3. Auto-Book
Web Design ︎ Publication Design
2021
Auto-Book is a collaborative book-making experience that seeks to provide a form of creative escapism for demotivated, uninspired individuals. The project fuses digital and analogue processes to reinterpret the way printed publications are typically created, distributed, and consumed.
I utilised paper scraps left from the book-making process to visually translate the tactile process of the project into the design of the website ︎
Individuals can choose from a selection of cover designs specially created by a series of graphic designers and illustrators, and a selection of playfully designed book pages designed by myself, to print out and construct their own book. This open-source collection of graphic and typographic page designs connects the user to other creative individuals. It seeks to question the idea of authorship and current modes of publishing, allowing anyone with an internet connection and printer to download the content and remix it as they please.
The pressure free task of learning how to make your own A6 book from the comfort of your home and following the creative prompts supplied and using the DIY materials guide, provides a space for self-expression, artistic satisfaction, and revitalisation. The printed publication becomes a space to connect socially and creatively with others, as well as yourself.
Influenced by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s pioneering research into flow states, I intended the project to be autotelic: meaning that the experience is rewarding and satisfying in itself – the finished book is an added bonus, a token of completion.
Examples of Complete Auto-Books ︎