Indesign Salamander Research

Salamander Indesign Research

Salamanders are any of approximately 550 extant species of amphibians within the order Caudata. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossil salamanders and all extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant species are grouped together as the Urodela. Salamanders have never more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer. Their moist skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water, or under some protection (e.g., moist ground), often in a wetland. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout life, some take to the water intermittently, and some are entirely terrestrial as adults. Unique among vertebrates, they are capable of regenerating lost limbs, as well as other body parts. Many of the members of the family Salamandridae are known as newts.
The earliest known salamander fossils have been found in geological deposits of China and Kazakhstan, which have been dated to the middle Jurassic period, up to 164 million (plus or minus 4 million) years ago.

 
A salamander is an amphibian that has four legs, a long and slender body and a long tail. Despite their lizard-like appearance, salamanders are most closely related to the smaller amphibious lizard, the newt. Salamanders are found all over the world generally in more temperate climates. All species of salamander are aquatic or semi-aquatic due to their amphibious nature and permeable skin. The moist skin of the salamander means that the salamander inhabits aquatic regions or wetlands.
There are more than 700 different species of recognised salamander worldwide from the smaller species of newt to the Chinese Giant salamander which can grow to nearly 2 meters long. All species of salamander look very similar in appearance but as with lizards, different species of salamander can have less limbs than normal meaning that some species of salamander have a more eel-like appearance.
In a similar way to newts and lizards, the salamander is remarkably able to regenerate and regrow lost limbs and sometimes other body parts too. This gives the salamander an advantage when being hunted by predators as the salamander is able to drop body parts and escape.
Most species of salamander are brightly coloured, particularly the male salamanders during the breeding season, when their colours become brighter and more intense in order to try to attract a female. Those species of salamander that live underground are often either white or pink in colour due to the fact that their skin is never exposed to the sun.
The skin of salamanders secretes mucus, which helps keep the animal moist when on dry land, and maintains their salt balance while in water, as well as providing a lubricant during swimming. Salamanders also secrete poison from glands in their skin, and some additionally have skin glands for secreting courtship pheromones.
Salamander population numbers have been dramatically decreasing possibly due to levels of fungus that is increasingly present in the water. It is unknown as to whether or not this is the reason for the decreasing salamander numbers but pollution levels are also thought to have played a big part.



Then I decided to find some images:

 I like these vector styles and they look very clean and attractive to look at.

 Unlike these as they are real photography and therefore show the real look of the salamander, the sliminess etc...

I like the aesthetic of keeping a illustrative style throughout the images. And the use of watercolour also. Although I also like the vector images too.





The research into the layout:

I like the simplicity of this and the use of no black outlines although I would have to make my own image if I was to try and do something similar to this. And I don't think I have enough time to do this.

I like the use of no colour in this indesign layout and the centralised & justified layout. The use of the diamonds is a clever symbol which could be used to separate paragraphs up on the page.

 I like the use of the contrast of illustration with alot of white space and then the block colour with white text. Although this may make it difficult to read as we have to include 500 words.

 Again this is another one like the aesthetics of but there is minimal amount of words used so would make it difficult for me to try and make something so sophisticated with this layout.

This reminds me of a fact file when you get a animal annual when you are young. this is something I might want to try as I like the sound of the audience of children. As you can make it bright & colourful without it looking too childish.