So I looked at some books physically to get inspiration. I mainly looked for sophisticated picture books that featured images that work to enhance and extend the narrative and not just decorations for the text. I am inspired by picture books that have deeper themes and work in a multi-modal way to communication after coming across articles about this subject in Design Research such as “Metaphorical Display of Moods and Ideas in Picture Books” by Isabelle Gras and “Seeing the Light”: A Cognitive Approach to the Metaphorical in Picture Books” by Joanne Marie Purcell. Neither of these were key texts in my Design Research but they are helpful in my studio project.

I want to have illustrations that represent the mood of the text and make its own contributions and metaphors on the verbal image conveyed by words.

The books below all feature the qualities and elements of verbal-visual interplay and contain thought-provoking interesting narratives.

Blake lets the watercolours flower and make textures.