Don't You Panic is a documentation book, I designed for a thesis project in my last year of grad school. This book is an insight into my journey of self-realisation and awareness about the process of ageing in nature.
Ageing is the most natural processes in nature. Every living organism ages. It is the journey between birth and death. While a lot has been said and done about acceptance and understanding of both, birth and death, ageing is something everybody wants to run away from.
This project was a very personal journey for me. My final outcome were a set of two zines. But my main challenge was to present my process and personal journey through a documentation book as effectively as my zines.
The research led me to read about beauty, and the cultural and societal notions of beauty. Accepting and applying my research was a long and arduous process, as it required me to change my twenty years of conditioning. I think it is an ongoing process that will never end. But it presented me with a fresh perspective at looking at beauty and ageing.
Through this book, I really wanted to make a documentation book an interesting read. Usually the feedback we get on documentation books are that they are a boring read. With too much text and technical details, nobody really enjoys going through them. But I feel an interesting and enjoyable process, will lead to an equally interesting outcome. Hence, my attempt at making the book an enjoyable and indulging experience!
I divided my process into three parts :
Research
Research
Exploration
Execution and Finishing
