about dert.
DERT works with emerging designers to create unique, customized books. It's collaborative studio program partners with designers at art schools to produce book products that are used for fundraising towards charitable literacy efforts. Nicole's book designs feature Alice in Wonderland and The Milkmaid & Her Pail.
alice in wonderland.
The design concept for the renowned classic novel Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll relies on the different facets of reality the story encompasses. The smokey textures and shapeshifting graphics relate to the idea of time travel and unstructured plot this narrative underlies. The idea of having blurred images alludes to the dreamlike atmosphere of the characters and Alice’s journey through Wonderland.
the milkmaid and her pail.
The Milkmaid and her pail encompasses the story of a young woman who daydreams while walking with a milk pail in her head. The milkmaid has a lot of aspirations for her future life but she forgets what she is actually doing and drops this pail of milk into the floor, and with it all of her dreams and thoughts.
The design concept for this story is based on inspiration drawn from daydreaming qualities that allude to the aspirations of young women of the future. The milkmaid is reinterpreted as a modern young woman that has her everyday thoughts and worries lingering in her her. She then realizes, that as long as she keeps her feet grounded and focused on her goals, she will do just fine.
