CHAPTER 2 THEORITICAL FOUNDATION. creativity. They aid in the development of physical and mental skills which are

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1 CHAPTER 2 THEORITICAL FOUNDATION 2.1 Theories of Handmade Educational Toys Toys, and play in general, are important when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us. The young use toys and play to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Toys enhance cognitive behavior and stimulate creativity. They aid in the development of physical and mental skills which are necessary in later life Definition and Criteria of Handmade Educational Toys An educational toy is a toy designed to teach people, typically children about a certain subject or help them to learn a skill while they are playing. Educational toys are good tools for educating children because they do not force children to learn but they promote learning without the little ones realizing it. (Bollingi, 2009) There are various kinds of educational toys around us such as puzzles or board games. An educational toy does not mean always as a ready made toy which mass produced by a factory. Educational toys can be as handmade toys with individual made characters so that the quantity is limited and each has its own uniqueness. Handmade educational toys are special. They can be made from fabrics, wood, paper and even other materials such as used boxes and plastic bottles. Usually handmade toys do not need batteries or other electrical sources, without video screen or techno music things but still they can create imaginary worlds and hours of creative fun. 6

2 7 (Audet, 2008) Moreover they reflect a higher quality craftsmanship and can be customized to match children s needs and choices. (Kelley, 2011) To determine whether a toy is an educational or not, it should have the characters as follows: The toy trains problem solving: During the playing, children need to do problem solving, finishing the making of the toy which has been assembled by children in the beginning. The toy trains the basic concept: By tutorial in making this toy, children are trained to develop their basic ability such as knowing the form, color, etc. Which train the fine motoric senses. The toy trains meticulousness and severity: With educational toys, children do not only enjoy the process of playing but also trained for their thoroughness and severity during the making. The toy arouses creativity: The toy is able to trigger the creativity of children that in the later years, children will have the ability to do innovation such as creating an original creation by their own. Figure 2.1. Examples of Children s Handmade Educational Toys Kites and Finger Puppets

3 Benefits of Making Handmade Educational Toys According to psychologist named Charlotte Buhler, the third phase of children s psychology development (5-8 years old) is marked with the changing mood of playing to be working actively, increasing the feeling of responsibility and sociability. Entering the fourth phase (9-13 years old) the children s desire for improvement is getting the fact of reaching at the peak. Children have the tendency to own a tense feeling of curiosity and that would be the exact time to get focus on training, observing and exploring. Based on above information, the third and fourth phase are the right phases to develop children s creativity. One of the system to improve creativity is by making a toy of their own through the process of art and crafts. The main advantage that children obtain in making their own toys is to train their fine motoric skills through the process of cutting, painting, glueing, arranging, etc. Making an own toy means also to train concentration because while they are making they must focus on the activity of making to get a satisfaction of result. Not realizingly, the knowledge and ability to comprehend language are also trained because children will read, understand and follow the instructions. The attentiveness and the neatness will also be enhanced during the process. If parents join and accompany children in the process of making, it will not only make a closer relationship between parents and children but they are also trained to communicate and taught how important is to cooperate to reach a target Benefits of Playing with Handmade Educational Toys In the process of playing, there is certainly a process of movement in the child s body that playing enables to train the rigid motoric skills. Children will use their muscles, stimulate the senses and explore the world. While playing, sometimes children

4 9 can find their own character and original personality. That time children will undergo a feeling of joy, enjoy the freedom to choose and to express themselves. If a child plays with a handmade educational toys with other people such as parents or friends, he/she will be taught for doing the sharing, behaving fairly and understanding people s opinion. 2.2 Theories of Publication The meaning of publishing is to make content available to the public. Despite the differences in terms among countries, publishing is usually applied to the text, images or other audio-visual content on any medium including paper forms (book, newspaper, magazine, etc) or electronic forms (website and e-book). Thus the word publication means the act or process of publishing and refers to any copies as well Definition and Types of Book A book is a collection of sheets of paper, printing or writing fastened together along one edge, usually trimmed at the other edges and bound between covers to form a single series of leaves. Each leaf consists of two pages. In the modern technology, a book is produced in electronic format and is called e-book. It is a digital version of paper books which can be downloaded from the internet into a small hand-held devices called e-book readers. A book will always remain as a way of passing information though it may completely change from paper to electronic form. Types of books can be classified as fiction or non fiction. Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals with imaginary or non factual information or events that is invented by the author. Fiction book contains fictitious stories and they

5 10 are completely untrue or fantasy. The most common form is the novel. Others are comic books and graphic novels which is published with illustration. On the other hand, non fiction is the form of any narrative or communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact. Since it deals with factual events, descriptions or observations, non fiction book mostly provides information or supporting a point of view such as dictionary, atlas, telephone directory, textbook, encyclopedia, guidebook, note book and diary. Besides fiction and non fiction, there are other types of book that is not included in both categories. This kind of types are not commonly found under the system such as albums, hymnals, prayer books The Anatomy of Book According to Scott E Franson, an educator and children s book writer, it is important to know parts of a book and how to use them to tell a sequential story. Below are the list of several important parts of a book: Book cover or book board: The front and back covers are named the book boards. Joint: It is a small groove where the covers of the books are attached to the book and bends when the book is opened. Spine: Located outside the book, it lists the title, author and publisher. Tail: The tail is the down-end part of the book. The Endpaper: The paper at the beginning and end of a book. The functions are to attach the cover to the pages and for aesthetic purpose as a transition into the story as it may be illustrated. Spread: The inside pages that show the content of the book.

6 11 Gutter: The fold in the middle of the book. It is an element that needs to be a major consideration when designing images for a book. Avoid placing important elemens in or near the gutter as it may disappear after the book is bound. Fore edge: The edge part which is trimed and it is opposite of the spine. It can sometimes be painted on higher end books. Dust jacket or dust wrapper: Hard cover books have protective paper or plastic wrappers that wrap completely the covers of the book for protection. The dust jacket usually displays artwork with the title, synopsis of the book and author biography as well. Figure 2.2. The Anatomy of Book (Franson, Children s Publishing 101)

7 Designing and Publishing a Book There are several phases of planning a book from scratch until publishing the final product that are listed below: 1. Designing Phases Brainstorming: Process of getting large amount of ideas and even the smallest ones to be notified Choosing: The next step is to choose the exact ideas according to the topic of the book. This idea would be the primary concept which has to be developed. Developing: The selected ideas are developed more deeply to form a clear story line and to be a complete concept. Writing: Start the process of writing, pay attention to the language structure and words. The writer should try to keep the story line comprehensively and attractively to the readers. Checking: Repeat to read the finished writing Correcting: Repeat to correct the writing whether there are words to be added or erased. Finalizing: Editing the finished writing by rewriting the whole thing neatly. In this process all idea would be gathered for the revision step of the previous ideas. This process is done more seriously and carefully as it would be the final step for the writing. Designing and making illustrations: If the manuscript is finished, it would be easier to imagine with the right illustration design. Besides that, the choice of color and typography could also be settled.

8 13 2. Publishing Phases Collecting the manuscript and illustrations: All the materials will be gathered for the editing purpose. Editing the manuscript: The editor will do the editing process especially for the structual language. It is necessary to be done for the correction of the structural text of the manuscript based on the accuracy of the information or data involved. Layouting: Arrange the layout of the manuscript according the format of the books concerned. In this process, the size of the text and the design elements such as illustrations and photos will be settled. Printing and book binding: The finishing touch is to do the printing and the book binding. The book can have either soft or hard covers. From the above theory, it can be concluded that book is one of the communicative media which is very common nowadays. Books are well-liked because they are practical, easy to bring everywhere and readable at anytime. In addition, it is known that types of book are miscellaneous and have to go through complicated process in producing them. 2.3 Theories of Children s Book Children s books are a great gift to the world, and are often trusted to develop children s minds and talents. A good children s book will both convey and communicate with the child s mind. A good children s book contains element of luxury such as nature, emotions, and simple pleasures such as a balloon or a birthday cake. (Allesio, 2010)

9 14 Because children's books span such a wide age and reading-level range, there have to be distinct divisions that break them down into smaller categories. Based on the above statement, Children s book can be categorized based on children s age such as baby books, toddler books, early picture books, picture books, easy readers, transition books, chapter books, middle grade books and young adults. (Backes, 1989) Picture Book When speaking of children's books, most people have picture books in mind. These are the books that combine illustrations with text. (Smith, 1991, p.106) A picture book is a book in which the illustrations play a significant role in telling the story. It covers a wide range of topics and styles. Plots are simple with one main character that embodies the child's emotions, concerns and viewpoint. Picture books are normally between twenty-four and thirty-two pages long. These page counts include the front matter (copyright page, title page, dedication, and acknowledgment pages). Word counts for picture books normally range between 200 and 1,500 words with 1000 being the average length. Non-fiction in the picture book format can go up to age 10, 48 pages, or up to 2000 words. The illustrations, which are on every page or every other page, play as great a role as the text in telling the story. Some picture books have very small illustrations, leaving room for a lot of text. Others have no words at all. Picture books bring images and ideas together in a unique and exciting art form that adults and children can explore at many different levels (Kiefer, 1995) Fine picture books give children a window on the wider world, enabling them to know and learn things outside their own limited domestic experience. (Lanes, 1980)

10 15 Figure 2.3. Examples of Children s Picture Book (Klassen s I Want My Hat Back and Carle s The Very Hungry Caterpillar) Types of Picture Book There are several types of picture books such as the following: Board or baby books: These books are built to stand up to the destructive tendencies of babies and toddlers. They are often made of cardboard and are usually sixteen pages long with an illustration accompanied by only a couple of words per page. Wordless picture books: Just as the name implies, these picture books do not have text. The illustrations tell the story by themselves. Novelty books: These books have an additional element that make the book interactive or otherwise entertaining. Some novelty books have pop-ups, pull tabs, graduated page lengths, holes in the pages, or accessories that complement the story. Concept books: These books focus on one concept and don't necessarily have to tell a story. Whether the topic is something tangible or visible, such as colors, or something more complex or psychological, such as overcoming a fear of the

11 16 dark, a concept book will explore its concept in whatever format suits it best. (Walin, Gordon) Informational Book (Guide Book) Informational book is a book which is planned for helping readers to learn further about obvious matters. This kind of book covers about information, instruction, and advanced knowledge according the taken topic. According the American Heritage Dictionary of English Language, 4 th edition, a guide book is a book of references especially which concern with instructions. Figure 2.4. Examples of Children s Guidebook (Bolton Castle Guidebook and 100 Things to Make and Do ) Typical Condition and Structure of Guide Book According to Ratna Sajekti Rusli, a tutor in Universitas Indonesia (UI) Jakarta, Besides the contents of the guide book, it also has a preface that explains the target of a guide book, having a clear index, inserting a glossary for hard or unknown words and specific terms, having a subject summary for each chapter, and adding the references that is used in the guide book making process.

12 17 A guide book usually has a special comparable character which differs from other books in some aspects, i.e. 1. Contents The descriptions inside the book are supported with: Definite clear instructions in each chapter. A review or summary about the subject/topic. The writing is written systematically and concisely. A quiz and feedback are added at the end of the chapter. 2. Language The language style and flow inside the book is usually: Using a familiar or oral language and not formal Using the system 6x6, that means in one paragraph there are only 6 sentences and in one line there are only 6 words. 3. Reading sources A guide book is usually completed with reading sources or using references. A guide book is usually completed with advanced reading sources or broaden the subject Function of Guidebook The first target of a guide book is as a facility of study. A guide book delivers information, deeper knowledge to reach something and has the role to become a standard or tool assistant to do something and widen the knowledge of the reader. Regarding that generally a guide book has the function as a tool (device) to convey the study of subjects/objects, a guide book should be made the most practical

13 18 and the easiest to understand as possible without deleting the main learning material. This has the intention to make the reader easy to comprehend the served information. It is good enough if the guide book is made the most attractive as possible to allure and inspire people to read Children s Guidebook based on Toy Making Category Toy making for children often involved with art and craft skills since in the making process they will be doing creative activities such as painting, cutting and weaving. The term Arts and Crafts usually suggests the entire array of actions and avocations associated with individual's skill of making things by the means of own hands. The word Craft is used with some specific connotations. Other than the artistic skill, Craft requires a sort of technical know-how. The skill of arts and crafts can be classified in various streams such as paper craft, woodworking, origami, doll making etc. Usually the guide book which is significantly designed for the children are illustrated with pictures and photographs to make the techniques more comprehensive and easy adopting for the children and the instructors as well The Importance of Children Book Reading children s book is very important and beneficial for children s development. Children s book enables both to teach and to entertain. In terms of teaching, it can widen the knowledge and nurture the reader s intellectuality. While in terms of entertaining, children s book can act as an exciting/comforting media during leisure times. Children s books also offer adventurous stories that could be an escapism and comfort children with the knowledge that they are not alone in the world.

14 Theories of Principles and Elements of Design Successful designers would have taken into account the fundamental principles that enable to guide and affect their own creative design decisions. The primary principles comprise: unity, variety, hierarchy, proportion, scale, balance, proximity, rhythm and repetition. These principles should have basic components those are elements of design to affect the internal relationships of the design i.e. shapes and spaces, line, size, color, texture and typography. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.4) The Principles of Design Referring to Poppy Evans and Mark A Thomas in the book The Elements of Design, principles of design are categorized into primary principles (unity and variety, hierarchy, proportion) and support principles (scale, balance, rhythm and repetition, proximity). Unity and Variety: Designers have to be able to achieve unity where the whole graphic elements in a design are inter related that they form as a whole intergrated system which all the graphic elements look unified and that can not be described only as a deal of its part. (Landa, 2010, p.31) Unity is the control of variety to create a visual interest. Anyway, too much variety without any inconsistency in the design would cause confusion. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.5) Hierarchy: Hierarchy is the established order, importance emphasis and movement given to visual elements so that it would guide viewer into viewing that are dominant of the design to those other supporting parts. By establishing hierarchy, the path a viewer s eye can be controlled by the designer when

15 20 scanning a design composition. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.7) Proportion: Proportion is the comparative size relationships which is present in the outer dimensions. The most basic proportion are the outer dimensions of a two dimensional design. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.8) For designers and artists, proportion is concerned with appreciation of beauty or harmonious relationship of elements within a whole. Based on ratio, there are proportional systems in design, art and architecture that had been used for centuries. In design, harmony is agreement within a composition where elements are arranged and function in relation to one another to an agreeable effect. At present, a designer can intentionally play with exact proportion in a composition to create an exclusive beautiful graphic impact. (Landa, 2010, p.35) Scale: Scale is the relationship or a comparison of size between elements. In the natural and constructed worlds, size, distance and configuration are constantly compared. Scale can be used to create variety and emphasis in a design that can help establish a visual hierarchy (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.11-12) Balance: A design should be balanced because it prones to give a harmonious sight to the viewer. Thus it concerns with the position of objects in a space. (Landa, 2010, p.26) There are two types of visual balance, symmetric and asymmetric. (Resnick, 2003, p.24) In symmetric balance, elements are put symmetrically on either sides of a a central axis, that it makes a reflection of a mirror image. (Landa, 2010, p.26) Whereas for asymmetric balance is referred to as dynamic symmetry, is a manner to create a balance in visual by putting uneven objects, arranging relationships between negative and positive space and with type of forms as well. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.12)

16 21 Rhythm and Repetition: Rhythm in visual term replaces the element of sound and silence. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.14) In graphic design, a pattern of elements with a strong a stable repetition can form a rhythm. It is the same as to a beat in music that induces the viewer s eyes to surround the page. A strong visual rhythm helps in creativity consistency. Several elements can support to establishing rhythm i.e. balance, color, texture, emphasis figure and ground relationships. (Landa, 2010, p.30) Repetition happens when one or a few visual elements is repeated a number of times with total stability like a pattern of objects. It follows a pattern of related objects which put side by side to each other. In graphic design, the repetition of rhtyhm is inserted by variation to create visual interest. (Landa, 2010, p.30-31) Proximity: To place design elements is one of the most critical decisions for a designer to make. Proximity is the position and space given to the placement of elements in a composition. So the function of proximity is the placement of elements together and apart from one another. To bring in images, text and other graphic elements based on these features. In determining placement, grid systems are used to guide designers. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.15) The Elements of Design Every design needs the elements of design which could be regarded as formal elements or as the basic components that are needed to create a design. According to Evans and Thomas, there are one or more basic elements such as shape and space, line, size, color, texture and typography with the explanations as follows: Shapes and space: Shape is a mass which has its length and width. It will be

17 22 seen three dimesional when volume is added and thus they can describe as form. This shape or form could be described as a meaning such as curvy shapes shows about something sensual, whereas for more rough reflections could be described with the pointy shapes. For space, it can be described as an area that is affected by another elements so space refers to the distance between shapes and form. The relationship of shape and space is conveyed into a relationship of positive and negative space. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.20-21) There are three basic shapes which considered to be the fundamental shapes found in all design, the circle, the square and the triangle. (Resnick, 2003, p.23) Line: A line is a lengthened point and could be described as the path of a moving point or it is also a mark made by a visualizing tool such as a pencil, a brush, a software or others. The tools used to create the line would influence the quality and the character of the lines itself such as it can be delicate or bold, smooth or broken, thick or thin etc. (Landa, 2010, p.16) Size: Size shows the physical dimensions of an element or format. It shows how big or small something is in scale to other objects. (Resnick, 2003) It is crucial to decide the size of each elements to match nicely into a design. Size is a function of portability and hand-eye manipulation. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.24) Color: Color is a description of light energy. It is the intristic hues found in light and pigment that can enlighten the emotional and psychological dimensions of any visual image like to fill up space and enrich it or to create emphasize on an object. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p.26) Color can create and convey a mood to enhance a strong concept. (Resnick, 2003) Further information about color will be explained in section 2.7 Theory of Color.

18 23 Texture: It is the attributes of the surface of an object. It consists two types of texture, tactile and visual. For tactile textures which can be physically touch and felt on printed design can be used for embossing, stamping, engraving or letterpress. Whereas for visual textures which are created by hand such as painting, photography and many other image making idea are used by the designers to create a variety of texture. (Landa, 2010, p.23) Typography: For a design, it is crucial to have the ability to communicate its verbal message through visual means. (Evans and Thomas, 2004, p. 31) When typographic signs are created with an informed eye and mind, they achieve both lucidity and aesthetic beauty (Carter, Day and Meggs, 2007, p.111) Further information about typography will be explained in section 2.8 Theory of Typography. 2.5 Theories of Layout and Composition Layout is the arrangement of the elements of design in relation to the space that it occupies according to an overall design scheme. It could also be called the management of form and space. The objective of layout is to present the visual and textural elements that are to be communicated in a manner that enables the reader to receive it with less effort. With good layout, a reader can be navigated through quite complex information in both print and electronic media. (Ambrose and Harris, 2009, p.10) Layout is all about composition. Composition is the visuals and type visuals organization on a printed or screen page. Composition refers to how the pictures arranged by the artist for any kind of position, how shallow, how deep, how gigantic,

19 24 how small etc. (Erbach, 2007) Robin Landa in her book titled Graphic Design Solutions stated that there are three basic methods in composition. They are the following: 1. Type-driven Emphasize on type / de-emphasize on visual, where the dominant force is the type and the secondary is the visuals, or no visuals at all. The component could be the type only, also called type as image. 2. Image-driven Emphasize on visual / de-emphasize on type where the hero is the visuals with little type, or a no-copy solution. 3. Visual-verbal strategy Type and the main visual synergistic relationship, subordinate all other graphic elements around Margin and Grid Margin and grid are two invisible crucial elements in the process of layout as both of them have the function as a standard of placing the layout elements such as text elements (title, subtitle, body text, pull quotes, etc.) and visual elements (artwork, pictures, photos, maps, info graphics, etc.). Margin determined the distance between the edge of the paper and the space used by the layout elements. Margin also prevents the layout elements are not too far from the edge of the page. If this occurs, it will be a disadvantage for its aesthetic as the layout elements might be cut during the printing process. (Ruslan, 2009, p.64) Whereas the grid eases to determine the placement of the layout elements and to keep the unity and consistency especially for the design works which have several pages such as books or magazines. (Ruslan, 2009, p.68)

20 Types of Children s Book Layout There are several types of layout that are commonly found in children s book such as follows: 1. The layout of text and picture are on different pages The illustration is put on one page without any text whereas the text is put on the next page with a slight illustration or without any on the page. Figure 2.5. Layout of Text and Picture are on Different Pages 2. The layout of text and picture are on the same page, the picture dominated the page The text is on the same page with the picture yet with a less smaller portion. It is used for books of children in the earlier years. Figure 2.6. Layout of Text and Picture are on the Same Page,

21 26 The Picture Dominated the Page 3. The layout of text and picture are on the same page, with a balance portion The text and picture share the same portion in a page. Usually used for books of growing up children. Figure 2.7. Layout of Text and Picture are on the Same Page, With a Balance Portion 4. Layout in boxes There are some illustrations with the same relative measure on one picture. Each illustration is supported by the description of the text. Figure 2.8. Layout in Boxes

22 27 5. The layout of text dominates the page The illustration is only as an unsure supporting text. This type of layout can be used for children s books that enter a young adult phase. Figure 2.9. Layout of Text Dominates the Page 6. The layout of illustration as a border surrounding the text The illustration s role is just to describe the text or as an unsure decorative merely, usually found in poetry book or short stories collection. Figure Layout of Illustration as a Border Surrounding the Text 2.6 Theories of Illustration In a common sense, illustration means picture or photo that follow a manuscript in a book, magazine or mass media to elucidate it. Illustration derives from the Latin

23 28 word illustrare which means to lighten or to decorate. The distinctive character of illustration means a picture that enliven the books page as a creative painting which has the apart of beauty in combination with the using font. Referring to Persatuan Desain Grafis Indonesia (PDGI), an illustration has distinctive characters as follows: Genuine and creative creation. Confident and sophisticated painting skills. Congeniality between illustration and text. Creative. Define the significant and eye catching location. Image could be conveyed to the customers and fill the orders. May influence and astound the feeling of consumers. Using the right time and stuff Media of Illustration In general, illustrations can be made traditional media or digital media. On the other hand, some people create an illustration by combining both media, shortly referred as mix media. 1. Traditional media Traditional media is a media to draw illustrations manually. Tools used in making a traditional illustration also vary. Traditional drawing aids include pencils, colored pencils, markers, charcoal, pens and gouache. (Tumminelo, 2008, p.239) Example of traditional artists are Beatrix Potter and Quentin Blake.

24 29 2. Digital media The process from sketching until the finishing is done by using a computer, People use programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw or Paint Tool SAI in doing their illustrations. Mouse and drawing tablets are gadgets made for helping to draw digitally. Example of Digital artist is Kagaya. 3. Mix media An illustration made by mix media is an illustration made by combining traditional and digital media technique. As an example, an artist draw an illustration using pencil and drawing pen and scans the drawing into the computer. Then the artist colors the illustratiom and adds finishing touch with a digital program Styles of Illustration Types of illustration can refer not only to the media, but also to the way in which an artist creates a special style in his/her illustrations that makes them unique and easy to distinguish. Style in its simplest sense is a manner of expressions. (Kiefer, 1988, p.261) Some famous styles of illustration are: 1. Realistic style Illustration style that describes obviously the visual object caught by the visual senses and make the most alike with the original one.

25 30 Figure Realistic Style Illustration 2. Cartoon style Illustration style with a simple, distinctive character, funny and very popular among children. This style is friendly, familiar in visual sight as it is simplified generally from the real object. Figure Cartoon Style Illustration 3. Cartoon realistic style Illustration style that combining the realistic style and cartoon style. This style is seen in humorous cartoon work pictures such as caricature.

26 31 Figure Cartoon Realistic Style Illustration 4. Surrealistic style Illustration style that describes imaginations or dreams, obvious with the limits between reality and dreams. Figure Surrealistic Style Illustration 5. Expressionistic style Illustration style that specialize the freedom to convey expression in creating an illustration with the intention to get free objects as well. This style is very

27 32 expressive and original such as doodle drawings. Figure Expressionistic Style Illustration 6. Decorative style Illustration style which the visual forms depends on the art of using lines, spaces, colors and composition with the total resut in a flat form. Figure Decorative Style Illustration Roles of Illustration in Children s Book An illustration is very crucial for children while they are reading as it is integrated with the content. Children are prone to watch pictures in the book directly to imagine what the contents of the book is. Therefore there are books for children which shows illustration only. The total amount of illustration in children s books is usually plentier than in adults because illustration is very helpful for children to understand and

28 33 comprehend the conveyed message. In fact children construct meaning and respond to illustration even before they learn to read words, illustration evoke both cognitive along with aesthetic understanding and response furthermore children as young as 14 months of age express preferences for specific types of illustration. (Stoodt, 1995) Children s book illustration is the best way for making children to understand the concept since it can reduces the workload of studies of children. Moreover, it also induces a habit of reading which helps in knowledge enhancement and can increase the interest of children in studies. In short, illustration is a great help in the children s learning process. According to Murti Bunanta, a practitioner and supervisor for children reading book, there are at least three roles of illustrations for the children, i.e. Illustration should be able to give space for the children to do their own thinking and imagination. Illustration should be able to arouse the children to know about estetique. Illustration should be able to give convinience for the children in the reading process. From the theory above it is clear that illustration in children s book hold many benefits towards children since it can stimulates children to participate actively in literacy experiences, cultivating their aesthetic responses, exercises their imagination and expands their knowledge.

29 Theories of Color Color is a very expressive element of children s book especially in its illustration, conveying temperature, personality and emotion. (Stood, Amspaugh and Huns, 1996, p.121) Color can be concluded also as a powerful and highly provocative design element that becomes a property of light energy. (Landa, 2010, p.19) Children book artist needs to use various colors to bring focus on the children s book elements, emphasizing the characters, creating a mood and supporting the aesthetic of visual experience. Every color holds positive or negative meanings depends on the artist s usage. (Rustan, 2009) Warm colors (red, yellow, orange) is used to create feelings of excitements, energy, friendship and anger while the cool colors (blue, green, purple) are used to create peaceful, quite moods or sometimes sad or depressed situation. The result is that the information contained in illustration will be clearer to the children readers. In the book Color Index of Krause (2002) is described that color wheel is the basic way to describe colors and their connections with each other. There are several classifications of color. One of them is primary color which consist of red, yellow and blue. Secondary color is halfway between each color, i.e. orange, green and violet. The third is tertiary color which is a mixture between primary and secondary color.

30 35 Figure Color Wheel (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary) With the primary, secondary and tertiary colors, we can create color harmonies to describe the relationship of certain colors to be combined to create a palette of colors. There are three types of relationship in color harmony. Complementary is a harmony of two colors on the opposite side of the color wheel, analogous is a harmony of colors whose hues are adjacent to one another on the color wheel and triadic is a harmony of three colors equidistant from one another on the color wheel. Figure Color Wheel (Complementary, Analogous, Triadic) According to Henry Munsel, the color system is classified into three main components, hue, value and saturation. Hue is where the color is positioned on the color wheel such as red, blue, green. Value is the general lightness or darkness of a color.

31 36 Saturation is the intensity or level of chroma of a color that refers to the brightness or dullness of colors affecting the meaning and mood of illustration. (Stood, Amspaugh and Huns, 1996, p.121) Figure Hue, Value, Saturation Color for Children The color usages for children story book should be bright, attractive, colorful and eye catching colors. Light and radiant colors are just not attractive for children but also make them understand easily. Dark colors will be the second choice although it can also create a suitable and certain character like show about night time, scary, bad mood, outer space or other environment situation. It can be concluded that artist should be careful in choosing colors in order to create an ambience that is suitable for children. Bright colors will be the prime color use for children s book while dark colors will be the secondary choice. 2.8 Theories of Typography Typography is the design of letterforms and the arrangement of them in two dimensional space. (for print and screen based media) Type is used as display or as text.

32 37 Display type functions as a dominant typographic component and is usually large or bold, commonly used in titles, headings or headlines. Text type is the main body of written content, usually in the form of paragraphs, columns or captions. (Landa, 2010, p.44) Classification of Typefaces Typefaces are divided into two variations, which are serif and san serif. Serifs are the small strokes located at the upper and lower ends of the major strokes on a letter and san serif types are designed without using serif on it. Based on their serifs, typeface can be divided into four more variations according to Carter et al (2007): 1. Old style The serif are bracketed or ended with a curved line and the top serif of its lowercase letters are at an angle. Example of old style fonts are Garamond and Times New Roman. (Carter, Day and Meggs, 2007, p.36) 2. Transitional These typefaces can be identified by the contrast between the thick and thin line which is greater than the old style typefaces. Its lowercase serifs are more horizontal. These transitional characters are wider than the old style s. Example of transitional fonts are Baskerville and Bookman Light. (Carter, Day and Meggs, 2007, p.36) 3. Egyptian/slab serif These kind of typefaces have thick heavy strokes with unbracketed thick,

33 38 rectangular serifs. They often have minimal curves and all strokes are the same weight. Examples of egyptian fonts are Clarendon and Rockwell. (Carter, Day and Meggs, 2007, p.36) 4. Modern These typefaces have extreme contrasts between thick and thin strokes. They have a strong geometric quality projected by horizontal, vertical and circular forms. Example of modern fonts is Bodoni. (Carter, Day and Meggs, 2007, p.37) As for san serif: 5. San Serif These typefaces obvious characteristic is marked by the absence of serif. The strokes are uniform, with little or no contrast between thick and thin strokes. Stress almost always vertical. Many sans serif typefaces are geometric in construction, others combine both organic and geometric qualities. Example of san serif fonts are Helvetica and Univers. (Carter, Day and Meggs, 2007, p.37) There are also typefaces that do not belongs either serif or san serif: 6. Script Scripts are the typeface that looks like handwriting. Example of san serif fonts is Eduardo Script. 7. Decorative Decorative fonts are heavily decorated typefaces and suitable only for display purpose. Example of decorative fonts are Jokerman and Churli Cute.

34 39 Figure Classification of Typefaces Typography for Children Typography in children book has to be able to communicate the story to the readers. Typography for children should look friendly, comical, and happy. (Caglayan, 2007) Most children learn to read going letter by letter, until they can blend the sounds together to form words. So by choosing the correct typeface design should be consider about their perception, learning and reading motivation. 1. Text legibility Ilene Strizver, a founder of the Type Studio and typographic consultant stated that when selecting a typeface for a children s text, look for a warm, friendly design with simple, generous letter shapes. Typefaces with larger x-heights are generally easier to read than those with short x-heights and this is especially true for children. For young readers, select designs with one story a s and g s (also called infant characters) since these are the lowercase shapes preschool and school age children learn to write. As long as they avoid any extremes that could weaken readability, san serif or serif designs can be used. For example:

35 40 Do not use expanded typefaces, which make the character recognition more difficult. Select a book or medium weight, stay away from hairline or very bold weight. For using italics, make sure they are easy to read. 2. Making the text readable To make the text readable for new readers, the text must be set largely and with very generous leading. This will make easier for the readers to follow words from left to right and jump their eyes from the end of one line to the beginning of the text. Dense blocks of type should not be used. It can be very intimidating to young readers. Avoid all the cap settings, as they are difficult for all readers. Much contrast must be made between the type and the background. This is true when setting light type against a dark background as is common in heavily illustrated children s books. For more than one paragraph on a page, the setting must consider to use line spaces instead of indents to separate paragraphs. This will give the text and the reader a visual break. 3. Headline and title For headline or title is more playful in style, color and layout, since there are fewer words to read. To attract and to entertain children readers, decorated typestyles, lots of color, curved and jumping baselines can be used. The key to keep a young reader interested and turning pages is to keep it light and fun.