Visual Adaptation of Franz Kafka's
The Metamorphosis
Through my eyes this book is like a theatre performance where the Michael Craig-Martin's aesthetics meets Lars von Trier's elevation of the scenes.
The method of working consistently followed the question what the minimal means to convey the message are. Words - stage/setting - position - icons - colour was the system I used to transform the story into the way I saw it. Starting with the basic elements and then adding the clarification.
A sterile setting evokes the distant, unhealthy family relationships, loneliness and alienation. The transformation and self identity search are given as subtle changes in the icons.
Read the full book.
Read about the process behind the adaptation.
Book design | Concept design | Typography | Icons | InDesign | Glyphs App | Adobe Illustrator
A few images used for inspiration during the initial thought process. How to show multiple actions in a single setting? How to interconnect the objects in time? To imagine where the actors have to stand is easier if you look from the top. Plan gives a sense of a structured setting. Elevation adds an additional dimension as well as more information to understand the setting. What kind of senses can a plan evoke? What can technical diagrams suggest? Impersonal, distant relations, awkwardness. All of these questions and more were guiding me towards the final result.
The concept of storytelling focuses on six key parts: setting, text, Gregor’s voice, icons, sound, and the relationship between the characters. Only after the visual interpretation did it occur to me that the most striking change happened not to the main character, but to someone who had been there from the very beginning with the kindest intentions.
