Thoughts From Japan: Major Project
This is my final major project, and is about presenting philosophical concepts specific to Japanese culture, in a visually interesting way. I would like to present these concepts so that other cultures can learn about them, and gain an insight into Japanese culture, hoping that the meaning behind these concepts can positively affect our lives in some way. Well composed and interestingly designed books are visually pleasing to me. The balance of typography, other content and white space allows the content to breathe and flow through the book, and this is something I have tried to achieve in my project. I’ve used both abstract illustration and figurative photography to capture the meanings of the concepts, to provide a visually interesting guide to draw the viewer through the book and be able to connect more with the content. Furthermore, I wanted to reflect the meanings of some of the concepts in the way the book is produced, wabi-sabi within the matt off-white paper and raw spine, and shibui in the design and composition, making the book itself a representation of the content and applying a Japanese aesthetic to contemporary book design.