Dummy Book Review

Pui Sham ART333.01 Reviewers: JJ & Olivia Dummy Book Review My photobook is split into two different ideas. The first four spreads are comparing and contrasting the old photographs my grandmother had given me of her life back then and the contemporary photographs of her life in the here and now. There are two images per spread mirroring each other of the past and present. The second four spreads are more of a narrative documentary of my grandmother’s life. I played around with the background color, but it did not turn out as gold as I thought it was going to. So, I am going to just keep the background white. The order of the pages is chronological and can be read from both directions: left to right (Western way) and right to left (Chinese way). I want the book to be as interactive and approachable as possible for Western and Chinese readers.

Both Olivia and JJ liked my first idea better. JJ thought it was very apparent and super effective. Olivia liked the comparison aspect of the images because she thought the images were so visually similar, but drastically different in subject. For the second four spreads, Olivia did like the idea of the timeline and suggested to combine both of my ideas in having the comparisons in chronological order. I wish I could be able to do that, but it would be very difficult to keep my images in the right order to be read from both directions since I am going with my first idea of the comparing and contrasting.

Olivia and JJ gave awesome suggestions for my book. JJ told me I should think about writing an introduction piece to lead into the spreads. Since each picture is very

symbolic of Chinese culture, he added that I should also think about writing a brief description mentioning the importance of each photo. For example, the spread with the kitchen could include text about the food, family, and closeness. I am thinking about adding the year and location of the objects or subjects in these images as well both in English and Chinese text. Mentioning my grandmother’s name in the book is important too, but I am still deciding where to place it. Olivia suggested changing the texture of the book cover. She said that I should also play around with the alignment of the images that are only slightly off or full bleed.

So, I have definitely decided that I am going with my first idea on the comparing and contrasting that can be read both ways. The background color will stay white, but I will resize the images so that both of them in each spread will be the same size to mirror each other better. The different sizing distracted the eye away from the content and what I was actually trying to portray through the images. The font on the front cover does not seem to match so well with the Chinese characters on the back cover, so I am going to change that as well. I will take JJ’s advice and include an introduction and work with text more. I think having my grandmother’s stories in text will be a good change up and make the rhythm and the content of my book more captivating and interesting.