Rulebook Guide Update #3: Visual Design Process

In previous updates, I focused on writing and publication-related topics. Now I am focusing on the second module of the Rulebook Guide, which is fully oriented to the visual design of the book.

The Design Method

There is one section in particular that will contain steps on how I achieve the visual tone of the book we are working on. I want to emphasize the importance of establishing a replicable framework or workflow from start to finish. My personal design philosophy is that design is not art; art is just one of the tools involved in the design process.

There is a method, a series of steps a designer of any kind has to follow in order to create a product. No design process comes from random inspiration coming down from the muses; we have to extract that creativity through tangible actions. If you want to read more in depth about this process and way of thinking about design, I recommend a book called The Design Method by Eric Karjaluoto. He demystifies a lot of the preconceptions of the design discipline and offers a clear workflow for those interested in design. Give it a read if you want to clean up your workflow or if you are having creative blocks.

This method, or my version of it, is used in the creation of design briefs and style guides for rule books. In the module, I want to dedicate one section to teaching the reader how to create a design brief based on the input from a publisher or game designer. Then use this brief as a guide to create what is known as an “art bible.” This term is used a lot in video games and animation studios. These documents are vital to maintain that graphical tone and flavor across all pieces of the rule book, game components, and marketing material. It is what makes a game look like a real piece of entertainment media. In conclusion, it is what sells your game. People do judge books by their covers.

Main sections of Chapter 2

The name of chapter 2 will be something like “Design Foundations.” This part of the guide is meant for designers who are working from scratch and have no assets from an art director or publisher. Think of it as an intro to visual development for tabletop game design. The industry is very small, and unless you are working with big publishers, designers will most likely end up being the art directors themselves. Here are some elements that can help them have more control over the project:

Create a Design Brief. This document has all the essential information for designers to start their research phase. Don’t skip this step. It’s an important collaborative document, and having it for all parties involved is key.

Gathering References. Using some of the tips from the previous chapter and the information collected from the design brief, this section expands on it by giving you more tools on where to find these references.

Create a Mood Board. This section explains how to filter content from the library of references students will collect, how to make useful notes, and distill the content. This is key to form connections between seemingly unrelated pieces of media.

Create a Quick Mock-up aka The Blueprint. This is a very small section since the result of this quick mock-up layout is different for every project. But it’s basically using all the notes from the mood board and designing the graphics that will be used in the book.

At the end of this chapter, the reader will be able to confidently replicate this process to create their own designs and get feedback from the game designer and publisher. All of this process should be done before working on the actual layout and typesetting of the book.