Grace Astin BA (Hons) Graphic Design 2020

I'm interested in editorial design and branding. I specialise in thoughtful identities for unique and independent brands. I also have a soft spot for type design and audiovisual design.

'How To Lift a Curse' is a reinterpretation of the classic novel 'Holes' by Louis Sachar. The publication features 8 pages of hand cut holes on the lovely G.F Smith - Accent Smooth 270 gsm paper stock.

Throughout the novel, Holes has a heavy emphasis on reflection i.e 'bad boy' vs 'good boy', 'wrong place at wrong time' vs 'right place at right time', 'cursed' vs 'curse lifted'. Doing research into lifting curses (internet history had to be deleted after that) I found the 'magic mirror' theory.

Looking into Stanley's 'curse' or 'bad luck' it was clear that this supposed curse was actually Stanley's perspective on life. Camp Greenlake was actually the best thing that happened to him. Without this experience, Stanley wouldn't have been able to dig deep into his history & life. It was only until Stanley had acquired friendship, physical & mental strength, etc that the curse was lifted. This is why the magic mirror theory is significant, the target of the 'curse' was him and in order to lift the curse, he must self reflect. (Hence the mirror at the end of the publication).