This assignment involved working with a partner and was split up into sections. We were given a picture of a person each and with out conferring had to write up a life story then swap the pictures and write a story for the second person.
The Story Of Clive by Nicola Sullivan Clive was your normal everyday family man, with an average nine to five living in your typical suburban house with his wife and daughter. Every morning before work he’d get up at the same time, drink his morning coffee and be out of the door before any stir from his family. On the unfortunate mornings his wife Anna happened to be awake he would always be met with a sour face and grumbles of disappointment, ever reminding him of this mundane life he had fallen into. His relationship with his daughter wasn’t much better. Granted life with any fifteen year old is never easy as a parent even in the best of families but Sophie for years now had taken a page from her mothers book and held the same opinion of this weak willed, boring, hopeless man as her father. Clive knew this and carried it with him every day.
His work life brought little joy either. Having your bog standard accountancy job there was little excitement to offer (besides the occasional fantasy of freefalling from the roof of his office). At forty seven, after twenty two years of his laborious routine and of being constantly unappreciated, demeaned and looked down on at home as well as work Clive really did feel hopeless, he just couldn’t see an end.
Throughout his life he had never been much of a drinker, yet over the course of turning forty five and with what little change this mile stone brought the need for a creature comfort of any kind. It started with a couple a week “just to avoid rush hour traffic” but quickly turned into five a week just to have some form of light at the end of the tunnel before stumbling into the resentment hole of his home.
It was on an autumn evening after the usual grief at work and with an extra pinch of salt from his wife that morning that Clive made the mistake of having that extra pint before facing his commute. “It’s only one more” he told himself and thought if he ate he’d be fine. He left the pub around eight, a little rosy cheeked and in no condition to legally drive. He drove five miles under the speed limit and was feeling confident that he wouldn’t be pulled… CRASH! And there it was. He’d rear ended another car. He was sure the car had come from nowhere and swore he’d seen no lights. To an extent he was right. A bitter sweet incident, Clive had hit mobsters car on it’s swift exit from a job. Now neither one of them wanted to involve the police and Clive having far from having the money to make the problem disappear had little choice but to except the mobsters offer in the hope that the problem would soon disappear. It had been over a year since the accident. That was a year of handling packages, relaying messages and playing the mule, all for that extra pint. He couldn’t deny that the mob had brought excitement into his life but it really wasn’t the kind he was ever looking for; once again he had fallen in to a situation that seemed to have no end, and one he was scared to try and get out of. It was a fight or flight moment. Clive knew there was no point in trying to reason with the Mafia but the stress was slowly killing him, even his wife and daughter had taken pity on occasion despite the fact they knew nothing at the time; the mob knew his family, his home and his place of work. If he was going it would have to be for good and as confused and angry as they may be he had to take his family with him. So there it was, the 11th February 2006 was the last time anyone saw Clive or his family. Their whereabouts is still unknown.
The Story Of Peti Rasmussen By Lucy Timon
The Story of Maria by Nicola Sullivan
Maria doesn't remember much of her childhood growing up in Spain. She was only seven when her parents decided to emigrate to the U.S. Despite this Maria and her brothers were always brought up with strong family and catholic traditions. Today she is your typical middle aged, house proud, family orientated woman. But still, not with out her own tales of woe to speak of.
Growing up with two older brothers Maria had always been a bit of a tomboy as a child. She was loud and although never that big could still hold her own In a scrap. The contrast to this was that she was always very quiet in school and was often teased for her Spanish up bringing. Until the day she snapped; a small shove from one of her usual tormentors was all it took, and Maria saw red. After beating the girl senseless she never really received the torments again. And after her suspension still never made a real friend throughout school. It was this isolation from her piers and the constant criticism from teaching staff that drove Maria further into herself and by the end of school only left with one qualification, in Home Economics.
With school finally a thing of the past Maria looked forward to her future with optimism but wasn't sure where to start. Adamant that their daughter would contribute to the house and find her own way Maria was sent out every day after finishing school to go and look for a job. The first she found was a job helping an old lady to clean her house three times a week as well as running errands like shopping etc. Maria and the lady got on well and would often share some free time to play a card game or just chat. This situation would unfortunately not last for long. After working there for only a couple of months the old lady past away. It was her time and a peaceful passing, but really a shame that it would be Maria who finds her. This was an image Maria has never been able to shake; she would carry that experience with her for decades.
It wasn't long before Maria's parents started started to push her to look for a new job. Halfheartedly she would meander into agencies, shops and bars until she came across a vacancy for a waitress in a small rundown cafe, at least an hour away from home. “Temporary she told herself”. Thirteen years pass, the cafe is still standing and Maris still working, wondering what happened to the last decade... and what the hell would she do for the next? It was in one of these moments of reflection that she noticed a customer and unbeknown at the time her future husband walk in. It started out as a bit of fun, but that fun turned onto a relationship and then even marriage, based purely on the fear of being alone.
Needless to say it wasn't the best of marriages. There was no real love and over the years the resentment they both harbored for each other drove them both to drink. For ever it seamed they played their roles of their farcical marriage and even with the introduction of their son it could not last. The lack of passion that turned into eventual resentment was enough for Maria to take her son leave and never look back, despite her strong catholic upbringing.
Today Maria combines her Home Ec and Spanish cookery knowledge, and putting it to good use confidently teaching Spanish cuisine cooking and baking for beginners.
The Story Of Anna Segal by Lucy Timon
Anna Segal was born in Prague in 1931, she had a twin called Nela; both came from a very close happy family. Her father was a baker and her mother although a natural cook had dedicated her life to looking after her two daughters. The girl’s parents were very kind generous people who were loved by everyone, especially for their baking skills. The Segal’s made the most incredible cakes, bread and pastries throughout the city, of which Anna was especially proud. From as long as she could remember Anna had been so eager to learn her parents and decided from an early age that she would stay in the family business and to one day become a famous cook. Anna and Nela had enjoyed a picturesque childhood until the year 1939 when both girls were sent to England. They were sent to escape the poor camps of the holocaust and the horrors to be left behind. They were devastated to be parted their loving parents but as Anna held on to her sister tight believing that everything would be fine so long as they were both together. The train was completely full of many other orphan children, although the sisters managed to find a small compartment where they were able to sit together comfortably. Anna was a talented storyteller so comforted her sister by telling her favourite stories. Later the girls opened their small rucksacks to find that their parents had left them both their favourite pastries from their father’s bakery. Nela grabbed her cake and wolfed the sweet as quick as she could, whereas Anna slowly savoured her cakes vowing to never forget the beautiful flavours.
The journey was three days long and so exhausting they would never forget it, as the train finally pulled into their destination in London the girls were suddenly filled with joy and so much relief they had finally made it! A man called Nicholas Winton took their details and led them to be greeted by a very happy and young looking man and woman. Mr Winton introduced the couple as Mr George and Mrs Margery Acton. The twins were told that they were going home with the happy couple and Anna felt a great surge of gratitude towards both of them. Despite the love they were shown at their new home life for the first few years, especially at school was difficult with the other children. They were teased because the girls didn’t know much English to begin with and the other children were too ignorant to consider the girl’s feelings and what they were going through.
Ten years had gone by and the girls were living happily with their adoptive parents, the war had ended in 1945 although the girls never heard from their real parents again which left them deeply devastated. Although Mr & Mrs Acton had treated the girls like their real children and showered them with love and affection so both had a very happy upbringing. Now that the girls were 19, they had both in school and were heading out into the real world: Nala always had an ambition to become a nurse so that she could do a bit extra to help people. Whereas Anna always felt that she needed to follow her childhood dream following her parents footsteps and open her own bakery. She was determined to create wonderful tasty sweets and cakes like her parents and would recreate the same tastes that their food had. So each of the girls went on to pursue their dreams, Anna hoped that by doing this they would be making their parents proud.
As the years went by Anna’s hopes had come true, both her and her sister had worked hard and got the jobs they had dreamed of. Nela had become the nurse and was head of her ward, and Anna had finally got to open her dream bakery. She named the bakery “Segal” after her parents, and spent years with her sister trying to perfect her food. She wanted her food taste exactly how she remembered it from her childhood in Prague and finally in 1959 she opened her bakery doors and people were in awe of her food. Each of her cakes was a taste of her childhood and she was so proud that her family recipes would live on. Unlike her sister Anna never married, she had given her life to her dream and her parent’s memory; neither of the sisters ever had any children of their own, both always telling themselves they were to busy and not willing to take time away from helping the people around them.
In 1970 Anna & Nela decided it was time for them to return to their homelands, neither of them had ever been on holiday and believed it was time for a rest, and time to go and see home. They were so excited they both got their passports and had their passport photos taken for the first time. On the big day they were up early and extremely excited to be going home they couldn’t stop smiling and laughing. Anna was driving to the airport, which was something she didn’t normally like to do, as the roads were always so busy and stressful.
(we then had to choose a story out of the four to work with and incorporate any information we wanted from the story not chosen of that picture)
The Story Of Anna Segal - Combo
Anna Segal was born in Prague in 1931, she had a twin called Nela; both came from a very close happy family. Her father was a baker and her mother although a natural cook had dedicated her life to looking after her two daughters. The girl’s parents were very kind generous people who were loved by everyone, especially for their baking skills. The Segal’s made the most incredible cakes, bread and pastries throughout the city, of which Anna was especially proud. From as long as she could remember Anna had been so eager to learn her parents and decided from an early age that she would stay in the family business and to one day become a famous cook. Anna and Nela had enjoyed a picturesque childhood until the year 1939 when both girls were sent to England. They were sent to escape the poor camps of the holocaust and the horrors to be left behind. They were devastated to be parted from their loving parents but as Anna held on to her sister tight believing that everything would be fine so long as they were both together. The train was completely full of many other orphan children, although the sisters managed to find a small compartment where they were able to sit together comfortably. Anna was a talented storyteller so comforted her sister by telling her favourite stories. Later the girls opened their small rucksacks to find that their parents had left them both their favourite pastries from their father’s bakery. Nela grabbed her cake and wolfed the sweet as quick as she could, whereas Anna slowly savoured her cakes vowing to never forget the beautiful flavours.
The journey was three days long and so exhausting they would never forget it, as the train finally pulled into their destination in London the girls were suddenly filled with joy and so much relief they had finally made it! A man called Nicholas Winton took their details and led them to be greeted by a very happy and young looking man and woman. Mr Winton introduced the couple as Mr George and Mrs Margery Acton. The twins were told that they were going home with the happy couple and Anna felt a great surge of gratitude towards both of them. Despite the love they were shown at their new home life for the first few years, especially at school was difficult with the other children. They were teased because the girls didn’t know much English to begin with and the other children were too ignorant to consider the girl’s feelings and what they were going through.
Ten years had gone by and the girls were living happily with their adoptive parents, the war had ended in 1945 but it had been many years since the girls had heard from their parents. Once the war had ended the girls had hope of see their family, but it was short lived; they were left deeply devastated. Although Mr & Mrs Acton had treated the girls like their real children and showered them with love and affection so both had a very happy upbringing. Now that the girls were 19, they had both in school and were heading out into the real world: Nala always had an ambition to become a nurse so that she could do a bit extra to help people. Whereas Anna always felt that she needed to follow her childhood dream following her parents footsteps and open her own bakery. She was determined to create wonderful tasty sweets and cakes like her parents and would recreate the same tastes that their food had. So each of the girls went on to pursue their dreams, Anna hoped that by doing this they would be making their parents proud.
As the years went by Anna’s hopes had come true, both her and her sister had worked hard and got the jobs they had dreamed of. Nela had become the nurse and was head of her ward, and Anna had finally got to open her dream bakery. She named the bakery “Segal” after her parents, and spent years with her sister trying to perfect her food. She wanted her food taste exactly how she remembered it from her childhood in Prague and finally in 1959 she opened her bakery doors and people were in awe of her food. Each of her cakes was a taste of her childhood and she was so proud that her family recipes would live on. Unlike her sister Anna never married, she had given her life to her dream and her parent’s memory; neither of the sisters ever had any children of their own, both always telling themselves they were to busy and not willing to take time away from helping the people around them.
In 1970 Anna & Nela decided it was time for them to return to their homelands, neither of them had ever been on holiday and believed it was time for a rest, and time to go and see home. They were so excited they both got their passports and had their passport photos taken for the first time. On the big day they were up early and extremely excited to be going home they couldn’t stop smiling and laughing. Anna was driving to the airport, which was something she didn’t normally like to do, as the roads were always so busy and stressful. Although on this occasion she didn’t mind one bit! Anna and Nela were so busy being happy and chatting about their plans when they returned to Prague they didn’t notice a cyclist crossing the road in front of them. Anna looked up and noticed the cyclist and immediately swerved to avoid him. Unfortunately she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a brick wall. The damage was catastrophic, immediately crowds of people tried to come to help although it was too late. Anna died on her way to the airport with her sister Nela.
(Visual Research Examples)
Teesha Moore: This is a designer suggested for inspiration by Lucy. We followed some of the same ideas but kept our overall layout cleaner and didn't use as much of our own illustration.
(Final Poster)
The final poster's colouring is faded in this example as it's a photograph and not a scan but i think in the style of Teesha Moore this poster works well. It's a collage effect that incorporates all the major points of the final story as well as having the information we were asked to give which lies on the label. The only aspect i don’t like is the brick’s at the top of the design. I think they need repositioning.
