Assignment #3: Book.Life

Photo Credit: www.stuartmueller.com

Value: 10%
Duration: Two Weeks
Due: March 6

Humans have always strived to record their stories, both heroic and mundane. In order to document and share these tales, iconographic and phonetic systems have been developed to allow others to learn, enjoy, or empathize with another individual’s circumstances. Prehistoric humans used cave paintings, the Chinese used calligraphy, and in contemporary Western cultures, we use variations on the phonetic alphabet. In this exercise, you will make use of a number of communication modes to convey your story.

Having created a set of self-portrait images set in the future, you will now generate a fictional life history that connects these various transformations. This “memoir” will begin in the present, with a truthful depiction of your current life, and proceed forward with major milestones at 25, 50, and 100 years. You must also explain the circumstances surrounding your death, as well as the legacy you will leave to the world.

The final format will be a small booklet that is written in the third-person, as though it was prepared posthumously. Once again, you may stick to a reasonable and realistic future, or explore a wild and topsy-turvy culture. Identify some of the major events in your life, relevant achievements and, perhaps, personal anecdotes and quotations from individuals in your life. Consider what the world might be like in the future, and determine your position and role in this society.

The three modified photographs will serve as the primary visuals in this book, but you are welcome and encouraged to introduce secondary elements that create a context and/or illustrate specific historical details. You may also crop in on the primary images to create detail shots or background patterns. Integrate shapes and graphical elements to create an overall design scheme, and to set text apart from imagery. Text may be relegated to a separate page or panel, can be integrated within the images, or a combination of both. For example, the main body text could be on an opposing page, while quotes and captions float above accompanying photographs.

The overall text should be approximately 300 to 500 words in length, and can be dispersed throughout the book, as you see fit. The size of the final book will be 14” x 8.5” and will consist of 4 pages, which includes a cover and three image/text pages. In total, you will produce four 8.5” x 14” colour printouts, which will be bound. More detailed layout and assembly instructions will be presented during the class session.

In addition, you must also make available your Illustrator .ai files on the class drive that have all layers appropriately labeled (along with all source images). Please also upload your files as jpgs onto your blog journal, for in-class viewing and critique. Be sure to write about your creative process on your blog journal.

Deliverables:
- 4 colour prints, bound
- Illustrator .ai files, with proper formatting and source imagery
- Screen-resolution images in .jpeg format (72 dpi) uploaded to your blog journal
- provide a copy of the project files in the course folder under your folder
- provide credits for any secondary source material (if applicable) and provide an account of your creative process on your blog journal

Evaluation will be based upon the following criteria:
- Has the student considered and/or successfully rejected design basics such as balance, proportion, repetition, weight, scale, line, etc.?
- Does the piece express an interesting narrative, conveyed both through layout and the written text?
- Does the visual design enhance and clarify the proposed vision?
- Is there a consistent approach to the overall layout and design – fonts, colour scheme, alignments, stroke weights, theme/mood?
- What is the quality of the output?
- Has the student invested an adequate level of energy and engagement to create a compelling composition?

Click here to download a MS Word document of the Assignment.

Click here to download a MS Word document on Illustrator Basics.