Project Details
Overview
For this project, we were instructed to design and make an educational book based off a scientific process of our choosing. I chose to make a book explaining how microwave ovens work.
Timeline
3-4 weeks
Complete Booklet
Initial Thumbnail Sketches
Concept Ideation
When I heard this project prompt, I knew I wanted to create an interactive book for children. I wanted to take whatever subject matter I chose and make it so easily understood that a child could read it, as well as adults. In order to accomplish this, I chose to use analogies throughout the book, comparing scientific phenomenon with simpler, more common daily occurrences.
Final Multipage Thumbnail Sketches
Interactive Experiment
As well as explaining the concept of how microwave ovens work, I also wanted to include an experiment that any kid could conduct at home. That's the basis of the third section of this book: it teaches readers to measure the length of a microwave coming from inside their microwave oven to show them how waves work and how food gets heated.
Interactive Pages
An important feature of this book are a couple key interactive pages. I wanted to draw conclusions for the reader between the machinery found inside a microwave oven and the scientific principle behind its function. To accomplish this, I made use of a half-folding page.
Notice in the two photos below that there is a crease in the center of the left page. This is because the left page alone folds like a book to reveal a hidden meaning behind it, explained by the words on the right page. I knew I would not get the same effect by simply placing the contents of the right image on the next spread of the book, so I combined the images into one interaction to clarify the connection between the concepts.
Additional Final Images
