Miri Jones Design

Introduction

Typesetting Literature was a project that tasked me with creating a website based on an excerpt from a book, without the use of any images. This challenged me to really focus on and explore typography and colour.

I chose The Night Walker by Patricia Elliott for my piece as it was a childhood favourite, one where the thrilling story stuck with me for many years. It focuses on a young teen, Daniel, who is trying to navigate school, his step family, and an unwell mother. In the midst of all of this, his childhood friend Ash makes a reappearance.

Research

The initial part of my research involved reading up on the author and the storyline. I found out that it was based on a Greek mythology, specifically that of the Goddess Persephone.

Next when doing research and drawing inspiration for the colour scheme, I found that the original book cover is designed in such a way due to the myth's link with Persephone eating pomegranate seeds.

Finally, I started re-reading the book as it was one that I hadn't read since childhood. Whilst I didn't get to finish the whole thing, this meant I could refresh my memory on the story and characters, most importantly allowing me to pick out the passage that I wanted to use.

Design

I chose to create a subtle linear gradient for the background because I wanted to express how throughout the excerpt, things gradually get darker and worse for Daniel as he realises what Ash is capable of.

The further you scroll down the page, the further you're following Daniel and descending (or scrolling) into hell, aka the ‘Underworld’, as referenced in the Greek myth. This is when the colour changes to almost black and you can sense how sinister the story is becoming.