Incomplet Design History

REFERENCES

White, R. (2003). Prehistoric Art: The Symbolic Journey of Humankind. Harry N. Abrams Inc. 

Clottes, J. (2008). Cave Art. Phaidon Press Limited. 9780714845920

Neumayer, E. (1983). Prehistoric Indian Rock Paintings. Oxford University Press. 9780195613872

Ruspoli, M. (1987). The Cave of Lascaux: The Final Photographs. Harry N. Abrams Inc. 0810912678

Myron, R. (1964). Prehistoric Art. Pitman Publishing Corporation. 0273438611

Stokstad, M., & Cothren M. W. (2011). Art History: Ancient Art (4th ed.). Pearson Education. 0205744222 

Art Nouveau was a stylistic movement in the late nineteenth century characterized by highly ornate and decorated designs. Inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, Celtic manuscripts, The Arts and Crafts Movement, and the development of the lithograph, Art Nouveau, or New Art, was applied to everything from architecture to biscuit tins.

Though widely applied, posters that make up a great part of Art Nouveau history.The development of lithography meant posters could be large illustrations filled with bright colors and elaborate designs, even though they were advertisements for anything from events to consumer products. While Paris, France was Art Nouveau’s epicenter, it spread to England and eventually the United States. Along the way, several illustrators made a name for themselves and were pivotal to Art Nouveau’s popularity. Some of their posters were, and still are, collected as fine art.

REFERENCES

Cramsie, P. (2010). The Story of Graphic Design: From the Invention of Writing to the Birth of Digital Design. Abrams. 9780810972926

Eskilson, S.F. (2012). Graphic Design: A New History (2nd ed.). Laurence King Publishing. 9780300172607

Müller, J. (2017). The History of Graphic Design: Vol. 1 1890-1959. Taschen. 9783836563079

Selz, P., & Constantine, M. (1960). Art Nouveau: Art and Design at the Turn of the Century. The Museum of Modern Art. 0405015739

Duncan, A. (1994). Art Nouveau: World of Art. Thames & Hudson Inc. 0500202737

Capcom, a Japan-based maker of successful game properties, made a tremendous impact on the business of video games world wide, and helped usher in the current boom in Japanese-based visual media like manga and anime as much as fellow cultural exports like Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Speed Racer, and the Dragon Ball series. 

The art team behind the bulk of Capcom’s fighting game imagery began in the late 80s and lasted until the early 2000s. The team’s story includes an eccentric artist remembered almost as much for his habits as his skills and leadership, a draftsperson capable of taking stereotypes and rendering them with profound emotion, an up and coming artist possessed of an incredible work ethic and mammoth ability to produce images, and numerous other talented artisans all brought together to form the Capcom Design Team.

REFERENCES

Hendershot, S.. (2017). Undisputed street fighter: The art and innovation behind the game-changing series. Dynamite Entertainment

Dyer, S. (2022). The king of fighters: The ultimate history. Bitmap Books Ltd.

Lapetino, T. (2016). Art of Atari. Dynamite Entertainment

Leone, Matt (2020, July 7). Street fighter 1: An oral history. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/7/21270906/street-fighter-1-oral-history-takashi-nishiyama

Hayashi, M. K., & Moylan, M. (2009). SF20: The Art of Street Fighter. Udon Entertainment Corp. 

Moore, G., & Hodgson, A. (2021). Street fighter memorial archive: Beyond the world. Udon Entertainment Corp.

Leone, Matt (2014, February 3). Street fighter 2: An oral history. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/a/street-fighter-2-oral-history/

Hayashi, M.K. (2019). Darkstalkers: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment Corp.

Leone, Matt (2021, April 14). X-Men: Children of the Atom: An oral history. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2021/4/14/22336505/x-men-children-of-the-atom-an-oral-history

Ferriere, G. & Zubkavich, J. (2005). Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge. Udon Entertainment Corp.

Famitsu Book Editorial Department (2001). Capcom Design Works. Enterbrain, Inc. 

Various (2020). UDON’s Art of Capcom . Udon Entertainment Corp.

TIMELINE

* A broad timeline spanning centuries is used to account for imprecise dates in the Ottoman Empire from multiple sources.

• 14th Century (1300s): The beginning of the Ottoman Empire. This period marks the initial blending of Islamic art with Byzantine and Persian styles, forming the basis for the unique Ottoman artistic and traditional geometric elements appearing as a symbol of Islamic art.
• 15th Century (1400s): Further development of the Ottoman style, with increased prominence in mosques and palaces in Istanbul.
• 16th Century (1500s): The peak of Ottoman art. 
• 1520-1566: Reign of Suleiman 
• 1548: The Şehzade Mosque completed with the best geometric 
• Suleymaniye Mosque (completed in 1557).
• 1570s-1598: The Qur'an's decoration is the primary artistic expression in the Ottoman Empire. 
• 1600: 1600: This period sees advancements in ceramics known as Iznik tiles, textiles, calligraphy, and manuscript illumination.
• 19th Century (1800s): The decline of the Ottoman Empire. Western influences begin to appear in Islamic art, introducing new styles and techniques.
• Early 20th Century (1900s-1922): The end of the Ottoman Empire

The Topic

A general view of the perspective on Islamic art that was shaped throughout the Ottoman Empire's peak, particularly during Sultan Suleiman's reign. Istanbul, Turkey, became known for its exceptional display of geometric symbolism in Islamic art. I want to explore the important mosques that displayed some of the most extraordinary works of art still known to the Islamic community.

REFERENCES

Kuban, D. (1987). The Style of Sinan’s Domed Structures. Muqarnas, 4, 72–97. https://doi.org/10.2307/1523097

Neci̇poğlu, G. (2007). Creation of a National Genius: Si̇nan and the Historiography of “Classical” Ottoman Architecture. Muqarnas, 24, 141–183. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25482458

Ersoy, A. (2007). Architecture and the Search for Ottoman Origins in the Tanzimat Period. Muqarnas, 24, 117–139. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25482457

Makdisi, U. (2002). Ottoman Orientalism. The American Historical Review, 107(3), 768–796. https://doi.org/10.1086/532495

Lewis, B. (1980). The Ottoman Empire and Its Aftermath. Journal of Contemporary History, 15(1), 27–36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/260456

AVCIOĞLU, N., & FLOOD, F. B. (2010). INTRODUCTION: Globalizing Cultures: Art and Mobility in the Eighteenth Century. Ars Orientalis, 39, 7–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23075922

Blessing, P. (2018). Presenting Islamic Art: Reflections on Old and New Museum Displays. Review of Middle East Studies, 52(1), 147–152. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26478488

Islamic Art. (1978). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 36(2), 3–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/3258866

Mehmed Ağa (Sedefkar Mehmet Aga, Ottoman architect, ca.1540-1622), & Ahmed I (Turkish patron, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1590-1617). (1609-1616). Sultan Ahmed Camii. https://jstor.org/stable/community.23089080

Mehmed Ağa (Sedefkar Mehmet Aga, Ottoman architect, ca.1540-1622), & Ahmed I (Turkish patron, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1590-1617). (1609-1616). Sultan Ahmed Camii. https://jstor.org/stable/community.23089076

The Ottoman Empire. (1968). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 26(5), 204–224. https://doi.org/10.2307/3258980

HOWARD, D. A. (1988). OTTOMAN HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE LITERATURE OF “DECLINE” OF THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. Journal of Asian History, 22(1), 52–77. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41932017

Denny, W. B. (1983). Dating Ottoman Turkish Works in the Saz Style. Muqarnas, 1, 103–121. https://doi.org/10.2307/1523074

REFERENCES

Witwer, M. & Newman, K., Peterson, J., Witwer, S. (2018). Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana, A Visual History. Ten Speed Press.

Seeley, S. & Seeley, T. (2015). The Art of He-Man and The Masters of The Universe. Dark Horse Books.

Forster, B. & Sorenson, J. (2019). Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging. IDW Publishing.

Farago, A. (2014). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History. Insight editions.

Heller, S. & Mungia, R. (2021). SF20: Toys: 100 years of all-american toy ads. Taschen.

Voger, M. (2015). Monster mash: The creepy, kooky monster craze in America 1957-1972. TwoMorrows Publishing.

Fawcett, C. (2021). Rad plastic. Tkaf productions

Reed, W. (2001). The Illustrator in America 1860-2000. The Society of Illustrators Inc.

Hudson, G.. (2019).Illustration on British and North American Printed Ephemera, 1900-1910. In S.Doyle,  J. Grove, & W. Sherman (Eds.), History of Illustration (1st ed., pp. 198–214). Fairchild books.

Kane, B.M. (2019). Overview of Comics and Graphic Narrative, 1830-2012. In S.Doyle,  J. Grove, & W. Sherman (Eds.), History of Illustration (1st ed., pp. 198–214). Fairchild books.

Bio/ Background (intro)

• Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker 
• Intro (below)

Topic 1 Introduction

To my surprise, a number of people have never seen or heard of the movie “Treasure Planet.” In this  classic retelling of “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson,  the narrative was turned into an intergalactic adventure complete with cyborgs, space travel, and, of course, treasure. Disney’s “Treasure Planet” was one of two experimental movies in the year 2002. “Treasure Planet,” however, is notorious for its box office failure. The other experimental film, from a different in-house studio was “Lilo and Stitch,” which got way more attention and was well received by audiences. Now, this podcast is not a compare and contrast of the two experimental films of 2002, but I can’t help but take into consideration the alleged reasons why “Lilo and Stitch” swam but “Treasure Planet” sank. Both movies included obvious CGI, a wide variety of alien species, action-packed space travel, and family problems. I say this because a noticeable amount of articles claim the reason “Treasure Planet” bombed at the box office was because of the “high tech” CGI scenes. Amazingly after being scorned six feet into the grave of Disney’s backyard, 20 years later it gets dug up like a prized fossil.

Treasure Planet is based on the legendary novel “Treasure Island,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Instead of taking place in the Caribbean, it is set in outer space. The story begins with Jim Hawkins receiving a treasure map from a wounded alien by the name of Billy Bones in his mother’s inn. Rebellious Hawkins and passionate Dr. Delbert Doppler join a crew to find this elusive treasure hidden by the notorious pirate, Captain Nathaniel Flint. The crew of this ship seems to be of questionable authenticity as Hawkins meets the cook, Mr. Silver. Silver’s cyborg body with a robot arm reminds Hawkins of Billy Bones' warning about a cyborg. Eventually, the crew reveal themselves as pirates and launch a mutiny with Silver as their leader. The film carries multiple layers of character arcs journeys as the characters set out for Treasure Planet. This retelling of “Treasure Island” was, of course, given a sprinkle of “Disney magic” complete with striking animation, and memorable characters with flamboyant personalities. 

Topic 2 Who Made the Film?

The striking film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. These guys directed “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” and “Hercules.” According to the reflections on the Walt Disney Family Museum Website, Ron Clements was born and raised in Indiana. He was inspired to learn animation at the age of 9 after seeing “Pinocchio.” He worked his way from the scraping bottom of Disney to the director’s chair. John Musker was also an animator, storyboard artist, writer, director, and producer for 40 years for Disney Animation Studios. He studied under icons like Elmer Plummer and Bill Moore at CalArts in the 1970s. “He also studied alongside classmates who would become distinguished directors such as Brad Bird, Chris Buck, Tim Burton, John Lasseter, and Henry Selick.” His partnered credits with Clements are as follows, “The Great Mouse Detective” (1986), “The Little Mermaid” (1989), “Aladdin” (1992), “Hercules” (1997), “Treasure Planet” (2002), “The Princess and the Frog” (2009), and lastly, “Moana” (2016).

Gladstein writes in “The Bizarre Story of How Treasure Planet Got Made” that the two directors pitched “Treasure Planet” the same time as “The Little Mermaid” in Disney’s Renaissance Era (1989-1999). The studio was extremely reluctant to green light “Treasure Planet” until the dynamic duo, Clements and Musker, shoveled out genius big time money makers like “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin.” Gladstein notes that the studio was so impressed with the consistency of success from these dudes that they finally said yes to “Treasure Planet.”  As an observer, I’m reading that basically “The Little Mermaid” and other MAJORLY lucrative films were just incredible proofs of concept to convince the big guys of letting “Treasure Planet” fly.

According to Jocelyn Buhlman on The Official Disney Fan Club Website, this was Clements and Musker's first sci-fi film, despite their love for science fiction. Buhlman quotes Clements explaining, “John and I are both sci-fi fans. The idea of making our pirate and taking his eye patch and turning it into a cyborg eye and taking his peg leg and making it mechanical—not only was it a science fiction thing, but it was an animation thing.” Buhlman also mentions how the two directors utilized the 3D technology used in “Tarzan” to create a camera effect on the action scenes and moving parts, “Beyond the wonders of Deep Canvas, Clements and Musker achieved the dynamic directorial style they desired by creating a whole new technology—virtual sets. A scene in “Tarzan” that most viewers can recognize that used a mix of hand drawn and computer animation is when Tarzan “slides” down mossy trees to get around in the jungle like sliding on wood floors with socks. The hand drawn element was added to Tarzan’s body as he moved around and the passing trees and jungle was the computer animation portion.

Buhlman speaks on how Clements explains the logistics of making “Treasure Planet’s” backgrounds, “‘They were actually dimensional sets made to look like 2-D backgrounds, but in truth they were 3-D, and we could move the camera around.’” This was a huge deal for animation. Let’s take another well known “classic” Disney hand drawn film for an example: “The Little Mermaid.” As previously mentioned, this enormously successful animated film was also directed by Clements and Musker. In this film, everything was hand drawn. And I do mean everything. Before understanding how and why animators turned to computer animation, we have to dive into the meaning of hand drawn animation and how much a labor of love it was. 

Hand drawn animation is formally known as cel animation. This process of animation and film making is labor intensive and requires massive numbers of animators to complete an ambitious film such as “The Little Mermaid.” Just like any other film, animation requires storyboarding, pitches, screenwriting, actors, directors, etc. The only difference is instead of using a camera to capture the movement of the story, artists have to draw it frame by frame. A frame is a single drawing. An animation is a collection of frames in a row that, ideally, “move” when viewed quickly. Ever heard of a flipbook? It’s the same concept: a stack of drawings just tiny changes from each other to make a seamless movement before the eye. According to Adobe, “Cel animation is one of the most traditional forms of animation and involves objects - usually characters - being hand-drawn on clear celluloid sheets and placed over painted backgrounds. These are known as animated cels or animation cels.” 

These celluloid sheets are drawn and painted on for all of the characters that moved in a scene. That is why the backgrounds in cel animated films seem set in place, because they quite literally are. This style of animation was completely hands on and traditional with paint, pencils, and more. These artists would create a pencil test (an animation drawn roughly in pencil) to test how the character moves and interacts with the other characters. Disney was known for using live, moving models in the studio to help artists understand the realistic movement of the body. Animators would take a day to grab a paper pad, some pencils, and an easel to complete quick drawings of the model called gesture drawings. They would do this to understand how anatomy works and better their animation skills. If you’re interested in seeing records of these, Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” and “Alice and Wonderland” have great films of the animators figure drawing in action. In “The Little Mermaid,” they also used models to understand how the main character, Ariel’s, hair moved underwater. According to Untitled Art Gallery, “The effect of Ariel's hair underwater was based on footage of Sally Ride when she was in space; and scenes of Sherri Lynn Stoner in a swimming pool were used in animating Ariel's swimming.” After the pencil tests were completed, they polished the frames by using clean line work. 

You might be wondering, “How did they color the drawn animations?” They had a whole team dedicated to painting, yes, painting each and every single frame. This was also why hand drawn animation’s characters appeared less rendered. Rendering takes time, and time was something these studios certainly were scarce of. Untitled Art Gallery also made an excellent point on the difficulties of backgrounds in cel animation: “A challenge in animating Ariel were the colors required to show her in various changing environments, both under the sea and on land. By the end of the film, the animators required a total of 32-color models; not including costume changes. The sea-green color of her fin was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab, and the color was named "Ariel" after the character.” In hand drawn animation, every single scene you see that moves or has a number of moving parts is drawn and painted by hand, unlike computer animation. This was why the use of computer graphics was a huge leg up for animation. When Musker and Clements mentioned how monumental computer animation was to making “Treasure Planet’s” moving backgrounds, they meant it. Computer graphics in a hand drawn appearance saved months of work for these animators. Buhlman claims that Clements and Musker were successful and known for mixing 2D and 3D animation techniques.

The process of mixing 2D (hand drawn) and 3D (computer animated) techniques was very tricky to pull off. As I mentioned before, the characters from “Treasure Planet” were either hand drawn, hand drawn and computer mixed, or entirely computer (which was rare). Jim Hawkins was completely hand drawn, unlike Silver. Most of Silver’s body was hand drawn. The parts of him that were computer animated were his cyborg parts like his eye and arm. Both his eye and arm have mechanical shape-shifting movements that would be near impossible to animate by hand as smoothly. B. E. N., the robot, was entirely computer animated. The animators had to create Silver’s body by hand, and then match up computer animated cyborg parts to make his design cohesive. This took time and lots of money. Musker and Clement’s budget for this film was $140 million USD, so they must have known the beast of a project they were taking on.  

Clements and Musker also created an extremely diverse set of characters for “Treasure Planet.” Every character in this film had multiple design studies and framework done, so considering there were over 50 characters to animate, they were ambitious. This animation was set on no single characters, but they did have stars in their cast. Martin Short was cast as Ben, the robot that worked for the late pirate Captain Nathaniel Flint. Martin Short was known for his roles in “The Three Amigos” and  multiple other shows and films. Tony Jay was the compelling narrator. He voiced multiple iconic characters such as Frollo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and The Magic Mirror in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” 

Topic 3 Why Did the Film Bomb?

Let’s talk about another movie that faltered just before “Treasure Planet” did, in 2001. “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” was a Disney film that was created by the people that designed the very successful “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. Drew Taylor, a Collider article author, writes about how their visions of this movie were similar to Musker and Clements. Taylor mentions how they meant for the movie to be an adventurous and action packed change of pace from the Broadway musical style they’d previously directed. They also planned the movie to be a live action film. Some critics today claim it did in fact, age like that forgotten bottle in the back of a dusty cabinet, others say it aged like milk. Just like “Treasure Planet,” “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” is packed with a thrilling quest, diverse characters, and stunning visuals. Also like “Treasure Planet,” Wise and Trousdale used computer animation mixed with hand drawn animation. They used computer animation on pieces like the submarine and the leviathan monster. When pitching the idea to multiple Disney animators and designers like John Sanford, according to Taylor, “As production got underway, they added a key member of the team: John Sanford, who served as the artistic supervisor for story. He was finishing work on Mulan at Disney’s Orlando satellite studio. Uninspired by the projects that he knew were in the pipeline, he called Trousdale and asked what he was working on. When Trousdale explained the project, Sanford knew he had to be a part of it. ‘It was unlike anything I’d ever heard of,’ Sanford said.” According to The Janitorium, “People just weren’t ready for a serious Disney film. Somehow it didn’t have the charm or the feeling of a Disney film – therefore it failed. While modern superhero films can be pushing the boundaries of PG-13 and still appeal to young kids, Atlantis was considered too edgy. And while Indiana Jones is still a lauded classic, Atlantis is panned for being just as simple and formulaic. I just can’t understand it. Sure, maybe the film wasn’t properly marketed, but neither was Hunchback – and that film still has its vocal fans and is arguably even darker of a Disney film.” Just like “Treasure Planet,” “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” started in excitement and promise, took sweat and tears to make, released into the wild theaters, and crashed at the box office. 

The building suspension and hard work made by Clements and Musker went right into the gravel, but why? According to Bobby Berstein on the Nerdmuch website, this cosmic ship should have soared, not sank, “Despite having a talented team of animators and voice actors, the film was a commercial and critical failure, grossing only $38 million domestically against a budget of $140 million.” Unfortunately, the movie sent Disney into debt.  Bernstein claims that the reasons the film utterly failed was because of competing films in the theater like “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” as well as “Die Another Day,” a lack of marketing, an unclear target audience, drastic swings away from  the “traditional” Disney style, a lack of emotional connection, and negative reviews. “While some reviewers praised the film’s visuals and action sequences, others criticized its pacing, lack of emotional depth, and departure from traditional Disney storytelling.”

In “Why Treasure Planet Became One of Disney’s Most Expensive Failures Ever,” Courtney Mason explains how the movie was so expensive to make. The blend of 2D and 3D animation techniques cost a pretty penny. Long John Silver’s character required both hand drawn animation and computer animation to bring his cyborg parts to life, as mentioned previously. Now, imagine the number of animators in a number of departments working on the hand drawn animation alone plus the cost of computer animators and advanced programs. This movie was a fusion between computer animation and hand drawn animation, and with fusions come problem solving and expenses. Most of the backgrounds and special effects were computer animated as well as characters like B.E.N. and parts of Silver. Everything else, including main and background characters, were hand drawn. The directors wanted to make this film majestic, adventurous, and grand like a Steven Spielburg movie. Mason notes that because of the advances in computer animation in Pixar films and the decline of hand drawn animation with its demand of countless workers and longer development cycles, “Treasure Planet” was outdated the day it was released. 

The wholesome and epic story was ahead of its time according to Cameron Gorman on Collider, “Sarah Hawkins (Laurie Metcalf), a put-upon inn owner, is reading a bedtime story to her son Jim. This ordinary scene of domesticity — something that would feel at home in its source material — is suddenly elevated when we see Jim's book. It's more of a hologram show than a traditional novel, the images moving and turning in their own little spaces.” The mix between old fashioned and technology is extremely creative and unique compared to previous Disney animated films, but failed epically in the box office. Gorman also conducts another reason why this film didn’t reach an audience: the main character was too old. If that’s so, I’d say that is completely unfair considering Cinderella was supposedly 19 years old, four years older than Jim Hawkins. Maybe if Disney put a crown on Jim and made him a ‘space prince’ with a love interest, it would’ve received more attention considering the audience at the time was conditioned to consume love stories and happy endings from Disney’s buffet.  

Topic 4 A Cinema Wrestling Match in Theaters 

You might be wondering, “Okay, so what if ‘Treasure Planet’ isn’t a traditional Disney film? So what if these points are valid, how did the film fall so hard then? It couldn’t have been that bad, right?” Yes, the technology was quickly evolving in animation studios, and yes, this film was not your average sing-song Disney delight. However, animators like John Musker and Ron Clements had to face what every filmmaker dreads: the theater competitions. Each film is fighting fist to fist, tooth and nail to earn that ticket. All movies stare each other down in the face across from each other in the filthy, carpeted halls of the movie theaters. Each poster is trying to persuade the consumer, screaming at them, to win over their interest for the sake of a good rating, excellent box office numbers, and maybe even another ticket. 

So Musker and Clement’s studio has shined up and polished off their beautiful creation and sent it off to the gritty audience. Mind you, “Treasure Planet” was released in 2002. Allow me to expand on the competition in 2002 theaters: “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” “Spider-Man,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones,” “Die Another Day,” “Men in Black II,” “Lilo and Stitch,” - must I go on? In the realm of movie lovers all over the world, these films I just mentioned were iconic when they came out. It seems as if almost anyone who dared to challenge these theater titans, were doomed to fail.  

Topic 5 Why Does it Have an Audience Today?

Like a zombie crawling out of a grave, “Treasure Planet” received the audience it deserves 20 years after it was released. The craftsmanship of the hand drawn mixed with computer animation is now seen as legendary. “Silver's cyborg animation, too, remains impressive,” Courtney Mason writes, “ The mechanics of his arm are quite hypnotizing and fascinating to watch. Morph stands out as Disney's signature cute sidekick, and does a wonderful job of being funny and adorable. The script ebbs and flows, with humor being provided by the only entirely CG character in the film, B.E.N. Superior to all, though, is the relationship between Jim and Silver.”

The New York Times wrote in December, 2022 that the film was grossly underappreciated with its striking visuals and relatable character traumas. The New York Times also mentioned how video games, other films, and a negative impression of the rebellious teenage main character could have contributed to the cold shoulder from the public. They expressed how monumental and unique it was to have Jim’s character to be the way it was, “Outside of its irreplicable conception, “Treasure Planet” also tapped into adolescent woes that powerfully spoke to many teens because it treated the flood of emotions young people grapple with as legitimate. The hero here was rough around the edges. For their intergalactic coming-of-age tale, the directors turned Hawkins into a rebellious 15-year-old with a braided rat tail who surfs the skies on a solar-powered board. His father left when he was a child and his loving but worried mother can’t seem to get through to him. To find himself and mature, this brooding heartthrob must leave on an epic quest.” The New York Times acknowledged how much of a relatable role model Jim Hawkins was instead of the trouble-making boy parents and critics saw. “Treasure Planet” also had a very complex and well-crafted relationship between two important characters, Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver. Silver filled that fatherly role that Hawkins was in desperate need of since his father left him at a young age. Silver saw Hawkins as a son and someone to take under his wing, to see the universe with. It was a beautiful complex relationship because Jim Hawkins was the hero, and Long John Silver was soon to be revealed as the leader of the pirates who would hijack the ship. The New York Times recognized this, “Though not a musical, “Treasure Planet” features a touching montage to the tune of the singer’s John Rzeznik’s “I’m Still Here,” a song written for the film, that bridges Hawkins’s abandonment trauma and his burgeoning relationship with Silver, a figure filling that paternal void.” Laura Kelly from Inkverse said something similar about the two character’s relationship, “The central relationship is the father-son bond that develops between John Silver and Jim, who finds encouragement from the pirate that he never received from his distant father. Throughout the story, become more responsible and confident, while Silver gains the capacity to care about another person. That aching search for validation — the need for a flawed role model to tell you how proud they are of you — comes across with a deep emotional maturity in Musker and Clements’s passion project, written with Rob Edwards.” Kelly also mentions how Disney was not a stranger to parental abandonment in story-telling, but the character showing resentment towards the parent is rare. Musker and Clements’ masterpiece was just ahead of its time. Their animated film “Treasure Planet” has managed to find its audience after twenty years like a relic that was forgotten, buried in the ground, and dug up decades later to be discovered as treasure. 

References 

• Gorman, Cameron. (2023, February 5). Why ‘Treasure Planet’ Was Such a Spectacular Sci-Fi Flop. Collider. https://collider.com/treasure-planet-failed/#:~:text=An%20Older%20Protagonist%20and%20Poor,Led%20to%20Treasure%20Planet's%20Failure&text=Despite%20its%20hard%20journey%20to,one%20of%20Disney's%20worst%20failures.  
• Mason, Courtney. (2022, July 23). Why Treasure Planet Became One of Disney’s Most Expensive Failures Ever. Screenrant. https://screenrant.com/treasure-planet-2002-disney-box-office-bomb-cost-reason/
• Bernstein, Bobby. (2023, March 9). Why Disney’s ‘Treasure Planet’ Failed Miserably. Nerd much?. https://www.nerdmuch.com/movies/treasure-planet-failed/
• Kelly, Laura. (2022, November 27). Treasure Planet Was a Box Office Failure, but 20 Years Later, it Found its Audience. Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/culture/treasure-planet-20-year-anniversary
• Aguilar, Carlos. (2022, December 28). ‘Treasure Planet’ at 20: Disney’s Failed Space Odyssey Deserved to Soar. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/movies/treasure-planet-disney.html
• Gladstein, Scott. (2017, March 21). The Bizarre Story of How Treasure Planet Got Made. Medium. https://medium.com/@scottgladstein/the-bizzare-story-of-how-treasure-planet-got-made-bfa184acdd18
• Buhlman, Jocelyn. (2017, November 27). D23 Celebrates 15 Years of ‘Treasure Planet’ with DirectorsRon Clements and John Musker. D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. https://d23.com/d23-celebrates-15-years-treasure-planet-directors-ron-clements-john-musker/
• (2022). Nine Old Mentors: Ron Clements and John Musker’s Reflections. The Walt Disney Family Museum. https://www.waltdisney.org/education/talks/nine-old-mentors-ron-clements-and-john-muskers-reflections
• (2019). The Little Mermaid, 1989. Untitled Art Gallery. https://www.untitledartgallery.com/the-little-mermaid#:~:text=%22The%20Little%20Mermaid%2C%22%201989%20was%20the%20final%20Disney%20film,villain%20a%20much%20bigger%20role. 
• (2024). Animation: Hand Drawn. Into Film. https://www.intofilm.org/films/filmlist/91
• (2024). Cel (Or Traditional) Animation Explained: Definition, Types, and Methods. Adobe. https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/animation/discover/cel-animation.html
• Hall, Cameron Roy. (2023, January 21). Treasure Planet’s Animation Was Even More 3D Than it Seems. Slash Film. https://www.slashfilm.com/1168766/treasure-planets-animation-was-even-more-3d-than-it-seems/
• https://collider.com/disney-atlantis-the-lost-empire-history-explained/
• https://thejanitorium.home.blog/portfolio/dissecting-the-hate-against-atlantis-the-lost-empire/#:~:text=People%20just%20weren't%20ready,Atlantis%20was%20considered%20too%20edgy. 

Lynd Ward hits all my favorite aspects of the mercurial world of art and design. Here is the son of a leader of the Methodist Church whose work unabashedly depicts the underside of the Depression Era city and the undead creatures of gothic horror (often in the buff). His work embodies the height of graphic narrative and the depth of pulp chunkiness. The elite halls of the gallery and chummy confines of the childrens’ library nook. Comfortable with brush or knife, his work carries an expressionistic zeal to it that would go on to influence comic books, illustration and printmaking well into the 21st. Century. Mighty impressive for a man whose work primarily consisted of no more than 2 to 3 colors per image. 

TIMELINE

• Born 1905, second child to Harry Frederick Ward and Harriet May Kendall Ward, in Chicago Illinois- contract Tuberculosis, prompting move to Lonely Lake, Ontario. Stays sickly as a kid
• 1915. Begins interest in art by reading and copying Dore’s Bible. This is encouraged by mother with trips to art museums in Boston where the family has moved.
• 1922. Attends Teachers College at Columbia University. Meets wife, May McNeer there. 
• 1926. Graduates from Columbia and studied for a year in Leipzig at the Staatliche Akademie für Graphische Kunste und Buchgewerbe. Heavily influenced by working wood engraver Theodore Mueller
• 1927. Discovers the work of Frans Masereel- another major influence, and heads back to US to start working freelance in publishing
• 1928. Begins receiving commissions, working in a variety of formats
• 1929. Publishes Gods’ Man with Cape & Smith Publishing- comes out week of Wall Street Crash but sells more than 20 thousand copies.
• 1930. Publishes Mad Man’s Drum, loses first child after premature birth. Spends Winter in Paris and learns how to play the accordion.
• 1931. Essentially a superstar illustrator at this point, his wife quips that he works from 9 AM to midnight, Seven days a week (good god), apparently he kept this pace into his 60s. Co-founds the Equinox Press.
• 1932. Wild Pilgrimage published by Smith and Haas. (Insane output of work over a 4 year period)
• 1935. Helps found American Artists’ Congress
• 1936: Produces Song Without Words
• 1937. Named supervisor of the Graphic Arts Division of the New york Chapter of the Federal Arts Project. Vertigo is published.  The Haunted Omnibus Published
• 1938. Helps Hans Alexander Mueller and his wife flee Germany, and aids in him getting work, including writing Woodcuts & Wood Engravings: How I Make Them, a process that leads to the dissolving of Equinox. His most ambitious illustration project, over 500 drawings for an edition of Les Miserable is published. (Again, an insane amount of work for 10 years). 
• 1939. Became first Chairman of the Union of American Artists
• 1940. Abandons “woodcut novel” form. Contributes illustration to Psychology study/text Adolescent Fantasy…
• 1943. Illustrates Esther Forbes’s Johnny Tremain, which wins the 1944 Newberry Award and starts long working relationship with Hoghton Mifflin and children’s editor Mary Silva Cosgrave.
• 1945-152. Continues to win awards and rack up work for Houghton Mifflin and places like The Atlantic Monthly
• 1952. Writes and illustrates The Biggest Bear, which would win the Caldecott the following year. 
• 1962- Accepts mural commission from the United Methodist Church- takes 7 years.
• 1965. Nic of the Woods published
• 1966. Gods’ Man and Wild Pilgrimage republished, leading to renewed interest in work as part of the 1960s  counterculture scene.
• 1973. The Silver Pony published
• 1974 Storyteller Without Words Published by Abrams
• 1985 Dies.

REFERENCES

Ward, Lynd (2009). Vertigo: A novel in woodcuts. Dover Publications, Inc.

Ward, Lynd (1974). Storyteller without words; The wood engravings of Lynd Ward. Abrams.

Ward, Lynd (2010). Six novels in woodcuts. Library of America.

Ward, Lynd (1965). Nic of the woods. Houghton Mifflin.

Jones, Stephen (2015). The art of horror: An illustrated history. Applause.

José Guadalupe Posada was a Mexican illustrator who worked in lithography and engraving, he was a very prolific image maker who completed an estimated 20,000 illustrations in his lifetime, with themes ranging from Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead illustrations, political cartoons, popular illustrations, and daily life, as well as illustrations for “shocking” crime stories. He was also known to have created illustrations for a number of children’s books in the form of cheaply printed chapbooks with the printer Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, making them accessible to wide audiences. Yet despite his enduring legacy, his contributions are not often discussed in histories of graphic design, yet his story reveals a deep history of image making and mass production of images in Mexico, which includes the foundation of the Taller de Gráfica Popular, a collective founded by Leopoldo Méndez, Luis Arenal, and Pablo O’Higgins. Posada’s popular Day of the Dead icons, such as the Calavera Catrina, have captured the hearts and imaginations of many. Born in 1852 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, he made his way to Mexico City after a devastating flood upended his life. It is perhaps this move that allowed his work to be “discovered” by artists and historians after his untimely death in 1913. Though his work has been recognized by art historians, and he has been honored with a number of posthumous exhibitions of his work around the world, there is still work to be done to include his story in histories of graphic design. His images were geared to popular audiences, and a wide range of people had access to them and enjoyed them in his lifetime.

1852 - Born, February 2, Aguascalientes, Mexico
1860s - receives drawing instruction Municipal Academy of Drawing in Aguascalientes
1867 - Census records Posada as a Painter
1868 - Begins working with Trinidad Pedroza
1871 - First political Cartoon published in El Jicote
1872 - Pedroza and Posada move to León
1876 - Takes charge of Pedroza print shop
1888 - Moves to Mexico City
1888-90 - collaborates with the newspaper La Patria Ilustrada and the Revisita de Mexico
1910 - The Mexican Revolution begins
1913 - Died, January 20, Mexico City, Mexico
1920 - The Mexican Revolution ends
1937 - Taller de Gráfica Popular, collective founded by Leopoldo Méndez, Luis Arenal, and Pablo O’Higgins

Acosta, T. (2023, September 19). Dia de los Muertos: Its rich history, traditions and why not all Mexicans celebrate it. Arizona Republic. https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/holidays/2023/09/19/origin-of-day-of-the-dead/70489251007/

Aguilar Montes de Oca, R. I. (2016). The Day of the Dead: One Ritual, NewFolk Costumes, and Old Identities. Folklore (Tartu, Estonia), 66, 95.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, October 19). León. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Leon-Mexico

Bunker, S. B. (2012). Creating Mexican consumer culture in the age of Porfirio Díaz. University of New Mexico Press.

Casillas, M. L. (2013). Posada & Manilla: Illustrations for Mexican Fairy Tales. RM.

Doyle, S., Grove, J., & Whitney, S. (Eds.). (2019). History of Illustration. Fairchild Books.

Frank, P. (1998). Posada’s Broadsides: Mexican popular imagery, 1890-1910. University of New Mexico Press.

Greenspan, J. (2018, August 31). 6 things you may not know about the Mexican Revolution. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/6-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-mexican-revolution

Kennedy, P. (2022, December 7). José Guadalupe Posada: Skulls, Skeletons and Macabre Mischief. Illustration Chronicles. https://illustrationchronicles.com/Jose-Guadalupe-Posada-Skulls-Skeletons-and-Macabre-Mischief

Lagasse, P., & Columbia University. (2018). Díaz, Porfirio. In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press.

Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada. (n.d.). Posada. https://www.posada-art-foundation.com/about-posada

Mexico. (n.d.). RSF. https://rsf.org/en/country/mexico

Recalls Disaster of 1888.; HUGE WATER WALL HITS LEON, MEXICO. (1926, June 25). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1926/06/25/archives/recalls-disaster-of-1888-huge-water-wall-hits-leon-mexico.html

Short biography — The Jean Charlot Foundation. (n.d.). The Jean Charlot Foundation. https://www.jeancharlot.org/short-biography

Taller de Gráfica Popular (Mexico City, Mexico) | The Art Institute of Chicago. (2001, July 4). The Art Institute of Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/artists/72887/taller-de-grafica-popular-mexico-city-mexico

Tyler, R. (1979). Posada’s Mexico. Library of Congress.

From its origins in the 1950s from the pages of books to software like MacDraw in the 1980s to CD Roms, and finally moving online in the 1990s, Clip Art’s evolution took place along with that of graphic design. Even though clip art was mostly created by unnamed designers and illustrators and sold in packages or libraries, there are many important figures we know of whose clip art contributed to the history of graphic design. Joan Shogren, an early computer art pioneer and clip art designer; Frank Fruznya, whose iconic clip art defined an era; and Sean Tejaratchi, whose cult hit zine series Crap Hound celebrates Clip Art and visually meditates on social issues. Ultimately, clip art is a misunderstood element of graphic design that holds an essential place in its history. Clip art in many ways paved the way for stock photo and stock illustration use that is common practice among designers today.

1928 – Tom Tierney born in Beaumont, Texas 
1928–  Dan X. Solo born
1932 – Joan Shogren born 
1941 – Dover Publications founded 
1947 – Jean Larcher born in Rennes, France 
1949 – Tierney graduates from the University of Austin in Texas, majoring in painting and sculpture 
1950s – Clip Art began to be produced in books for commercial sale, such as The Volk Corporation
1951 – Tierney serves in the US Military for 3 years
1952 – Frank Fruznya, prolific Clip Art illustrator, born in Illinois
1953 – Tierney movies to NYC to work as a fashion illustrator 
1954 – Art Chantry born 
1960s – Tom B. Sawyer created Clip Art for Harry Volk Jr’s Volk & Co’s “Clip Book of Line Art”series
1963 – Shogren designs set of rules to make the first computer art with Jim Larsen and Dr. Ralph Fessenden’s assistance at San Jose Univeristy in California 
1963 – “Cybernation” exhibition of early computer art featuring Shogren took place at the San Jose State Partna Book Store 
1962 – Solotype founded 
1965 – Larcher graduates after  studying  typographic art at the Paris Chaamber of Commerce 
1969 – Artist and illustrator Mitch O’Connell starts to freelance Clip Art illustration for Dynamic Graphics 
1970s – Dover begins publishing Clip Art books 
1970 – Sean Tejartchi born 
1973 –  Larcher begins freelance design work 
1974 –  Fruznya started to work for H&R; then was recruited to work for Dynamic Graphics 
1976 – Tierney publishes his first paper doll book, “Thirty from the 30s” which attracted the attention of Dover 
1979 – Peter Roizen and Heidi Roizen, brother and sister, co-found T/Maker 
1981 –  IBM introduces the first personal computer 
1983 –  Heidi Roizen takes over as president at T/Maker 
1983 – ImageWriter printer released
1983 – VCN ExecuVision published IBM’s first Clip Art library 
1984 – Shogren starts to work for T/Maker for ClickArt 
1984 – T/Maker releases ClickArt Publications digital Clip Art collection 
1984 –  Brad Fregger creates Clip Art for Activision 
1984 –  Nova Development founded 
1984 – MacPaint comes pre installed on Macintosh computers 
1985 – “The Year of the Computer” mass production of personal computers helps change the world 
1985 – LaserWriter printer is introduced
1986 –  Graphic Source published Clip Art Books 
1986 – Apple introduces the Macintosh Computer 
1986 – Mac Plus released 
1987 – MacPaint to longer pre installed on Macintosh computers
1987 –  T/Maker introduced first vector Clip Art made with Adobe Illustrator 
1988 – Adobe Systems released Adobe Illustrator 
1989 –  Company 3G Graphics published “Images with Impact!” 
1994 – Crap Hound first published 
1994 – Deluxe Corp buys remaining software lines from T/Maker, including ClickArt 
1996 – Zedcor was the first company to offer Clip Art images as part of an online subscription service
1996 – Microsoft began to include Clip Art in it’s built in libraries 
1996 – Animation Factory founded 
1998-2001 – T/Makers ClickArt library sold each year due to large mergers and acquisitions to companies like Mattel and The Learning Company
1998 – Crap Hound ceases publishing 
1999 – Animation Factory sold 
2003 – Fruznya quits Dynamic Graphics after anonymously being the Clip Art world’s star illustrator in the 80s and 90s 
2005 – Jupitermedia purchased Creatas, now owning all of Dynamic Grapahic’s clip art library 
2005 – Tejaratchi begins to publish Crap Hound again 
2009 –  Jupitermedia went out of business
2009 –  Fruzyna moves to Paradise, Michigan with his partner to paint 
2012 –  Solo passes away
2014 –  Tierney passes away 
2014 –  Microsoft discontinues it’s Clip Art library in favor of Bing Image Search 
2015 – Dat Boi, an Animation Factory asset, becomes an early internet meme 
2015 – Larcher passes away 

Arntson, Amy E. (1988). Graphic Design Basics. Saunders College Publishing. 

Borrell, J. (1988, January). Verbatim: An Interview With Heidi Roizen. MacWorld, 74–86. 

Boudrot, T. (1989, October). New Graphics Take the Rough Edges Off Clip Art. Electronic Learning, 9(2), 54–56. 

Brock, D. C. (2019, October 8). Slide logic: The emergence of presentation software and the Prehistory of PowerPoint. Computer History Museum. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://computerhistory.org/blog/slide-logic-the-emergence-of-presentation-software-and-the-prehistory-of-powerpoint/?key=slide-logic-the-emergence-of-presentation-software-and-the-prehistory-of-powerpoint

Chantry, A., & Rochester Monica René. (2015). Art Chantry Speaks: A Heretic's history of 20th-century graphic design. Feral House. 

Clip Art Images: Definition, history, examples and sources. blog.icons8.com. (2020, September 7). Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://blog.icons8.com/articles/clip-art-images/

Cretan, J. (2011). Macpaint.org: Clip Art Historical Gallery. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from http://www.macpaint.org/clipart.html

 Devroye, L. (n.d.). Dan X. Solo. Luc Devroye, School of Computer Science, McGill University. http://luc.devroye.org/solo.html

Eskilson, S. (2019). Graphic design: A New History. Yale University Press. 

Fregger, B. (2018, November). Joan Shogren Computer Art Pioneer. http://fregger.com/Joan/index.html

Garber, M. (2014, December 2). A Eulogy to Clip Art, in Clip Art. The Atlantic. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/12/a-eulogy-to-clipart-in-clipart/383322/

Grant-Marsh, S. (Ed.). (1994, September). Editors' Choice: The Best Products Featured in MacWorld. MacWorld, 201–221. 

Heller, S. (2012, May 25). Dan X. Solo, Type Revivalist, Dies. PRINT Magazine. https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/dan-x-solo-type-revivalist-dies/

Heller, S. (2022, June 6). The Daily Heller: Art Chantry Reconsidered in His Own Words. PRINT Magazine. https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-daily-heller-the-real-art-chantry-reconsidered/

Heid­­, J. (1987, August). Getting Started with Macintosh Graphics. MacWorld, 193–202. 

Historic Zinesters Talking. (2009, October 24). Crap Hound Zine -- Sean Tejaratchi. Slide Share. https://www.slideshare.net/StaffDay/crap-hound-zine-sean-tejaratchi

Leifpeng. (2008, June 19). Tom Sawyer and Harry Volk. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://todaysinspiration.blogspot.com/2008/06/tom-sawyer-and-harry-volk_19.html.

Lopez, G. (2016, May 27). Dat boi, explained. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2016/5/27/11789968/dat-boi-o-shit-waddup

Mak, A. (2022, March 29). A Reminder That GIFs Didn’t Always Move. Slate Magazine. https://slate.com/technology/2022/03/the-history-of-gifs.html

Manely, D. (2016, December 2). History of clip art via Wikipedia. OldCuts. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.oldcuts.co/blogs/news/history-of-clip-art-via-wikipedia

Middleton, C., & Herriot, L. (2007). Instant graphics: Source and remix images for professional design. RotoVision. 

Original Apple Macintosh 18 Page Brochure (Dec 1983). DigiBarn ads: Original Apple Macintosh 18 Page Brochure (Dec 1983). (1998). Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.digibarn.com/collections/ads/apple-mac/index.htm.

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Pot, J. (2014, December 5). Clip Art is gone! here's how to find free images instead. MUO. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/clip-art-gone-heres-find-free-images-instead/

 Sandberg-Diment, E. (1985, November 26). Personal Computers; Desktop Publishing Comes of Age . New York Times, p. 4. 

Sanders, S., & Larchuk, T. (2014, December 3). Microsoft says goodbye to clip art. NPR. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/12/02/368060012/microsoft-says-goodbye-to-clip-art

Sawyer, T. B. (n.d.). Illustration Artwork. Thomas B. Sawyer. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from http://thomasbsawyer.com/illustrationartwork.html

 Solenthaler, B. (2021, November). The Bart&Co.. historic clip art collection. Flickr. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/bartsol/sets/72157627595663028.

Smith, E. (2018, August 30). The history of Clip Art: They sold it in books. Tedium. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://tedium.co/2018/08/30/clip-art-history/

Sutton, B. (2014, December 4). In honor of the death of Clip Art, a brief illustrated history of Clip Art. Hyperallergic. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://hyperallergic.com/166533/in-honor-of-the-death-of-clip-art-a-brief-illustrated-history-of-clip-art/

Tejaratchi, S. (2014). Crap Hound (Vol. 5). Show & Tell Press. 

The Microsoft 365 Marketing Team, & Thomas, D. (2014, December 14). CLIP art is now powered by Bing Images. Microsoft 365 Blog. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2014/12/01/clip-art-now-powered-bing-images/

Tom Tierney Studios. (n.d.). Tom Tierney Studios. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.tomtierneystudios.com/

Vogt, P. J., & Goldman, A. (Hosts). (2016, April 14). Bbay King (No. 61) [Audio podcast episode]. In Reply all. Gimlet. https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/emhwx6/61-baby-king

Zantal-Wiener, A. (2017, August 27). Clip art through the years: A nostalgic look back. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/clip-art-history

Most books, not all, but most, follow conventions of book design that have been in place for literally hundreds of years. With very few exceptions, it wasn’t until the 1960s when authors began to play around with story structure that there were any books that also played with the structure of the book itself. And it was later still that graphic design started adding another layer to the storytelling in popular literature. The colors, the typography, the page layouts all came to be used in service of the story. In House of Leaves, when the story starts getting really weird, so does the page layout. In The Illuminae Files, the pages look like reports, transcriptions, and electronic messages and include diagrams and drawings. These books, and the others like them, ask something extra of the reader, but give back an experience that may delight some and infuriate others. However readers feel about this type of weird book design, these books push the boundaries of book design into new and exciting territory.

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
theMystery.doc by Matthew McIntosh
The Black Locomotive by Rian Hughes
Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski
Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar
Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer
Parabola by Lily Hoang
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia
Maxwell’s Demon by Steven Hall

Aarseth, E. (1997). Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Abrams, J.J. & Dorst, D. (2013). S. New York: Mulholland Books.

CloudCuckooCountry. (2022, November 15). Ergodic Literature: The Weirdest Book Genre [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/tKX90LbnYd4?si=GYwECYZ4FdOzF9SO

Coe, J. (2011, October 28). Composition No. 1 by Marc Saporta - review. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/28/composition-no-1-saporta-review

Danielewski, M. Z. (2000). House of Leaves. New York: Pantheon Books.

Digital Humanities Initiative. (2019, March 14). Mark Z. Danielewski at SDSU Library, Standard Video [Video} YouTube. https://youtu.be/wwCp8Y6k_BI?si=s7zFZZOpPDuIXBrm

Forbidden Planet TV. (2021, July 29). Rian Hughes Stokes up the Black Locomotive [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/emge3qLMatM?si=WNWzNZgXrHwNA-mz

Hill. L. (2013, October 27). A Long Time Ago, in A Universe More Analog. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/books/j-j-abrams-and-doug-dorst-collaborate-on-a-book-s.html

Hughes, R. (2020). XX. New York: The Overlook Press.

Kaufman, A. & Kristof, J. (2015). Illuminae. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Kaufman, A. & Kristof, J. (2016). Gemina. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Kaufman, A. & Kristof, J. (2018). Obsidio. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Little Book Owl. (2015, December 15). Q&A w/ Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristof [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/jZ3_ulIEEe4?si=c6mXnEdBKTLaf5Ju

Roth, G. [VMSpod]. (2023, July 12). Virtual Memories #546 - Rian Hughes [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js0DYgMzKwQ

Roth, G. [VMSpod]. (2020, November 24). Virtual Memories #409 - Rian Hughes [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Iw_kuUqxyjM?si=8J9cEIZa2P5ToJHq

Star Sessions. (2014, May 18). J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst Delve into S: A Multi-Layered Book Experience [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Adpb9Dn0PoM?si=lHXLynpj5Oj7fq07

Tales of the Ravenous Reader. (2018, April 11). Interview w/ Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristof | The Illuminae Files [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/gJl4eDRDM04?si=qetFYjnb9KIx6kOh

Talks at Google. (2016, August 11). The Familiar|Mark Z. Danielewski|Talks at Google [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/mw0bGiVDTMI?si=mn19emWU4ttp_CWh

Tyer, B. (2014, February 20). Untangling S., Doug Dorst’s Novel Within a Novel. Texas Observer. https://www.texasobserver.org/untangling-s-doug-dorsts-novel-within-novel/

Zambra, A. (2014). Multiple Choice. New York: Penguin Books.