills I had previously used in the foundation year for my final piece.