We recently had our first meeting with our Naturesbase Children's Book Design client, Gyles Morris. He lead with a simple task: to sketch out places that meant a lot to us personally as children, and that stand out in our memories. This was particularly helpful as I felt it allowed me to really focus on what events and places meant a lot to me as a child - and more importantly, why.
The places I had chosen were my home, Arthog Outdoor Adventure, and the river Servern at Arley - near where I always lived. I realised I had chosen these locations due to the days out (and adventures) I used to engage in as a child. For example, I used to really enjoy playing in the garden at my home and by the river near where I lived, and once I was old enough to go away to Arthog for, at first, a weekend, this became such an important place to me, as it allowed me to take part in outdoor activities and learn responsibility while still having fun.
Following this task, Gyles then took us out of the classroom environment and into a garden area, where we were given the tasks to find "natural colours" from the ground, plants and anything we could find - I found that this technique could really work with my own book design idea for #1 Explorer - to subtly encourage children to use the environment around them, without "telling them what to do".
We then moved on to using the environment to create "natural book covers" and handfuls of mud and clay to create faces. This really encouraged us to loosen up and use our imagination and put ourselves in the position of children. I really enjoyed these tasks, and felt they are each having a great impact on my final designs for my "#1 Explorer" tactile book.
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