The art of storytelling is very much like constructing & writing a play. It is just as much the challenge of organising the inter- play of vivid imagery and dialogue, transcribed in text, on an untouched 2 & 3D stage: the editorial interface. In illustrating, drawing, painting, constructing, sculpting, compositing, designing, photographing, editing & composing imagery on the page, screen or space, the storyteller acts out, visually, a play of rhetorical signs — from a gesture as simple, yet profound as a single line to the complexity of a fine watercolour.

From a typographic point of view, text is, first & foremost, the visual articulation of an enchanting, comedic or sobering script that the creative writer has artfully composed, act by act, chapter by chapter. Yet, text is not only a tool for transcription, but it affords the director the opportunity, through the spatial organisation and craft of letters into larger bodies (headings, body, captions, imprints, pull quotes and so on) to set the stage. It matters not if a character plays a starring role or a minor part — every colour, indent, rag, font choice & manipulation acts out a vital role in plotting out the writers’ seductive imagination. The same principles also apply to storytelling through imaging.

Storytelling is, arguably, at once the most basic and complex challenge facing communication designers. And, editorial & display design is one such space where this challenge is made explicit. It is a spectacular stage that places under spotlight some of the most fundamental storytelling tools a designer or artist has in their rhetorical arsenal.

Following the landmark UP Information Design division’s Stories Worth Telling retrospective exhibition held in June of 2023, this special edition of Image & Text invites writers, designers, artists, curators, producers, publishers & critics alike to submit an abstract for an article on the art of storytelling through image/text interplays that dance upon the editorial stage or other spaces. In this issue, we welcome a broad range of submissions, both local & international, from numerous fields of art & design that articulate, critique and engage with visual stories. Stories that weave together pockets of history, cultural experiences, design and art pedagogy, unique points of view, & creative engagement with indomitable, unshakable characters of all kinds, set upon the editorial stage.
 

SUBMISSIONS

If you are interested in featuring in this special issue of Image & Text, or have any related queries, kindly submit a 500-1000 word abstract to [email protected] by 31st January 2024. Key dates:
• Authors will be notified by 14th February 2024.
• Full submissions are due: 30th April 2024. • Final publication toward the end of 2024.
 

RESOURCES