Fatherless
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Typography
Designer(s)
Kristina Campeau
Duration
29 Weeks
Recognitions
Fatherless: A Collection of Anonymous Stories
Fatherless is a book composed of 17 anonymous submissions from adult fatherless individuals who share their experiences with fatherlessness and how it has affected them psychologically. Although the U.S. Census Bureau states that more than 1 in 4 are affected by this rising social problem, it is not necessarily a topic that everyone feels comfortable openly discussing with others. Knowing how this feels based on my own experience, I wanted to give an opportunity to those who are affected by fatherlessness to share their stories… even if it was anonymous.
The Research
This project started with a question, it being “what are the psychological effects of fatherlessness?”. After conducting thorough research, my question kind of answered but not to the extent that I was expecting. I noticed that studies focusing on fatherlessness was very broad in terms of defining the term, therefore leading to very broad results. In the end, the research sparked more questions that needed answering and I believed that the only way I could get these answers was by asking other fatherless individuals myself. When publishing the Call for Submissions, I asked participants to answer and elaborate on the following questions: “what are the circumstances in which you became fatherless?” and “how has being fatherless affected you psychologically?”.
The Design
It is quite obvious that I took a very personal approach to this project, and I wanted the design of the book to reflect that as well. The book was hand-bound using the coptic stitch method which allows the book to lay completely flat, as well as including handwritten quotes alongside the supporting imagery. Each of the submission’s opening spreads has imagery printed on transparent film; a nod to the participants’ being fully transparent in sharing their stories. The rawness and fragility of the physical book reflects the content included within the collection of submissions.
The Process of Selecting Supporting Imagery
Since participants only submitted written content, I advised them in the Call for Submissions that I would be reading each of their stories and coming up with recurring themes/keywords that would help me find accompanying imagery. Finding the right imagery included multiple rounds of going through image databases, which resulted in many trials and many errors. A grainy filter was added to the images to further the anonymity of the submissions, and the inclusion of the handwritten quotes was necessary to help the audience understand why each image was selected.
