06
BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN
LEVEL
Module Code
OUGD303FMP
Outcomes
Module Title
Final Major Project
Doc. Code
BRIEF TITLE
Flatland - ISTD
The Brief Your task is to produce a proposal for a new edition of Flatland that doesn’t necessarily engage with the conventions of ‘the book’ as we understand them, although it may have text matter, pages and a cover – or not. It could be a pamphlet, a chapbook, a poster, a landscape, a happening, a dream, an installation, a text, a sound piece, an animation, a moment. Concept/Proposition
Background With this brief we take a different approach. Rather than offer a theme that requires you to generate the content, we are directing you towards the content – the Victorian (1884) novella Flatland by the English schoolmaster, Edwin A. Abbott. You will find a mass of references and the full text freely available online. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott writing pseudonymously as "A Square",
To challenge the concept of the reading experience of a book. To bring Flatland to the modern market through the use of a cleverly formatted book and use of appropriate technology.
Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions.
Considerations
Mandatory Requirements
How will the book push the boundaries of how a book is read?
The finished product should show a level of quality and sophistication but also consider it’s appropriateness when compared with other titles, in terms of design and cost.
How can this be experimental but also marketed through appropriate channels that won’t alienate the audience? What typefaces, stocks and design directions will be suitable for the book market but will also appeal to new readers? Who’s going to buy it if its really expensive? Target Audience
Deliverables
New readers, who are perhaps uninspired by the standard book format, or who are fans of the original release of Flatland.
The finished book product, plus a range of material that effectively aids the readability of the book and also promotes it. A2 presentation boards that effectively communicate the brief.
Tone of Voice
Studio Deadline
The content of the book should be reflected formally and provoke thought.
10th April 2011 4 week brief
This brief should be read in conjunction with the module brief. Please refer to module information at E_STUDIO for module brief, submission deadline, graded outcomes and further reading.