Project 5 process documentation
5/10/19
For the visual book project, I decided to make a book about how people feel about home. I asked individuals to draw what home means to them and had brief interview to make the stories very personal and unique.
Initial idea I had was to show people that there is not all subject matters have right or wrong answer. The reason why I developed this idea was that recently I saw too many people arguing about topics that is not worth the conflict. Especially in social media where people do not reveal their personal information, people tend to be more extreme, rude, and unintelligent. I wanted my book to show that every individuals have different stories and thoughts about a same subject. Although final design did not reflect this initial idea, I feel like the book effectively shows that people have their own stories and meanings that others may not feel the same, but never wrong.
Initial sketches
Initially, I asked people to draw what comes to their mind according to the topics. With subjects that do not have an absolute answer, I asked them to finish each drawings in 30 seconds so that they do not overthink and give what comes to their mind immediately.
After a feedback, I decided to reduce the number of drawings to one, and got rid of the time limit so that people can think of a story related to the subject. I had hard time deciding the topic, but I chose “home” as the topic to focus on the personal aspect.
I interviewed 5 people total, giving them enough time to think and draw. Then I started the interview by asking about what the drawing means. I added the conversation in the book so that the readers can understand the intention of the drawings and connect with their stories.
Digital Iteration
I spent most time thinking about the appropriate layout and grid. I initially combined the questions and answers, but later decided to use only 2 grids with my dialogs on the left, and the answers on the right. I later scanned each drawings so that the drawings fit more naturally in the book.
Final
In the final design of the book, rather than a simple question, I added the conversation we had to keep it more casual and easier for the readers to really feel the “personal” atmosphere of each stories. I did not prepare any questions for the interview but had natural conversation to bring out more personal stories.
Reflection
It was a great experience to create a book with the idea I have. The hardest part was to come up with an idea that I feel confident enough to make a book and share with others. Although the book did not show the initial intent I had, but it effectively showed the difference of how people think and focus on a specific idea.
