The setting and story for “Lula and Lou: visiting Istanbul” were inspired by protests which took place in Istanbul during the summer of 2013. These protests resulted from the Turkish government’s overzealous development plans. This topic was central to the illustrator, Nuri Keli’s, M.F.A. thesis at SCAD Atlanta. Upon completion of his thesis, Nuri collaborated with Michael Varin, a librarian at the SCAD Atlanta library and editor of Nuri’s thesis, and myself to create this children’s book.
The story evolved over the course of several months. There were initially no parents in this story and,as a father of two, Michael thought this might be problematic. The mother and father were ultimately incorporated within the story but not depicted through illustrations. All of the illustrations, excepting the one on the final page depicting Lula and Lou going to sleep, were completed before work on the story began. This final illustration and the ending which accompanies it were added because of the author’s belief that SLEEP is the true objective for parents reading bedtime books to their children!
My involvement began shortly after Nuri completed his M.F.A. in illustration. After seeing a digital magazine (Focus: Creative Photography) I created, Nuri asked if I would be interested in doing similar work related to “Lula and Lou.” After receiving the illustrations, I separated each page into multiple layers and began the process of animating the story with Adobe Edge Animate. Once the animations were complete, I began working on the design of the hard copy of the children’s book and digital book (DPS). My focus was primarily on layout, typography, binding and digital book.
