02 | Editorial Design | Inferno Improved
IOW 400.5
Project Summary
This project required a unique concept for a book of original short stories about a single fictional character. The book had to be 200 pages if printed out, as well as conceptualised for the end goal of being printed, even though the prototype is in digital format. The main theme of writing is 'moments after which everything was different'.
Project Deliverables
-Presentation boards (A3): a minimum of four. All spreads must be shown.
-A single PDF containing the following: dust jacket, cover (front, spine and back), endpapers, title page, imprint page, contents page/s (single page or as multiple pages), one completed chapter (minimum 4 text spreads) and chapter titles (minimum of three chapter title pages in spread format) and a minimum of one additional text spread for each of the remaining three chapter titles (mock copy can be used for these but the introduction paragraph should clarify the narrative of the chapter).
- A Google document containing the text of the book.
Rationale
In a world filled with magic and bloody histories, a civil war breaks out between the two leading capitols of the human nation. Two kings who are refusing to let go of their petty squabbles, dabble with the lives of their citizens conscripted to fight their battles. 21 year old Elia regards this war as useless and wasteful of the lives that enter and leave it, as she tries to maintain an uncontrolled secret of her own. Born with a deadly curse, supressing her true self and emotions is second nature. Throughout her adventures, she learns more than she had hoped, influencing not only her survival, but also the survival of those around her.
The book takes the form of a collection of eight fictional short stories, showing the hard and painful journey of Elia learning who she is and what her powers mean. The stories are structured in a pattern of peace and chaos. Each peace story is a breather for the readers, focused on the internal struggle that Elia feels while meeting and building relationships with new characters. Each chaos story is a hard challenge she must face with death, tragedy and overwhelming emotions, leading to the fire spirit breaking free, as it has done before. In each chaos story, she learns something new about the spirit, until finally coming to terms with the fact that it is not an external being or curse, but part of her being and power.
The changes implemented in this improved version included a clean up and improvements to some of the illustrations that needed refinement, as well as layout changes to some of the chapter spreads. Smaller changes such as corrections in the writing are also implemented.
Please follow this link to read the full story of Elia's awakening
Character Concept Board
Grids and Layout Exploration
Media Exploration
Final Illustrations
Presentation Boards / Mock-ups
Flat Layouts
Dust Jacket
Hardcover
