Chris Haughton

Chris Haughton like Dieter Braun sells book through a range of retailers then sells a range of additional products through his website. His website contains a lot more information than the other I have looked at so far. He has pages dedicated to each of his books showing every page of the books so potential customers can get an rounded view of the book before purchasing. His site contains links to all the talks he has done and events he is taking part in and awards that he has won. All of the content shows how involved he is with creative communities. His site also contains a blog that allows him to keep his audience up to date with the projects he is working on and advertise events in a more personal way than simply posting an image of a poster.

Chris Haughton sells products featuring characters from his book that hand made by a non profit organisation that helps train and provide support for disadvantaged individuals in Nepal. His products promote the positive message of helping others. Quite often I see toys and merchandise made to run alongside a book release that consist of mass produced low quality toys and gifts. Chris Haughton my be limiting his market by working in the way his products are made, they are higher priced than most but also higher quality and organisation making them is centred around helping its workforce rather than cutting costs. Chris Haughton's market for these products will be fans of his work that are happy to spend the extra money for something of high quality and the knowledge that they have been part of a process than helps disadvantaged people.

I always think the way products are displayed can make a big difference to how we view the quality of them, if a companies website looks like it has had no effort put into it then have they put enough effort into their products. Photography seems to be a common issue, an illustrator could spend ages making a high quality crafted product then photograph it badly and put people off. In the same way when it is clear that a shop, illustrator or collective put in extra effort constantly updating their website and adding interesting or even interactive content it makes them and their work more appealing. Chris Haughton's site features a downloads page where users can download posters, colouring sheets, activity sheets, origami and recipe's.

He has made the text on the page dark blue which means it is not too bold, it does not break up the composition. He has said in interviews that his illustrations tell the story and the works are secondary. Most illustrators of children's books would make the text stand out more but I think working this way keeps the emphasis on the illustrations and make the book cover more appealing. the important information is still clear and easy to read but is not the focal point of the image.