Memories of Design

As a little girl, I remember my parents reading me children’s books all the time for a variety of reasons.  Maybe it was used to teach me a lesson, or maybe it was solely used for helping me fall asleep at night—but whatever the reason, Shel Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree, affected me in ways past those of a child trying to fall asleep.  It was more than the experience of reading or being read to with this book.  I specifically remember being fascinated by the illustrations and the design as a whole.  The books message was simple: do not take for granted the things and people in your life, because if you do, there will eventually be nothing left for you to take.  However for me, this was the first time I recognized that the design of a book was related to its message.  The Giving Tree’s illustrations as well as design and flow as you read, can similarly be seen as simplistic and easy to understand.

Image Copyright: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

I would also like to think that this book still affects me in the way I design now.  Visually, it was my first memorable introduction to clean basic lines, without a whole lot of distractions.  And now, that seems to be the kind of design I’m drawn to.  Clean and simple.  There was also something aesthetic about the way the book would be read.  Silverstein really kept the story flowing in a remarkably fluid manner.  From that very first time I was introduced to it, even at such a young age, I could not help but be drawn back to it again and again.