ARIJ - Book design for an investigative journalism curriculum
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One curriculum, set as a book in Arabic and in English.
ARIJ
Book design, 2018
About the project
ARIJ, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, is a non-profit founded in Amman in 2005 that supports investigative reporting across the Arab world. Its university curriculum, Modern Investigative Journalism (الصحافة الاستقصائية الحديثة), sets out a one-semester course. From November 2018 to April 2019 we designed it as a book in Arabic and English, for print and as a digital copy.
Project
Modern Investigative Journalism Book
Industry
Journalism Education
Location
Amman, Jordan
Date
2018, 2019
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Client Request
ARIJ wanted its university curriculum on investigative journalism turned into a book that professors could teach from, in Arabic and English, for print and for download.
ARIJ
Manuscripts sent to Plexable, October 2018
Design Pillars
Core Design Principles
Every chapter opens with its class time, and most list the readings to prepare.
Each chapter has its own color, repeated in a small square at the top of its pages.
The Arabic and English editions share covers, colors and openers, mirrored for reading direction.
The Course
Laid Out Around a Semester
Course Outline
The course runs 25 class sessions and 37.5 class hours, and those two numbers get a page of their own.
One Page per Chapter
Each chapter starts on its own page with its number, title, class time and one picture for its theme.
Text Pages
Inside, each page holds one column of text with colored headings, lists and footnotes.
The Challenge
Problem Statement
The Main Goal: A Book Professors Can Teach From
The curriculum is written for university professors, including some who have never taught investigative reporting. The book had to keep long text easy to follow, show each class’s time and readings at a glance, and give the Arabic and English editions the same look.
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We are giving you a place to start; where you finish depends on your inspiration, insight and passion for the subject.
Course Introduction
Modern Investigative Journalism, 2019
Our Approach
Solution
One Design for Two Editions
Covers, a contents page, a course outline, 18 chapter openers and about 200 pages of text, tables and charts in each language, as print files and digital copies. It is an example of our Branding work.
01 - Covers
The title on white above ARIJ red, with line drawings of a reporter’s tools and the ARIJ logo on the back.
02 - Chapter Openers
A page per chapter, most in a full field of color, with the title set large above one picture.
03 - Teaching Pages
Running text, readings, diagrams, tables and line charts, laid out the same way in both languages.
Before & After
The Blueprint & Evolution
First Concept to Final Cover
The cover changed after our first round of concepts in November 2018, along with the book’s title.
Before: a first-round concept in full red, with the working title.
After: the final cover, with the new title on white above the red.
Design
Key Features
Opening Pages
The openers move from orange and red through purple and blue to green, and end on a deep blue.
Diagrams in the Text
Charts such as the grid for weighing story ideas by importance and difficulty sit in the text, in the chapter’s color.
Design System
Visual Identity
Bilingual Type
GE SS Text for Arabic and ITC Bookman for English, light for long reading and bold for headings.
Color Palette
ARIJ red on the covers, then a separate color for each chapter, from orange to deep blue.
Page Rules
The chapter color marks the corner square, the headings and the bullets, and page numbers run up the outer edge.
Impact
From Manuscript to Classroom
Results for ARIJ
ARIJ launched the book in January 2019 as a free download for university teaching, and both editions credit Plexable for the design.
ARIJ
Result
By the Numbers
2 Editions
Arabic and English, each for print and as a digital copy.
18 Chapters
Each with its own opening page and color.
202 Pages
In the Arabic edition, with 209 in the English one.
Exploration
The Cover Journey
From Working Title to Final Cover
Our first round in November 2018 tried gray, red and teal covers under the book’s working title, and a course outline page in blue, teal and pink. The final design kept the line drawing and the red, with the new title on white. You can see some of the results below.
Final Showcase
The ARIJ Curriculum Book
