WHAT IS GOOD?// Indesign Public Information Manual

The aim of the Public Information manual is to:
1. Provide an example of how the brand guidelines will work in practice.
2. Provide the UKSA with a public facing booklet which argues in favour of the space exploration industry.

I've started the production of this booklet with a fairly standard 6x8 grid, which can be used to make 2 or three columns of text and has a good number of options for the placement of images. However becuase of the small size of the booklet I will probably use the central area in as a single column.

I could apply the front cover for this booklet, I created this in Illustrator earlier and have used this grid here to position it dead centre. The aim of the cover is to appear modernist and refined. The name 'Why We Explore' is inspired by a section from NASAs website, it adresses the problem of people who disapprove of space exploration without sounding too superior.

The first page explains to the public what the UKSA. The information of this page came from their own website, I've tried to tailor the message in a more positive way. Looking at the benefits of the space industry and where UKSA sees itself in the future. I didn't include a contents page because the booklet is short and it would be a confusing waste of space.

The second section focuses on the benefits of space exploration and how it has already directly shaped the world we live in today. I wanted to fit this section into as small a space as possible. This has lead to the page being a bit text heavy, and I did want to add some illustrations, however the addition of illustrations now would make the page far too busy. What I have done it try to fit a large amount of information into one A4 dps. This is the first persuasive argument and by realising the things that space exploration has already done I hope people will be persuaded to have the imagination to see where it could take us in the future.

This is the same content but without the grid markers, showing how the text fits on the page. I have left a large boarded around the text because of the small size of the booklet, I am weary that any content that strays too far to the edge will be covered by the readers hands when reading. 

This dps looks at how much it costs to run the UKSA and how much the uk space program gives back to the economy. It explains the growth of the sector as well as the comparatively tiny amount of money the UKSA takes out of the public purse in comparison to other expenditures. A little feature I like about the design of this page is the 'moon rise' illustration behind the circular chart.

The next section is all about employment and manufacturing  One argument is that the government could be spending the money that the UKSA gets on providing jobs and helping deprived areas. This page argues that money put into growing the uk space sector will provide jobs and a growth in high tech industry and manufacturing. This includes a much steeper graph showing just how fast employment in this sector could rise given the right funding. I have also added the illustration of the three different workers to make the information and text seem more approachable

The final pages focus on painting an image of a bright future of the UK space industry and to also provide an example of the role of the UKSA. These pages look at the SKYLON project, how the UKSA administrates the funding and helps with management for REL (Reaction Engines Limited) who are building the space plane. The layout here is simple with the imagery reflecting the space used by the text opposite.

The back page of this smaller booklet is blank appart for the adress to the UKSA website. I find it strange how they are forced to use the bis.gov stuff, it makes the agency seem rather bureaucratically linked to the government  and maybe they are, but if the industry wants to be competitive and attractive for investors they need to break that image and I hope this booklet goes some way to do that.