Responses by Lesley Barnes, illustrator.
Background: We wanted to design an “exquisite corpse” book with a bit of a twist. I have always loved fashion in terms of silhouette, pattern and color, and I thought readers could have a lot of fun mixing and matching outfits to create their own avant-garde fashion pieces! I thought it would also inspire children to play with shape, pattern and form.
Design thinking: I created 49 different characters, all with different outfits. I was careful to make sure that we used lots of different patterns and shapes to make the book fun and engaging—I wanted the possibilities to feel endless when people flipped through the book! I haven’t calculated how many different combinations of head, bodies and legs there are, as my math isn’t good enough! We even got this idea across in the cover design, as we created eight different options to choose from.
Challenges: I’d say that the most challenging aspect was making sure all the characters “worked” when you combined them in different ways. Once I found a visual language using shapes and patterns, it was then just a matter of trying out as many possibilities as I could. Another way of ensuring that all the figures worked as a cohesive set was to use a limited color palette—enough that would give the impression of variety, but not too many that it became confusing to the eye.
Favorite details: I love that we used Pantone colors. I think it helps the whole book “pop” and also helps emphasize the patterns and shapes in the book.
New lessons: To go along with the book, me and my boyfriend made a set of “Fashion Play” wooden shapes, a play set companion to the book where you can make different outfits by combining the pieces in different ways. I love to think that you could use these alongside the book and get really creative! We will be launching a very limited edition of the wooden shapes later in 2024.
Visual influences: I love sculptural fashion, so I drew a lot of inspiration from designers that play with shape and silhouette in their work. The Italian designer Roberto Capucci is a particular favorite of mine.
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