Endpaper 1 (page 0 and 1 of the book) new version

new version

This is just a cut and past version. I am still struggeling with this. I think the mom needs to have this size, the former version was to small. The typography needs to cover the whole page? On need it to be on a label, like on the other spreads?

It was a real struggle to come up with proper placement of typography. Only text on the page implicates it is a story, but when you read it, it can be confusing. So I needed something to place the text in. Eventually I took the label from the cover: this covers my concept very well, we are juged by others, already on the first eyecontact they think they know you based on your clothes, appearence etc...: they place 'a label on our forehead'. I have tried to integrate the label into the artwork as much as possible.

This needs still a correction, I am not sure what it will be, an office? If I choose for this, the spread needs to be placed after the spread where she meets the boy for the first time, that's suits more with her age.

I am A book about growing up and identity



Cover: I am not sure about the font of 'AM' and I need to write a summery of the story on the back

This needs still a correction...

Titlepage

I have added this spread because I had the feeling there was a gap between the character exploring the world as a toddler and her (first) schoolday. Four is the age children are obligated to attend school. Left the girl goes back to the previous page, she was so full of the bluebells that she forgot her cat, so she turns she page to get him back.

Not sure about the composition…I have to versions of this spread: Graduation is an important event in life. It changes your identity: from student to employee or postgraduate student? It also shows she isn’t part of that group (of students) anymore.

Shopping and a street surrounding. We are who we are because of our surroundings. She lives in the city, which adds another detail to her identity. Citygirls are surrounded with advertisements, lots of shops, different people of other cultures etc..

I have found another way to use the fashion labels.

Due to the form (square) you get the feeling of a group. A group of people who are brand minded.

I have mixed two brands by cutting the labels in half. This may implicate that she/he wears a cardigan of brand A and a pants or skirts from brand B.

A coffee bar: she and her friend are reading magazines, eating muffins and drinking coffee.

This setting is very contemporary and shows she is young and does the things people of her age do.

 She spots a guy, her future husband.

The development of their relationship. I have chosen for a scrapbook formula because this shows another point of view of her life. You don’t see her from the outside.

You see her from the inside.

In this stage of identity intimacy and commitment is very important (according to Erik Erikson).

Engagement and wedding. The layers of the cake stand for the stages in their future life.

She is pregnant of her first baby, a boy. She recycles her old crib and her cat is for her future child.

The circle of life.  The baby in her belly. I have drawn the baby on transparent paper, because this refers to the visible vs invisible of the unborn baby.

I am spreads

I have completed my first spreads, below the images and brief explanation.

Spread1:
Baby in mother’s womb. The bay hasn’t got an identity yet. It can be identified only by it’s physical facts like the amount of bloodcells, bones etc. Identity here is abstract. To draw attention to the scientific factor I used math paper to draw on.

I have made 2 versions of the first spread.
The first is like it is torn from a notebook with connotations. It is kind of messy which could implicate the written facts aren’t true. The second is more organized which implicates the facts are real.

Spread 2:
The baby’s room. You can derive her identity only from the colour of the blanket and curtains.
Identity of the character here is: a girl and the number of her patient ID, that is written on the archive map.








Spread 3:

Girl in her crib under a blanket. The blanket is made from a Dutch-English dictionary, I used the pages that contain baby’s first words like mamma, mother, daddy, father. On the right side you see pages from an old music book with lullaby songs. This refers to the fact that babies get a lot of information from their parents and other family, but most is still abstract for them. It is also a one way contact.

Her identity starts to form due to her surroundings. Her parents gave her a bow from a well known brand that is usually worn by the upper class. This could implicate that she will be raised in a rich family.

Spread 4:
She is going to explore the world around her. The whole world is just one room for her at this age.
Her toys are part of who she is, she has a favourite, that is the cat. She will carry the cat through the whole book and at the end she gives it to her daughter.








Spread 5:

Her world starts to grow when she is able to walk. She explores the world outside and adds a new fact to her identity: a favourite colour, blue and flower a bluebell.
Her clothes are starting to change the moment she knows she like purple/blue.

The centimeter stands for the fact that she grows in the illustration. I have used different kinds of paper for the girl to express the felling of change.

I am not sure if I should add another spread between, maybe something with a birthdaycake and a school uniform on the background, as she is old enough to go to school?








Spread 6:
Her mom brings her to school. She takes her cat with her.
She has a little moment with her mother. Her mother wears clothes made from clothing labels which forms her identity of wearing a particular label. She girl wears a school uniform that hasn’t got a brand/label and isn’t unique at all so I used only paint to colour it.








Spread 7:
3 boys, the uniform implicates that their minds, thoughts are all the same. They are from the same group. The girl is a bit different she has her cat with her and picked along the way some bluebells.
The boys make fun of her because she brings her cat to school, at her age you have to be all grown up, they think. I placed the girl on one page and the boys on the other to implicate that she is all alone on that whole blank page.









Spread 8:
One boy wants to teach her lesson and starts to pull at her cats arm.
Her flowers are flying through the air. And eventually the cat loses an ear.
I used the crackled grey paper to express the feeling of the girl being threatened.














Spread 9:

Here she is a bit older and sad because she is unique and because of that she hasn’t got any friends. She still carries her cat but not in sight. A girl that is passing by thinks she is great and tries to comfort her. I used the metaphor of an umbrella to dry her tears. The umbrella is made of music paper, music is often used as a sort of comfort.

These are some ideas for the next spreads. I want to do some extra research on identity at these ages, so this can change.
Spread 10: The girl with her new friend at starbucks. She sees a boy.
Spread 11:Shopping with her friend, they buy trendy clothes,
at the back the advertisements of these clothes.
Spread 12: She and the boy on a date.
Spread 13: Her identity grows, she has a particular clothing style and brand she wears.
Spread 14: The girl and boy
Spread 15:Wedding cake
Spread 16: She is pregnant, the circle is completed

Hope you can give me some feedback, so I can move along with the rest and maybe with corrections on these spreads.