Mihalik Nikoletta

Graphic Design MA
supervisor
Nagy László
masterwork opponent
Rofusz Kinga
thesis consultant
Beck András
thesis opponent
Révész Emese
masterwork

Parallel

Parallel is a book that tells a story solely with pictures. Through the genre, exploiting the linear nature of the text, it offers a glimpse of various planes of reality, using certain elements as windows. This way it reflects on a current problem of modern people, on constantly divided attention that makes it impossible to connect in the physical reality, to be present, so it leads to constantly experiencing several realities at the same time. The story takes place in a family setting, where although the characters are close to each other physically, they cannot really focus their attention. The elements used as windows show their inner worlds, current feelings, demonstrating, in parallel, what is happening inside and outside, what differences or similarities they are experiencing, and even the different layers we can find within a character.
thesis

Words locked in pictures

Why is the silent book genre special?

Today visual stimuli have an increasing impact on our everyday life, and due to globalisation, people all over the world share a visual culture that never existed before the 21st century. Silent books, a response to this predominantly visual culture, have risen to international popularity over the past decades, yet in Hungary the genre is relatively unknown. What is a silent book? What are its characteristics that make it a globally popular genre? What hinders its spread in Hungary? I explore these questions in my thesis, then I describe the topic in general, the types and predecessors of the genre, and, through the analysis of some outstanding examples, I try to discover how the possibilities of the genre can be best exploited so that it can represent more than just a lack of text.