Ever After - Print Editorial

Award Winner

• GDUSA American Graphic Design Awards - Award Winner

• GDUSA American Graphic Design Awards - Published 

• Secession Awards - Bronze Medalist

/ Details :

• selected spreads featured

• 10w x 13h inch page / 20 x 13 inch spread

• 24 pages total

• perfect bound

• large format cover

/ Focus : 

• concept

• layout

• methodology

/ Concept :

The original version of The Little Mermaid, written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837, exposes the unresolved contradiction in political theory and practice between women’s sexualized role and the normative (masculine) value of autonomy. Retelling the original fairytale in a contemporary context aims to raise awareness to re-think and question this social construct. This visual outcome celebrates the rebellion of breaking rules, traditions, and expectations to find one’s own individual voice and destiny. 

/ Project Objective :

The relationship between cultural values and experiences to visual communication dates back to the first visual documentation of the human experience. Relationships to the evolution of humanity, development of literacy and representations of cultural values are evidenced throughout the history of graphic design/visual communications. At its essence, graphic design has always been about telling stories. 

In this exploration, I assessed the original cultural, social, and value initiatives behind classic fairy-tales. Based on this analysis, I developed new artifacts that use these existing ideas to create a new narrative that speaks to a contemporary audience’s cultural, economic, and/or social lives.

/ Project Detailed Narrative :

Anderson’s hopeful conclusion was about the incorporation of women into society on equal terms. In the original version men are almost non-existent in the story. The ultimate goal is not marriage but obtaining an immortal soul. The little mermaid sacrifices herself out of devotion to her own beliefs. This reveals the possibility that other feminine destinies might be invented and pursued. No man is required to live ‘happily ever after.’ The narrative produces a model of high-minded femininity. 

The Disney film, draws upon 1950s films and Hollywood romance to re-tell a different version of the mermaids story. Disney’s 1980s interpretation is a reflection of anxiety towards women’s rights and their role within American home life. The character, Ursula, tells the mermaid, “Hold your tongue to get your man.” Ariel, the little mermaid, is incompetent and requires guidance from all men in her life. She is materialistic; fit to be consumer-wife for a powerful, productive, paternal husband. Ariel is not required to sacrifice anything but needs protection. The hero of the story is the prince who must rescue her and assume responsibility for protecting the weaker sex. Validation is obtained through marriage.

Society convinces young women in order to live happily ever after, you must find a man, get engaged, have a beautiful wedding and be married. If young women do not find this and find it early, they are considered failures until they can prove themselves through the act of marriage, validating their existence. I rebel against this notion in my exploration of re-telling fairytale, The Little Mermaid. Manipulating media and challenging design layout, my visual outcome represents the challenge of breaking rules and traditions to find one’s own individual voice and unique destiny. The form functions like a magazine composed of recycled images from superficial culture and typographic metaphors. Print is a dying medium, like marriage today: temporary and non-lasting. My goal is to raise awareness and question those to re-think this social construct. Create your own destiny - one that is not defined by society’s expectations.