Expressing life transitions through layout
Giving Life to Dreams
Commemorative book for the 10th year of the Khazanah-Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Merdeka Scholarship Programme
In this project, photographer / project lead SC Shekar, and writer Carolyn Hong, paved the way with their work. As I pored over the photos and narratives, the format of the book became apparent almost immediately.
I proposed a horizontal format because it allowed breadth for me to explore the idea of connected images (and especially images of landscapes). Every spread had at least two photos that are connected by some degree of image overlapping.
The connected montages brought together images of the scholars' homeland and Oxford (tanahair dan perantauan). They were a blend of colour and monotone, people and their landscape.
This design concept was inspired by a Malay proverb. This proverb reminds us that wherever we are sent, we are to make ourselves useful – to apply ourselves wholeheartedly to the community there – to uphold the sky above that ground, as it were. (Di mana bumi ku pijak, di situ langit ku junjung). The Oxford scholarships allow for a rich exhange and intermingling of cultures, knowledge and ideas between the East and the West, enriching the academic communities there and in Malaysia.
This visual connection between the person and his environment also emphasised the idea that a scholar pursues education not just to build a better future for himself, but also for his family and society. We are all intrinsically connected, and so too, our dreams, achievements and legacies. When organisations like Yayasan Khazanah give life to a scholar’s dreams, we are all richer for it.
KEY COLLABORATORS
Client
Yayasan Khazanah
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Publisher
Beagle Books
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Photography
SC Shekar
Printer
Percetakan Osacar
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Book designer
Allie Hill
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Writer
Carolyn Hong
