Nov-Dec 2024
6 weeks
Layout
Book Binding
Image Making
InDesign
Photoshop
Becca Leffell Koren
The infamous Jonestown Massacre of the Peoples Temple cult will forever go down as a primary representation of how dangerous mass culture can be. Before over 900 people willingly drank cyanide-laced punch, Jim Jones led his final speech, the "Death Tape", with charisma, persuasion, and urgency. I paired this speech with a personal interview with one of Jonestown's only survivors: Hyacinth Thrash. Hyacinth recounts her time in the cult as well as her experience waking up to the aftermath of November 18, 1978. These texts create a nice contrast, allowing the reader to experience the persuasion of an experienced cult leader and then being reminded of reality, a constant back and forth.
I also introduce a tertiary text in the form of short sheets throughout the spreads. This text is from an interview/conversation between Sean Illing and Derek Thompson that compare fragments of the internet with a vast amount of micro-cults, destroying any possibility of a monoculture in America. Although my two primary texts are very intriguing in itself, they are not as relatable to the average reader. This modern interview allows the reader to question their own role in today's mass internet culture and how they interact with different subsections of niches. How do you consume counterculture? How much do you conform to the idea of retaliating against the mainstream?
Resulting in a letter-sized bound book, I incorporated three texts into a cohesive design system through multiple iterations and an extensive research/experimentation process.
Read full texts
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After choosing my texts, I did some initial visual research. A personal goal of mine for this project was to be very intentional with both my image-making and typeface choices in how they relate to my concept. I knew I didn't want to go all out with stereotypical cult imagery, so I looked toward historical propaganda movements and incorporating digital distortion into normal photos.
I came up with two initial concepts and ended up combining them:
One focused on the leadership dynamic of traditional cults and how it draws a parallel to big corporations that manipulate consumers to become addicted to their products. The Jonestown leader gained power derived from hope. This concept was inspired by the futurist graphic design movement and how its collage elements garnered such an impactful language.
Two focused on the side of the manipulated. Those who escaped/refused reality in a way that can also be applied to the digital space since many people use digital products to be a part of a community that is so far removed from the world around them.
I created a book map to help me establish the right pacing. It took multiple iterations to finally balance the three texts.
I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone with the typefaces this project. My feedback from this sheet of typefaces was that I should choose a variable typeface that can distort in my text boxes rather than choose one that is doing too much (making shapes, etc.). I ended up choosing Fractul Variable for my body text as it is easy to read but still has a unique system and CoFo Peshka VF which is a variable font as my display text.
Concept Spread Experimentation
Using found imagery, I created spreads that encapsulate the concepts that I illustrated above, each with a different visual style and system. I decided to go with the bigger page sizes as well as a focus on the digital vs. reality relationship as together it gives a more immersive feel.
Initial Spreads
My first spreads were made after I made the decision to have my visual language grounded in 3D Anaglyphs which determined my color palette and overall image-making. Though I did have a system, the process of creating my own images took a very long time and made my processing time a lot longer.
Cover
I wanted my cover to encapsulate as many of the visual language as possible, it included collage elements as well as a physical 3D effect. Many iterations and experiments happened for the mechanics to actually work.
