The Second Body

Publication Design

InDesign| Illustrator| Photoshop

This project was created for my Communication Theory class at George Mason University, where we were tasked with reading The Second Body by Daisy Hildyard and designing a 28‑page booklet that visually communicates the book’s core message: how our individual actions affect the global ecosystem and reveal our deep interconnectedness with nature. As both the designer and researcher, I reflected on each chapter, gathered and photographed imagery, manipulated visuals in Photoshop, crafted expressive and intentionally distorted typography in Illustrator, and built the final layout in InDesign.

One of the key skills I developed during this project was learning how to outline type and apply warping and texture to selectively reduce legibility, reinforcing themes of fragmentation and lost information. This technique helped me create ribbon‑like, weightless text on several pages, giving readers a strong focal point that guides their eye across the composition. The most challenging aspect was designing pages with minimal elements; however, these quieter spreads became essential, offering visual rest and preventing reader fatigue while strengthening the overall pacing of the booklet.