Utopia Journal Report
This project challenges the typical format of a journal report by creating a more engaging and visually appealing way to process the information being presented. After being assigned the journal report “At the Margins of Ideal Cities: The Dystopian Drift of Modern Utopias” By Felipe Schwember & Julia Urabayen, I started on my utopian research. I drew from illustrations and imagery popular around the 1950’s-60’s that emerged from futuristic science-fiction and utopian themes. I balanced the idea of perfection and cleanliness pertaining to the idea of utopia as well as the imperfect and broken nature of a dystopia to further emphasize the author’s argument that utopias and dystopias often go hand in hand.
Timeline
Because the article referenced multiple different Utopias that have been written about throughout history, a timeline featuring some prominent utopias as well as the ones mentioned in the article, runs along the bottom of each page. By utilizing the accordion book format, it is possible to unfold the entire article and view the timeline from that angle as well.
Accordion Style
I made this book accordion style to emphasize the timeline and the length of time that the idea of Utopias has been present in our history. It folds nicely into the laser cut book jacket to reveal the cover design with the juxtaposing words.
Cover Design
Throughout the design process my focus was to bring out the comparisons the authors make between utopian ideals and dystopian tendencies. This led me to my cover design which features the word “utopia” on a pristine, white background but then reveals the word “dystopia” peering out from underneath. The idea of a utopian society ultimately leading way for a dystopia is the main focus of the article and the basis for this particular detail.
