Project 1

5 successful book jackets:

I think these book covers are successful because they actually capture the image of the story on the cover page, it doesn't just tell you the title, but it also gives you a glimpse of the story. I usually, sadly, judge a book by its cover, so in order for me to read a book, the cover has to be catchy, most of the times..

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series: "a group or a number of related or similar things, events, etc., arranged or occurring in temporal, spatial, or other order or succession; sequence."

sequence: "a continuous or connected series."

sign:

index:

symbol:



I'm planning to design three nonfictional books that are all about abused children, and they are:

1. The step child: A true story of a broken childhood. (Donna Ford)

2. They cage the animals at night. (Jennings Michael Burch)

3. Sickened: The true story of a lost childhood. (Julie Gregory)

(Background info of the author / summary of the book)

Donna Ford

"This work tells the true story of Donna Ford, who between the ages of five and eleven was abused by her step mother Helen. Labelled 'the bastard', the 'little witch' and 'the evil one'; beaten , isolated and afraid to even look at her own reflection, this beautiful little child was told she was lucky to be the victim of abuse - abuse which began as physical and mental, but progressed to the most appalling sexual attacks. Despite an horrendous early life, Donna is now a successful artist and mother of three with an enormous enthusiasm and an optimism which completely belies her experiences. In 2003, Donna watched as her step mother was found guilty of 'procuring a minor' for sexual abuse and sentenced to two years in prison. Beautifully written and savagely honest, The Step Child is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit."

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Jennings Michael Burch

"He was born in the South Bronx, New York. Due to struggling with being a single mother, Burch's mother placed her sons in foster care in 1949, when Jennings was eight, but she vowed that she would be back. Between 1949 and 1954, he had stayed in 32 foster homes, moved with his family three times, and stayed with at least three sets of foster parents."

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Julie Gregory

"According to Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood, Gregory's mother frequently took her to various doctors, coaching her to act sicker than she was and exaggerating her symptoms, and demanding increasingly invasive procedures to diagnose the girl's imaginary illnesses. At home, her mother fed Gregory a nutritionally inadequate diet (based on foods a doctor had said Gregory shouldn't have), administered prescription medicine erratically, sometimes in double doses, and filled her days with strenuous physical labor. According to Gregory, her mother even became upset when one doctor wouldn't perform open heart surgery on her daughter. Also, in the book Gregory mentions being told that matches were suckers to eat.

When Julie finally realized what her mom was doing to her, she tried telling some people about what her mom did,but no one listened. They thought Julie was making up stories for attention, and had her go to "imagination counseling" to try and tame the crazy stories of her parents."

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Fonts? (from dafont.com)
nilland, old style, goudy bookletter, imperator, jellyka, jane austen organic elements, sell your soul, gara.

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color pallet: (from kuler.adobe.com)

-- Associated word list:

1. Dreary
2. Drab
3. Sorry
4. Grim
5. Gloomy
6. Drear
7. Dismal
8. Disconsolate
9. Dingy
10. Dark
11. Blue
12. Morbid
13. Ghoulish
14. Diseased
15. Pathologic
16. Pathological
17. Abusive
18. Harmful
19. Abuse
20. Opprobrious
21. Scurrilous
22. Strange
23. Foreign
24. Unknown
25. Unusual
26. Horrifying
27. Torturous
28. Torturing
29. Excruciating
30. Agonizing
31. Horrendoes
32. Awful
33. Dive
34. Diveful
35. Dreadful
36. Dread
37. Gruesome
38. Fearful
39. Fearsome
40. Frightening
41. Horrific
42. Terrible
43. Agonising
44. Harrowing
45. Bitter
46. Irritating
47. Sore
48. Sensitive
49. abominable
50. Inhumane

1. Morbid: suggesting an unhealthy mental state or attitude; unwholesomely gloomy, sensitive, extreme, etc.: a morbid interest in death.

2. Scurrilous: grossly or obscenely abusive: a scurrilous attack on the mayor.

3. Agonizing: to suffer extreme pain or anguish; be in agony.

4. Bitter: hard to bear; grievous; distressful: a bitter sorrow.

5. Dreaded: terror or apprehension as to something in the future; great fear.

6. Inhumane: not humane; lacking humanity, kindness, compassion, etc.

7. Excruciating: extremely painful; causing intense suffering; unbearably distressing; torturing: an excruciating noise; excruciating pain.

8. Foreign: strange or unfamiliar.

9. Dreary: causing sadness or gloom.

10. Gruesome: causing great horror; horribly repugnant; grisly: the site of a gruesome murder.

-- Tone: Are your books serious, humorous, informative, how-to, journal, fiction, non-fiction?

Write down 3 – 5 words that define the tone of your series.

east _ _ + _ _ west (eastern/western or east coast west coast)
organic + _ _ _ _ high–tech
minimal _ _ + _ _ ornamental
retro _ _ _ + _ contemporary / vintage _ _ + _ _ futuristic / nostagic _ _ + _ _ contemporary
unrefined/rough _ _ __ + clean/sophisticated
machine made _ _ + _ _handmade
traditional _ _ _ + _ non-traditional
complex _ _ _ _ + easy

-- To Suggest list:

- To suggest abandoning

- To suggest a hardship life

- To suggest the lack of love

- To suggest loneliness

- To suggest a broken family

-To suggest hope in difficult times

(more info online)

-- Find 10 quotes, phrases, part of a poem, song, etc that sets the mood/tone/feeling of your series. Quotes, phases,

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." -Marie Curie

"All that I am my mother made me." John Quincy Adams

"Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime" Herbert Ward

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“Look, I'm trying to help you with this, sacrificing my life to find out what the hell is wrong with you. So stop fucking it up when we get in here by acting all normal. Show them how sick you are and let's get to the bottom of this, okay?”

“Okay.”

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Concept Statement:

Excruciating love.

Excruciating: extremely painful; causing intense suffering; unbearably distressing; torturing.

Love: a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

Excruciating~ abusing, fear, torture, darkness, violent, broken.

Love ~ family, friends, acceptance.

To overcome your fear you must defeat it. And if living your life is excruciating, then you must face it, for "nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."

Audience Persona:

Julie Gregory is a 41 year old lady, was once a victim of Munchausen by proxy. As a child pain and agony was what she lived for. She was constantly being medicated heavily even if she only had a common cold. And when she was healthy, she was sick in her mother's eyes. Skinny and frail was the image her mother portrayed upon her, and that's what she thought she always was. Not until adulthood that she discovered the sickness that laid in her mother. But even all those times she knew she was healthy, she would still listen and do as her mother says just for love, and her mother's happiness. Julie is now an expert writer an spokesman on Munchausen by proxy and an advocate in MBP cases.

Final