Handling the creative process of 'Olha pra Ti!'

Abstract

This paper delves into the creative process of project ‘Olha pra Ti!’ (‘Look at You!’), a book/journal for teens to reflect about their relationship with their bodies through drawing/writing, developed in the context of the Masters in Design. A project with peculiar origins – a graphic style looking for a purpose – went through a goal oriented visual reformulation, which, in turn, led to a complete project restructuring. We identified the importance of creating a comfortable, private, supported and flexible experience, and how these could be accomplished through the book’s physical and graphic features. We analyzed a reference project and various plastic languages and techniques liable to be ‘dissected’. By putting the contents of the book to the test, the personal experiences of the author served as a starting point for the illustrations. By anchoring the definition of the remaining content levels, illustration conquered an essential role in the project and opened it up to a bigger audience (from just girls to any teen). The diversity of visuals our book achieves is only possible, because design and audience-centered choices were combined to create an experience that takes full advantage of its format and expands it in space and time. As a future development, a usability test is intended to be done.