To dance, or not to dance?

I got a place in Graphics!!  I can't believe it.  I mean, I'm still smiling.  And to celebrate? Well, it's off to Galway for the weekend...

Who says an adult can't enjoy a perfectly good ice-cream?...

And a drink or two?...

Love you lots Aisling xox
(Yes, I know you're reading this. x)

U2  'Where The Streets Have No Name'



My Sculptural Book

My idea for our second brief, to design a sculptural representation of the book, was to make a metal box that when opened reveals a bright pink interior, and the number 42 hidden out of sight.

The metal shell is based on my feeling that this book consists of a variety of metal surfaces and goes from spaceship to spaceship.  Also, metal is cold - just like space.

The idea of the pink paper on the inside comes from an idea I had about the book.  It is quirky and random, but somewhere in there the humour is still rooted in reason and logic.  So I don't believe that the outside of the box would be bizarre, but the fact that you are greeted with a colour you wouldn't expect is very interesting.

42.  This is the answer to 'Life, the universe, and everything'.  It is only known by a giant super-computer and an ancient race of planet architects.  It is hidden away, and the mice believe in is hidden inside Arthur Dent's brain.  I want to get across that the answer is shrouded in mystery - if that is the answer, what is the question?

My first step was to mold the aluminium into the desired shape and hold it in place..

On the front of the metal sheet I marked out a rectangular-shaped door area so I could then cut it out and later replace it with lead.

 (yes, my dad is my technican.)

I left the back open to allow for an insert of pages.  I did this to convey that this metal sculpture is in fact a book and that it still contains information - but the reader/audience is unable to get to it.

Once the pages had been covered, I decided to add more metal pieces in the form of tin and lead.  These scraps of metal would then be held in place by bolts.  I wanted there to be a metallic feel to the sculpture.  This is to show that the majority of the story is set in a spaceship.  Although one of the ships is brand new, the others are very much out of date, and that's the look I was going for. 

I then began to cut out the paper so that there would only be a hollow left, straight down to the metal. 

Final Book Cover Design

Here is my finished cover design for The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy:

It took me a while to get the type exactly right, but I think it turned out very well.  The idea is simple, and just a little illogical.  But I think it gets the message across.  Travelling through space.

I had several variations of this cover, one of which I actually went outside and photographed the road to use, but soon the essence of the concept started to get away from me.  Often simplicity is best.