The Six-Word Memoir

A project courtesy of the AIGA Design Teaching Resource Library
Credit: Elizabeth Resnick

Can you describe your life in six words?

Project Brief

Once asked to write a full story in six words, legend has it that novelist Ernest Hemingway responded: “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Six-Word Memoirs is a project founded in November 2006 by the online storytelling publication Smith Magazine, which challenged readers to write their memoirs in six words—no more, no less. A memoir is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author’s personal memories or experiences.

For this assignment, you will be asked to “reflect” on a personal memory or experience articulated in six words. You will then be tasked to design a visual response illustrating the meaning of the ‘memoir’ using typography, a minimal amount of imagery, and color.

Learning Objectives

• To explore and interpret meaning through typographic form
• To employ the elements and principles of design to create a strong visual message in the form of a poster

Specifications

Size: 11 x 11 inches (square) or 11 x 17 inches (horizontal or vertical).
The format (page orientation) should respond to the concept.

If you have any color that touches the edge of the page, you must have .25″ bleeds on your Illustrator document
so that when you create your PDF it will include the color bleed along with the trim marks.

Media: Any medium that can be reproduced digitally.
The imagery must be made from type.
Color can be used.

Specifications

Media: The Six-Word Memoir MUST be made from type.

Color can be used.

Copy: The six words of your memoir.

The Process:

Step 1: Develop two (2) six-word memoirs that describe your life,

or a dream/goal you have for your life.

Step 2: Review your concepts with your instructor and get

feedback from your classmates.

Step 3: Develop the (2) memoirs into computer designs.
Put both compositions into one Illustrator document.

DELIVERABLES: