VISCOM 2: mock up critique

PRINTING
Unfortunately with duplex printing (at least on the east printer), there is a discrepancy between the front and back alignment of a little over an eighth of an inch. This creates problems in alignment across the spreads. If I were to bypass the duplex printing and adhere the pages together, there would be too much bulk to staple through. I need to test how the konica handles the duplex, though I think it has the same problem.

PHYSICAL CRAFT
My covers are mostly black. When the paper is creased, the toner cracks along the edge leaving nasty white spiderwebs along the edge of the crease. Also, my ruler easily scrapes the toner off the page. I'll need to lay down a piece of paper to protect the page from the ruler.

DIGITAL CRAFT
My cutouts don't look bad against a white background, but if i were to put a color or an image in the background, it would most likely reveal areas i need to clean up.

COVER
I think the image works great, and the quality of the image certainly improves when printed on the konica versus the east printer. I may italicize "MAD SCIENTIST" again. I think the angle adds tension to the title and reinforces the horror flick influence of the cover. The size relationship between "MAD SCIENTIST" and the subtitle needs more fudging, perhaps by bringing down the size of the subtitle.

SPREAD FORMAT
The four-block format does a great job of showcasing the images, and the layered cutouts add depth to the page and gives a three dimensional quality to the cutouts. The format works best when the images create a clear square shape. The images with white backgrounds don't work as well. The extra white space surrounding the complex shapes of the artifacts disrupt the flow across the spreads. Blocks were left open intentionally so that the spreads breathe through the white space. The labcoat and brains spreads I think could both use another image.

PRESENTATION
There's a serious disconnect between the cover's dark, horror flick feel and the inside spreads. The spreads feel clinical by comparison. I'd like to see if there's and image I could put in the background of spreads, possibly of a mad scientist's dungeon. Black and white Dr. Frankenstein style.