Gifts was my submission for the 2018 ISTD student brief. I chose the theme “anniversaries”. I looked at the correlation between anniversaries and gifting, and how they became inextricably linked. I wanted to examine the ritual of gifting from a neurological, socio-economic and allegorical perspective. The neurological aspect was represented by scientific studies into how the brain reacts to the act of gift giving. Articles about gift economies represented the socio-economic part. I lifted mathematic elements (arrows and algebraic symbols) from this to use as reoccurring motifs throughout. I wanted ensure the publication wasn’t all academic and was grounded in human emotion so I used quotes fro¬m the short story “The Gift of the Magi” as expressive type pieces between each article which helped to pace out the narrative of the book. Every instance of the words “gift”, “anniversary” and “donation” is connected with an arrow, demonstrating the interconnectivity that’s at the core of gift exchange.