Exist Beyond Reason
Description
For my capstone project at NIU, I wanted to explore the issue of existential crises, especially within the young adult demographic. To tackle this issue, I created a book exploring life's meaning through an existential framework that provides some rationalizations for life's many common events, such as death and heartbreak. The project was written, illustrated, designed, and fully researched independently.
Role
Lead Graphic Designer
Active
2024
Book Design | Print Design | Adobe Photoshop | Adobe InDesign | Project Management | Art Direction
The Problem
As a collective, humans have often been in the throes of their struggles pondering a single question: what is the point of all of this life? Humans are particularly confused about their existence, which is exacerbated by certain life events all humans endure.
The Goals
Create a book that serves as a poetic exploration delving into the meaning of existence and life within an existential framework.
Create a suite of deliverables to make this an engaging and rich project
Research
User Personas
When I was able to determine what the content of the book would consist of, I began by conducting market research. During this phase, I sent a mass survey and held several face-to-face interviews. By doing this, I created user personas through this research. While creating these user personas, I discovered my primary target audience is young adults, predominantly between the ages of 18-28, who are interested in the meaning of life and want to understand themselves better.
Design Ideation
Phase One
Armed with my research and a solid book concept, I shifted focus to brainstorming the design and feel of the book. Recognizing the need for a chaotic and expressive quality, I developed several visual mood boards, each exploring distinctly different aesthetics. After refining and eliminating options, I settled on a mood board that featured abstract drawings and illustrations complemented by painterly marks. This combination effectively emphasized the chaotic visual style I aimed to achieve with this book.
Phase Two
After finalizing the visual aesthetic, I delved into exploring typography options for the project. I looked for two distinct typefaces that would reflect the essence of each character. Through trial and error, I identified a type system that embodied all necessary attributes. It features Motion OT for headers, complemented by Blur and Chandler42 for body text.
Designing the Book
Book Layout
Designing the book proved to be a challenging journey. Early on, I encountered difficulty in distinguishing the characters' voices, despite using different fonts. To address this issue, I implemented a system where each character's dialogue was aligned separately.
Book Cover
From the beginning, I knew the book cover had to be special. I wanted it to be memorable while also reflecting the true nature of the book’s intricate theme of existentialism and authenticity. Ideas came to light such as the universe itself
Outcome
Here are images showcasing the final product, featuring the book cover and several spreads from inside. The completed book spans over 200 pages and includes more than a hundred meticulously crafted illustrations, initially created by hand and refined digitally. Additionally, supplementary items like bookmarks were produced to enhance the book's marketing appeal.
Social Media Mockups
Created to simulate what a social media presence would look like for this project in the real world.
Social Media Ads
Created to advertise the book and garner more attention for the book itself through cryptic messaging and for upcoming events related to the upcoming book release.
Website
Created as a resource to learn more about the author as well as interact with the brand further. You can take a quiz to learn how existential you are and purchase the book and merchandise. It's a hub that hooks people further into the allure of the brand.
