This assignment was to create a book cover based on a particular story from the book Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. We read a number of stories, all with underlying meanings associated with them. Our objective was to take a series of pictures directly correlating to an individual story we were given from the book. This project was directly relating to our study of metaphors. Depicting the metaphor in the story and creating a design that translates that metaphor without being too literal. We also were assigned different readings not only within Sedaris’ book but about metaphors in general.
The story I was assigned was Youth in Asia (found on pages 69-82 on this text https://mail.stedwards.edu/service/home/~/?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=4942&part=2 )
The story’s metaphor was; regardless of how many times we try, we can’t replace material things that have a particular value to us with new ones. In the story, the family has a dog that they love very much. The obtain lots of fond memories with this dog and really see it as one of their children. The dog dies and the parents try to replace it with a new dog to fill their void of losing the previous one. Although they can continue to get new dogs, their experiences will always change regardless of how many times they try. Its never the same.
For my book cover, I purchased two teddy bears. One I made look like it had been a keepsake for years, and tried to make it seem like it had experienced some real wear and tear. The second, I left alone. I intended for it to look new. I wanted to express the metaphor of the story. If a kid grows up with the same teddy bear their whole life there is obviously going to be some serious attachment and love for that teddy bear. Let’s say one day the child leaves the teddy bear at a park and never sees it ago. The parents can try to replace the old one with a new one, that looks the exact same, but the emotional attachment to that ole bear can never be replaced.
This assignment allowed us to recognize metaphors, and how to turn them into a property of design. I used warm colors and a handwritten font to make the cover relay a warm, inviting and relatable feeling.