Final Hand In

‘Autism: It’s the Little Things’ is an illustrative and storytelling built project aiming to raise awareness about a condition called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Autism is a hidden condition. It can be difficult to identify if someone has autism by their physical exterior. It is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how an individual communicates with people surrounding them. An individual with the condition may act inappropriately or strangely and may be viewed as being odd. However this is not the case. A person with autism may act this was because it is the only way they can express themselves. People with Autism are often struck by being judged on first impressions. This project aims to create knowledge and to raise awareness about ASD. More people need to understand the condition and help those who have autism feel comfortable and welcome in our environment. Illustration and narrative are the perfect tools to use when it comes to raising awareness about the condition. It was once said that:

"Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words." (Brisbane A. 1911)

Sometimes a picture can tell a story quicker than words. Illustration can show the traits of autism and alongside a narrative this could be a really interesting way to raise awareness about autism. This could be a different approach to educating people about this condition.

The future of this project is to continue telling the stories about the brother and sister growing up together. The brother has a mild form of autism. The illustrative storybooks will have memories the author recalls growing up with her younger brother. These stories will highlight the traits of autism her brother has without dwelling on the fact too much. Autism is a hidden condition. Like the condition, the meaning will be hidden in the stories. This is because autism is hard to recognise. It is very difficult for someone to realise an individual has autism when they first meet. It does not show physically.

There is a great opportunity for this project to grow. The author expresses personal memories from her time growing up with her brother. These stories aim to teach others about the condition. They will be relatable for other siblings and family members. The future could include taking the stories and memories from different members of different families. They can tell their story and have the same output and become a part of ‘Autism: It’s the Little Things’. Autism is a spectrum condition. This means that autism affects everyone in a different way. This means that each story will be different depending on the family and the person with the condition. Currently this project has a main goal. The final series will consist of three to four books telling the stories of hat it is like to grow up with a family member with autism.

This paper documents the challenges of this project. There is a broad area to work with. The main aim is to raise awareness about autism through illustration and storytelling. There is a great opportunity to create a special and beneficial project. It is critical for this project to be a likeable and educational story. It must be light hearted and show the traits and symptoms of autism in an honest and informative way.

Final Pages

The images were first completed and then brought together with the narrative in Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately the timescales were tight in regards to completing the prototype of the book and sending it away to print. The intention is to use Adobe In-Design when it comes to designing the final and complete series of books titled ‘Autism: It’s The Little Things’. Each page contains an image and some text. The idea was to try and let the image tell the story rather than the text . The overall page layouts are very simple. The text is Kristen ITC. This particular font was chosen because it suited the scribbly, sketchy illustrations. The rounded lettering also tied in with the roundy faces the characters have. The typeface and the illustrations went together hand in hand. However the page layout is very basic. There seems to be too much of a white background. This allows for the colourful illustrations to stand out but it still looks very plain. It is fortunate that the completed prototype allowed for these mistakes to be made. There is an opportunity to explore typography. The final outcome will be the complete book with illustration and narrative and creative typography. The typography and the background need to change for the final books. They are far too plain. There is nothing exciting about them. The illustrations stand out and are very expressive and animated. The type face should match. This is something that will be taken into consideration for the final series of books.  

‘Book One: An Introduction’ was printed by Jessops. Jessops was chosen because the delivery timescales were quicker than that of Blurb and as mentioned previously, time was flying by quickly. Jessops have a series of photo book (cewe books) sizes available. The one chosen to be the final prototype for this project was the large cewe book that measured 21cm x 28cm. This was felt to be a decent sized book. It was not too small of too big. The hard cover was chosen. This gives the book a more professional feel and a strong finish. The overall prototype looks like a finished book but there is room for improvement. The typography, backgrounds and page layouts are something that needs to be addressed.