After the Fall: The Literary Impact of Paradise Lost (ISTD 2022)
In response to the 2022 ISTD Brief 'Shaping the World', this book was designed to document and celebrate John Milton's influence on English language and literature through his epic poem Paradise Lost by focusing on the written words within.
It is aimed at designers with an interest in literature aged 25-45 as a certain maturity level is required to appeciate both the complexity of the poem and the experimental format of the publication.
The core design concept apparent within the publication is that of ‘insertion’, identified through research as a key aspect of Paradise Lost’s significance. Milton expanded the Book of Genesis, humanising the characters, explicitly realising the depiction of Satan as the snake, and crafting what people now recall as the story of Adam and Eve. He also created over 630 new English words; more than Shakespeare, many of which appear and originate in Paradise Lost. As such, Milton inserted new content into the Genesis story and the English language. These key influences lead to ‘insertion’ becoming the running visual theme within this publication.
'Insertion’ is visualised in several ways. Throughout the publication paragraphs, and blocks of illustrative type highlighting Milton’s new words insert themselves into the main columns of text. The introductory sections covering the Genesis story feature smaller pages inserted into the larger main signatures. The ‘Linguistic Developments’ and ‘Challenging Convention’ sections include pull-out tabs and fold-outs that insert words onto the page that were previously obscured. The final section returns to non-interactive methods of insertion: illustrative type and paragraphs inserting into text columns.
The rhythm of these techniques is intended to vary as the book progresses and more of Milton’s innovations are revealed. The return to non-interactive methods conclusively reflects Satan’s journey in Paradise Lost; escaping and reluctantly returning to Hell.
