The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Print Design
Multimedia Art

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was originally published in 1999 by Pocket Books. The project consists of creating a special collection edition of The Perks of Being a Wallflower through the design of a unique book jacket and redesigned interior layout. For this academic exploration, the book jacket was completely made by hand with paper, tape, and pressed flowers that were laminated to create a clear jacket. It would be used as a special collection version of the book that would be limited with its availability.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a beautiful story that illustrates the life of the main character, Charlie, through his own written letters. The clear book jacket represents the idea of how the story is perfectly imperfect in all the right ways. It showcases the transparency of the plot as well as the beauty of the story. It was created to resemble a handmade gift a friend would receive, feeling personal just like Charlie’s letters within. The book guts were written in Courier, mimicking the work of a typewriter because Charlie begins writing on one when Sam gifts it to him in the book. A signature was added below Charlie’s letter sign-offs to add the personable feel while resembling how Charlie is as a character and how he views himself as a writer. The composition of the interior is simple, showing how the pages would be designed through a typewriter. The end sheets of the book would be paper that is made with flower petals, continuing the theme of being personable and developing a connection with the reader.