Description:

‘In The Making’ explores a personal artistic manifesto in response to creatives and individuals who feel out-of-touch with themselves or their practice. Societal pressures come with any creative discipline. The digital age has reshaped our perceptions of perfection and imperfection, often placing undue emphasis on flawless outcomes in the art design world. For creatives, the pressure to produce faultless works often overshadows the value of authenticity and beauty in imperfections. Physical artefacts have become less common in our digital age and with increasingly widely available technologies come with less tactile and physical modes of creating.

The motivation behind the project comes from the designer’s challenge of bringing their physical handmaking practice into their digital workflow. This project is inspired by the desire to define a new form of creative expression for oneself using the form of communication design and art-making practice.

The book showcases intricate details of handmade craftsmanship in the construction. Using French link and Coptic stitch binding in an exposed spine adds to the project's overall message of the significance of using our hands to create and show admiration for handmade artefacts. Each page is hand-ripped leaving a raw edge that metaphors the confronting and vulnerable topics within the book. The spreads contain intricately hand-crafted image-made backgrounds that were digitally scanned and integrated. Analogue methodologies and mixed-media materials were essential to demonstrate the project's creative expression. The book dust cover can be unfolded into an A2 poster, revealing a handwritten manifesto that embodies the overall project. The bold lettering and message are written as a statement of intent to inspire and give purpose to the viewer.

The project creates a space to resonate with young, existing or untitled creatives in their journeys with validation, inspiration and guidance to nurture their creative being through creative hardships. Nurturing creative souls in our society helps preserve traditional crafts and practices that may be at risk of being lost in our digital-centric society.
“If we can tune in to the idea of making things and sharing them without being attached to the outcome, the work is more likely to arrive in its truest form.” Rick Rubin