I figured that this was going to be, hello, a storybook about karma and perhaps lessons learned due to said influence. I was correct. The topic of karma was what drew me to the blog in the first place; I'm very familiar with the western idea of karma, but not with stories from indian culture! The overall design of the page was very simple, and I personally believe the owner could have put some more effort into the layout... but I don't want to occur any bad karma by saying that ;)
I thought that the use of a talk show host leading interviews with people affected by karma was a really engaging and efficient way of coming up with various stories, and all the stories had clear ties to various Indian epics. It was both entertaining and an effective way to perceive karma in our everyday lives. I also appreciated that the stories were contrasting- one karmic experience was negative and the other positive. I definitely can see myself writing about karma in my future in this class. I find it incredibly interesting. This was my first storybook that I read and it really excited me to see how much freedom the writer had in terms of creativity and thinking outside of the box.
Indian Horror Story
While they didn't really reveal much of what I would be learning about, I was drawn to this storybook because of it's ominous title. I had an idea of it being related to haunting Indian tales, and the blog's layout and design reaffirmed my assumption. I really liked this design. The main colors, image, and text font created an ambiance for the writing. It was a happy accident to read this storybook after having read "Lessons from Karma". I was given a very strong example of good vs. quality. Not to say that Lessons from Karma was bad, because that's not the case, but Indian Horror Story contained so much detail; digital hand written letters (created by the blog owner) as an image, photos that had been photoshopped to create a certain aesthetic to match the blog, and the writing was crafted with such descriptive imagery that I could imagine every bit of the story's setting. This person obviously takes writing seriously and I really appreciated that. They also incorporated so many tales in a creative fashion, I was both inspired and intimidated.
Gossip Squirrel (/Love Through Natures Eyes)
I affectionally named this blog Gossip Squirrel because that intro really did it for me. The design was very sweet. The colors used gave an earthy/loving/feminine tone to the overall blog and I found that to be very fitting. I really enjoyed the pop cultural reference to Gossip Girl and how this was the writer's way of going about the stories. I feel like this way of storytelling could have gotten old really fast, but because of their subtle commitment to the gimmick I found that Gossip Squirrel worked entirely. It was a truly interesting shift of perspective! It also simplified the readings without dumbing them down. I have a feeling that this author really had a fun time with their blog, it was a nice reminder of what can happen when you don't take yourself too seriously. Reading these storybooks really reminds me how little I know of Indian stories, so I'm very excited to familiarize myself!
Examining these (and other) storybooks has given me a very good idea of what works, and what works even better. I recognized that you can easily tell when someone has contributed a lot of effort in their story, their design, their concepts (etc.), and when the pieces have been put together last minute, or without care. I'm a very aesthetically inclined person, so I hope to create a storybook that obtains a strong and identifiable essence. I really liked how much effort Indian Horror Story showed with their images, how they photoshopped them into being what that blogger felt was needed. While all of the storybooks turned out well and they each had their own specific golden nuggets, I was really impressed overall by Indian Horror Blog. Everything came together so well. I'm excited to begin cultivating ideas for my own!
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| A photoshopped close up image from the portrait of Yama from Indian Horror Story |
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