For a class project I was prompted to make a 12 page narrative that contained elements of juxtaposition. The narrative should be designed around the idea of the “implication,” created from the intersection between two distinctly separate images. The juxtaposition of those 2 images should compliment or contrast the subject matter of the narrative. The design includes a front and back cover and illustrated designs that follow the poem I used as my narrative. I found an interesting horror-themed poem titled 'Hypothermia' by Melissa Clason on Letterpile, a site dedicated to sharing creative works of literature.
Since my narrative content is quite short, I wanted to put emphasis on the illustration of each page and allow them to help tell the story.
Above is a mockup of my final cover design and below is a closer look. The front cover was the first image I created by compiling a few photographs in Photoshop. I wanted to make something that hints at the content inside but ultimately leaves a sense of mystery. On the back cover, I included a short biography of the author and her LetterPile link to find more of her works. I also added the publishing logo for Penguin Books USA and a bar code to make it seem like a real book you could find in a store.To complete the cover, I made a simple spine design.
Final cover design
The first page after the cover is a publisher's page. I added the basic information you would find in any book's publisher page, as well as the mock publisher's logo. For the design, I placed two "characters" from future pages' illustrations; one is the protagonist of the story, the other is the antagonist (ideally, a first-time reader wouldn't know this yet).
Publisher's page
To contrast the photo-realistic style on the cover, I went with a sort of low poly flat style for the illustrations. Some other elements of juxtaposition that I implemented include the differing sizes in the characters, the main character's red color scheme against a majority purple/black color scheme, and some changes in the appearance of the text.
Page 1 & 2
Pages 3 & 4
The repeated phrase, "It compels me, and I go," is colored red to emphasize its importance early on. The illustrations that accompany it are also meant to continue off each other.
I wanted to have at least one instance where one illustration spreads across two pages. This page is also a bit more conceptual than the others.
Pages 5 & 6
Pages 7 & 8
The final pages simultaneously deliver the climax and resolution of the story,
hopefully leaving the reader with a chill.
