October 2, 2025    •.  Project Development

For my thesis project, I aim to create a book that evokes a similar feeling of a photo album, while subverting it to communicate what it means to be a glass child and the hidden feelings that endure. While photo albums celebrate memories, I will use this project as a way to communicate to parents the misunderstandings and hidden feelings of a glass child by sharing feelings of invisibility, jealousy, and guilt through a nostalgic form. The book will follow three sections in which each chapter will represent one of the three feelings with a memory from me from growing up as a glass child, and how they relate to each feeling. I will also look for ways to push the boundaries of book design in order to create an immersive experience for my audience. I will look into die-cuts and transparency paper as a metaphor for the glass and to invoke the feeling of invisibility.

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Additionally, as a companion piece, I will explore motion and sound by creating a motion piece to provide an emotional experience that will go alongside the book. I will use visuals from the book, as well as incorporating home video footage, muffled sounds of my childhood, and myself speaking and sharing my hidden thoughts. The book and motion piece will work together; while the book will be more interactive and reflective of my experience, the motion piece will be more immersive for the audience. The two forms co-aligning allows for an emotional and sensory experience, which will provide an invitation for my audience to reflect about the feelings of glass children. The motion piece won’t explicitly explain the feelings as it’ll be shown abstractly; the book will ultimately provide the narrative aspect that’ll assist in interpreting the video.

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In terms of production, the tools and materials I will be looking into for my thesis project are for my book, I will use Adobe InDesign for the production of the book and I will use Adobe Photoshop to edit my photos. The estimated dimensions of the book will be 8x10 and I will create approximately 24-36 pages (subject to change). As I want my book to invoke the feeling of a photo album, I will look into fabric, and book boards to create a hard cover, as well as book binding materials which will feature a book press, needles, awl, and bonefolders. I would like to use a heavier stock for my paper, as well as transparency paper for the glass metaphor idea. I will also use x-acto knives, and box cutters to assist with the diecuts, trimming paper, and other production needs. For the motion component, I will use Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro for editing, as well as GarageBand for the sound design. I aim for the video to be 60-90 seconds (subject to change). I will use elements from the book as well as home video footage in order to visualize the feelings of guilt, invisibility, and jealousy.