Yesterday I attended the lecture for the Penguin/Puffin illustration competition. I didn't know anybody else who attended apart from Mike and most of those who turned up were quite a lot older than me and were not so much people interested in entering but people already in the publishing world interested in seeing the new developments Penguin came up with.
Found out about a few useful tips that would help me with the contest though;
- Simplest is best. Do it simple and do it well.
- Let the children recognize themselves in the main character.
- The design is as important as the story, think about how the user will get from page to page as well as what effect the typography will have and the page layout.
- The choice of font affects the mood of the book.
- The cover must be exciting and pull the reader in.
- Make the story appropriate for the device it is on (iPad app, hardback book etc)
And some ideas you can only achieve with it as an Ipad app;
- Child could upload own avatar so they are in the story
- Record their own voices to play at specific points
- Put child's name, or the name of their school/hometown etc into the story (Fill in the blanks at the beginning)
At first I was concentrating on doing a linear story, but seeing as how this competition is Penguin's jump into the digital age it might be nice if I utilise some of the new features available and think of interesting ways to enhance the child's experience of the story, be it through sound or animation.
Here's the official launch site;
http://www.puffindigitalprize.co.uk/
I already have ideas for my entry but I don't want to post them online in case someone steals them.. But this is a project I will definately be working on, even if I don't write about it! The deadline is February so I may next update about it then. Wish me luck!!!
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