Alpha Beta Graphical Book. Writing, Art Direction, Photography. Karin Culliton (2015)
A visual alphabet book with dubious intentions.
Etymology, semiology, linguistics – the English language is an interesting study. But it is also a strange thing, with many arbitrary rules.
As children we are given alphabet books or flashcards that tell us, A is for Apple and B is for Ball, but English sometimes defies those simple rules. This book is an attempt to visualize some exceptions, first by using words that begin with silent letters (when possible) and then by pairing the visual with a homophone or homonym in the sentence. The next step was to relate the visual to its representative letter, which, as you may notice, can be difficult (and sometimes a stretch!). Here A can lead you to the produce Aisle, where you can buy your pears (which can be helpful if you want to buy a pair of pears). 'A' may not be for 'Pear,' but this book is meant to challenge your assumptions about what you read and see, and encourage you to look a little longer. (And to have a little fun.)
I wrote this entire book and photographed a majority of the pieces (some were purchased because I couldn't visually do what I wanted without a very specific photo - i.e., Bond Girls belly buttons for the letter i). I also designed the book in a very minimalistic style to help the reader pay attention to the words and visuals more carefully since it can be somewhat tricky to make all the connections.
For the month of December 2020 I put out one letter per day on Instagram.
Country: Canada
Language: English
Client: Personal Project
Tools: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Canon 5D
