MUDRA MOOD
Mudras are hand gestures used in Buddhism and Hinduism to improve mental and physical health.
THE CHALLENGE
"Mudra Mood" is my university assignment for publishing graphics. I had to illustrate and write descriptions to 13 mudras. The challenge that I faced was to create something that will be different and stand out from other students' projects. I wanted the book to be appealing not only for people interested in meditation but also for someone who have never had any interest in Buddhism.
THE SOLUTION
I decided to draw people's attention with funky little guys. I put them in funny poses and gave them certain qualities that make them look like each have their own personality.
For example: the main character and the first one I created, appears to be a friendly funny and welcoming big guy, while the right one appears as a strong, independent and bold but still very feminine.
I put especially a lot of work to make sure the gradients will print correctly since it's hard to print colors fading one into another. Also, the background colors are very bright, making it another challenge to prevent it from printing duller.
I grouped the mudras by categories - brain mudras, ether, water, fire, earth and air - for easier navigation. Each category has it's own color. Before every category I put additional pages to explain a little bit about the element - how they function in a body, where they are located, what are the effects of deficiency and excess amount of certain element in a body. All the knowledge is based on the research I made about the Ayurveda medicine.
As opposed to the pages, the plain front cover with no visual indication of what's inside makes you want to take a little peak. The simplicity makes it interesting and different.
