Sunday 17 January 2010

The Life Book

My final project for Semester 1 was redesigning 'The Life Book' by Nina Grunfeld. I discovered the book at my Mum's where she had bought a copy after looking through the one my brother bought his girlfriend. It is a really lovely self help/feel good book, using a straight-to-the-point alphabetical system to communicate how to deal with certain issues. I have never really been a fan of books like this as I often find them patronizing or non-realistic and I hate the whimsical, pansy-like language some use and I don't think it's good to tell people things they want to hear. This book is pretty blunt in some places and isn't embellished or too flowery, which I think is ideal for the massive teen/young adult market for this genre. However, I recognised that it is quite uncomfortable for young people to seek books like this and I know it can be quite unnerving to stand in 'this section' of a bookshop. So I decided it would be nice to redesign the cover and a few of the title pages in a sensitive yet contemporary manner to attract the attention of the audience without making them feel uncomfortable. I think I have done this well, however it may be a bit too gender-specific as I can't really see it attracting as much male attention as female.

I also changed the format from a big bulky book to a smaller, handbag sized version so it is more convenient for transportation.



3 comments:

  1. Hi Becca, that's really fun. I'm so glad you liked my book and I love your designs. I showed them to my 19 year-old daughter and she really approved. It's a great idea to make a smaller edition. I'm going to show it to my publishers. Thanks so much for choosing my book. Love Nina (Grunfeld)

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  2. Thank you very much! I really appreciate your comment, I would be very interested to know what your publishers say as I am a great fan of your work! Becca.

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  3. Dear Becca,
    Sorry, I only just read your comment.
    My editor said 'I'm really impressed - it's beautiful.' And the marketing guy said 'yeah, she's done a good job - very charming.'
    Congratulations.
    Wonder if you've seen my new book 'How To Get What You Want'. It was published by Walker Books - new designer - and I think it looks great. This is a link http://lifeclubs.co.uk/read-life-clubs-books.
    How's your work getting on?
    Best wishes,
    Nina

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