This book is Through the Woods by Emily Carroll.
Who was this book intended for? This book has some honestly quite creepy and horror-esque content so its probably not advisable for younger audiences, however beyond this it is perfect for those who enjoy the horror genre, as well as keen readers of short stories or graphic novel style books.
What drew you to the book? When I bought it in Waterstones, the reason it appealed to me was the cover with the limited colour palette of black white and red. This to me suggested the horror genre straight away, and as this is something I'm interested in I decided to pick it up. Once I had it in my hand, the textured cover really did it for me, its slightly grainy and feels a little unsettling but also quite tactile. The paper quality also had similarities to the papers often used in graphic novels, slick and glossy. I think the fact this was such an unusual item to come across in Waterstones made it seem all the more special to me.
What makes it a success? Not only are the stories in this seriously gripping, but the fact that they're all short stories makes them seem less intimidating and allows you to appreciate the illustrations at the same time as reading the content. The illustrations are structured in a comic book or graphic novel style in that they are in blocks or double page spreads with the corresponding text following along side them. Theres also not a massive amount of text, just key words like you would find in a poem, and I think you can really tell that this is a product made by an illustrator as I would say although words and images both play a part, the words are just there to help give the images a bit of context.
What failings does it have? Although I am biased as this book is one of my current favourite pieces of illustration, one criticism I would give is that although the textured cover gives the book a lovely finish, the fact its made of paper of a medium thickness means that the more you read the book, the more fanned out the pages go as they're not being held down by the cover. I appreciate this is just being very picky though for people like me who like to keep their best books as neat as possible. The actual illustrations are very fluid and free in some places and whilst I think this looks amazing and gives a dream like, spiritual quality to the book, it can also make some pages very hard to understand.
This book is The Great War by Joe Sacco.
Who was this book intended for? This is a book illustrated to depict the first day of the Battle of the Somme and stands at 24 feet long, folding up into a concertina. This book could be aimed at someone particularly interested in the first World War and the Battle of the Somme, or it could just be for someone who would appreciate the craftsmanship going into making a product like this.
What drew you to the book? The sheer size of it was what first drew me in, the fact that you could fold it out to see even more when you thought surely it must stop here? At first I started reading it like you would a normal book, just by turning the pages one by one, but then when I realised what it was, we folded it out the whole way to look at it as a whole. This was when I really fell in love with it, each section had almost its own separate mood over it, like the soldiers marching into war or the no mans land section in the middle. I especially liked the sections which had grey tones layered over the normal line drawing as it helped it to look more moody and atmospheric as well as breaking the continuous image up a bit.
What makes it a success? The idea is such a unique and fascinating one, which is what I think makes it so desirable, it has great societal value as something that depicts a part of history we often only see or hear about in history books, and making it both more visually and chronologically understandable without the use of heavy language, as well as making it look visually stunning. Its visually really easy to read but you could still get lost in the image, where theres about 1000 different things to look at in each segment. It could be argued that to use colour could have looked more effective, however I think it really echoes the bleak mood of this image.
What failings does it have? It could seem a little too confusing and chaotic to some people as there is a lot going on, and the line quality means you have to look quite closely to distinguish certain people and objects, however, I'd argue that this is no different from having to read a long history book very closely to make sense of it.
This book is a First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld.
Who was this book intended for? As its called a first book of nature, I'm going to assume its mainly intended for young children, or failing that, nerdy people like me that think its just a really beautiful thing to have in your house.
What drew you to the book? The cover was what initially caught me, I really liked the unusual style as it looks realistic but not hyper realistic. Any kind of hand-drawn font automatically appeals to me as well, and this one in particular on the white background looks so eye-catching. Whilst flipping through it I was also so drawn in by the mixture of hand-drawn and collage processes, the mixture of real and unreal.
What makes it a success? As well as the amazing processes used, the connection between the beautiful images and the words inside, the collections of poems and tales, work really well together. The whole book just has a whimsical feeling to it, whether that is suggested through the colour palette or the images themselves. Even the simple pages with less colour are beautifully designed and formatted. I also think that although older viewers can appreciate the collage elements too, younger readers would delight in looking at each page in depth, picking out whats a picture and which bits are real (e.g. the straw and leaves).
What failings does it have? The only small issue I would take with this book would be that the concept of it is a little confusing, considering that its supposed to be a 'first book of nature', its quite text heavy. Some of the text is a little bit long and could be quite hard to get through for children of a young age. Having said that they can still look at and feel the pages and explore the book without necessarily reading it cover to cover.
This book is January by Eleni Kalorkoti, which is apparently one of a series of 12 zines she made, one for each month of the year.
Who was this book intended for? Its hard to tell much about this book as its by a smaller illustrator and was self published so there isn't much information that exists around it. However, I can only assume she intended it for people of all age as there is no sensitive material in it, and there also isn't any text, so it could be understood by people from anywhere in the world. As it was self published and only a small amount were made as well it was probably really aimed at those who already consume and enjoy her work.
What drew you to the book? Its just such a beautiful thing, I literally swooned when I saw it. The printing quality is so high for such a small, handmade thing, and the materials and processes used in it look so perfect and so unique that I assumed they'd been done digitally but when Jamie pointed out that they were made using very precise watercolour painting techniques I was amazed. The inky qualities of the images paired with the very distinct grey and orange colour scheme the artist has used, communicated the perfect kind of winter melancholy to me which instantly made me think of the month of January. Really there were no other direct hints about the theme of the book given anywhere as it uses no text, but I don't think it needed any. The imagery alone explained the title.
What makes it a success? Certainly its uniqueness, both in the idea behind the book and the imagery and process used to create it, it's visually stunning and compels you to pick it up. But I also think in a small way, the fact that such lovely glossy paper was used for the cover made the book even feel tactile to hold, which is certainly a selling point for me.
What failings does it have? If any, I'd have to say just because it was printed on a small scale, some of the page edges had been cut a little bit roughly but other than that I really couldn't fault it. I heard some people say that it was too small to properly enjoy the images inside, and where I can see what they're saying, I think the theme and feel of the book lend themselves to the 'pocket size'.
This is made my an illustrator called Louise Lockhart who we had do a talk at uni a few weeks ago. I've followed her on Instagram for a while so it was ace to see what she was like in person. As part of her range of products she makes these old fashioned party games and among them is this pass the parcel.
What does this product look like? This really depends on when you buy your pass the parcel as the wrapping papers are all printed by hand so theres a few different designs. There are two types of parcels you can buy, one has 10 different forfeits (one for each layer) and a drawing game for everyone in the middle. The other has 10 forfeits and a writing game in the middle. Each layer is wrapped with beautifully made wrapping paper in various bright colours, some of which are then used to make forfeits out of.
What role does it serve? This is recommended for use at parties and can be suitable for all ages from 6+. It is in my opinion a really good way of getting everyone involved in something that doesn't require any planning or effort on the hosts part, plus it looks so beautiful and impressive. This would also be a great thing to play on holiday occasions as one review on the website said "It made Christmas Day".
How successful is it? This product suits its purpose very well, as its tactile and really makes you want to interact with it. The bright colours would attract everyone of all ages as would the very simple but engaging forfeits e.g. use a layer of this paper to make a hat. The game is designed so that unlike the classic game of pass the parcel where theres a prize in the middle which only one person gets, everyone is a winner, and everyone gets involved. Its a good price at £12.00 for one parcel, which will give you one game, but I'm sure would keep everyone entertained for a while. This is some of my favourite kind of applied illustration as it really encourages everyone to get involved in something and starts a conversation.
This is one of my personal favourite products and something I've purchased for myself and others (this might be largely to do with the fact I'm a big SGC fan). Its a colouring book designed to help with mental health and everyday stresses, designed by two people who suffer with anxiety and other mental health issues.
What does this product look like? It is a 20 page book filled with blank line drawings for you to colour in. The line drawings are in the style of the SGC's normal comic strip and poster art, and feature natural settings filled with flowers, trees, mountains and of course the sad ghost itself. The book is designed in such a way that you could easily tear pages out to pin them up on the walls if you're pleased with them, and the front and back covers are the only pages with any colour on, leaving the rest blank for colouring.
What role does it serve? The purpose of this product is to distract people from everyday stresses and help them relax. It is also geared towards people suffering with mental health issues and has inspirational sayings scattered throughout. The whole book is so well composed and really stands out from other 'mindfulness colouring books' as the images are a lot less complex and intricate. In my opinion this has helped me many times to relax, and because the line drawings are simple but well composed, the images when they've been coloured in always look so satisfying.
How successful is it? I think this product works really well, its affordable at £9.50 for 20 full pages in a nicely presented book and is a great way of owning a piece of Sad Ghost merchandise if you don't want to just hang one of their prints or something. Its a good way of getting their following to interact with something they've produced and making something new out of it. The pages themselves are very nice quality and are satisfying to colour on, and the designs aren't so big that you get lost in them like most other adult colouring books. I think most people, even those who have no idea what that book is for of who its made by, can appreciate the care and thought thats gone into making this book and the pages inside it.
These are an assortment of cards by Illustrator Gemma Correll, these are sold not only on her website but now in a massive variety of online and high-street shops such as Paperchase and Ohh Deer.
What does this product look like? Although the designs range from card to card, the paper they are printed on is always high quality, matte white paper. The envelopes have red and white striped borders on them, these colours are a common running theme in Correll's illustrations, which is great because I think it makes them look far more eye-catching. The images for the most part tend to be charming cartoon images showing animals or cute characters, they also have puns and jokes relating to the image on them.
What role does it serve? The cards serve a number of roles from birthday wishes to new baby cards and just general greetings cards. These are so good for so many people as the images on them are not only well designed, they are relatable and appealing to a wide variety of ages and genders.
How successful is it? Very successful, these seem to be one of the most popular items on Gemma Corrells website. This could be because they're so well designed but also so cheap, they retail for around £2.50 each which is quite reasonable as the cards are on the larger side. They function well as greetings cards and I think this is mainly due to the fact that they're so charming. Cards are also a very effective way of Correll advertising and promoting herself as you buy them to give them to someone else who will then have seen and appreciated them, and so this person will maybe purchase more in the future. However as with all cases of illustration that uses humour, there is always a chance that these cards wouldn't suit someones sense of humour.
This Moomin advent calendar is, in my opinion an extremely skilled way of applying illustration to a product.
Why is it successful?
I think what makes this a success is that it keeps the playful and whimsical feeling of the Moomin franchise alive. From the bright and busy front cover of the calendar with all the different characters mingling, to the actual characters you receive inside the product and how beautifully they're designed. The figurine element keeps the product interactive which not only appeals to younger children but would also appeal to fans of the Moomins (like myself) who find its not enough just to look at the images, you need to be able to hold a piece of them too.
Any failures?
In my very biased opinion, no there isn't, but most realistically I'd say that maybe the parts are a bit small for something that would appeal to children. However in terms of the application of the illustration, it serves a function, it looks amazing and it seems well made.
What role does it serve?
It could entertain a small child in the run up to Christmas, or it could be a fun collectors item (for weirdos like me) which could be enjoyed up to Christmas and then kept after, either to display or for fun.
Any more information?
I think seeing as this was put out by the official Moomin website which create all the merchandise, it fits Tove Janssons classic styles while bringing a new interactive twist to the books. The Moomins, although not intended to be, are really lovable creatures and I think a lot of people would enjoy to have figurines of them.
