I had chosen Beanie Babies as my topic for a few reasons. Firstly, as previously stated, I believe they are a very influential part of pop culture, and being the first internet-craze-turned-economic-bubble, I do believe that they are relevant in the discussion of non fungible tokens. Second, the topic is something I genuinely care for and am interested in. While I could have chosen something like clocks or fire, I knew that this project was going to take a lot of time and research, and decided to choose a topic I could really lose myself in.
With Dissecting the Baby, I wanted to create a fun, humorous, and informative documentation of the Beanie Baby craze, using the juxtaposition of the childish topic with the imagery and language of dissection to further push that humor.
Brainstorming
Thumbnails
Layout Sketches
Version 1
(Figma)
At first I had two different layouts I was trying out. While I overall enjoyed the "Dissecting the Baby" version more, there were elements of the "Beanie Baby Bubble Burst" version that I liked and would incorporate in future edits.
The main issue that I held with this version were firstly, the repeating centered imagery felt t0o boring, something that would improve once i chose to stretch the information over two pages instead of the one. Secondly, due to the fonts, color palette, and info graphic, the whole thing felt too medical, like it was the back of a case of cold medicine. And not in a good way.
Version 2
(Figma, Indesign)
After it was suggested during critique, I decided to change my info graphic to something more visual. I decided to use a bar chart to really emphasize the price difference. This also gave the whole piece a more humorous, light-hearted feeling, and pulled back on the stark, medical vibes I thought it had too much of before. I added edited images of the toys mentioned in the bar graph to add to the visuals, and a speech bubble both to fill negative space and to add more humor.
I also edited the cover illustration, changing it to the exposed skull previously seen on one of the back pages, and modified it to more resemble a bear skull rather than a human one.
Version 3
(Figma, Indesign)
After it was pointed out to me during critique, I decided to remove the repetition of the title, removing it completely on page 2 and replacing the phrase with "Anatomy of the Craze" on page four. I also attempted to better use the negative space, replacing the photo of Piccadilly with my own illustration on page 2, and moving the header and images on page 3. In this version, I also changed fonts to something that felt more fun and childish to better fit the theme, and changed font sizes for easier reading.
Final Version
(Figma, Indesign)
For the final version, only a few tweaks had to be made. Based on my classmates critiques, I edited spelling and punctuation errors, formatting mistakes, and some errors on the bar graph.
Overall, I believe this project was successful. I was able to make a simple, easy to understand explanation of the impact of the invention as well as how it compares to current trends. Although looking back I believe choosing a topic that was older and had more history would have made the research phase easier, I believe my topic contributed to creating a fun and informative piece. In the end, this project served as a good learning experience, as over the course of creating it I learned some new things about formatting text and developed a better understanding of InDesign.
Clark, Mitchell. “NFTs, Explained.” The Verge. The Verge, March 3, 2021. https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq.
“Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles & More.” eBay. Accessed March 23, 2022. https://www.ebay.com/.
Getlen, Larry. “How the Beanie Baby Craze Was Concocted - Then Crashed.” New York Post. New York Post, February 24, 2015. https://nypost.com/2015/02/22/how-the-beanie-baby-craze-was-concocted-then-crashed/.
“Home >>.” Love My Beanies. Accessed March 23, 2022. https://lovemybeanies.com/beanie-babies-error-price-guide/.
Schlossberg, Sondra and Leon. “Complete List of Beanie Babies.” Ty Beanie Babies complete list. Accessed March 23, 2022. http://www.tycollector.com/beanies/beanie-roster.htm#I.
Stern, Mark Joseph. “What Made People Lose Their Minds over Beanie Babies?” Slate Magazine. Slate, February 4, 2015. https://slate.com/technology/2015/02/beanie-babies-bubble-economics-and-psychology-of-a-plush-toy-investment-craze.html.
McIntyre, Matt. “The 20 Most Expensive Beanie Babies in the World.” Wealthy Gorilla, March 24, 2022. https://wealthygorilla.com/most-expensive-beanie-babies/.