Design at York

We’re thrilled to celebrate Faith Innes, co-recipient of this year’s RGD Student Award for Editorial Design! 🏆

Notes covers mature subject matter, including the unethical practices of the Stanford Prison Experiment, which had long-lasting psychological effects on participants. The intended audience is adults aged 18–45, particularly those interested in psychology and the ethics of experimental design. A secondary audience includes readers unfamiliar with the experiment, as the book outlines its events and consequences for both text and visuals. Notes walks the viewer through each day of the experiment, reflecting its escalating chaos and violence. The book’s design mirrors this trajectory—typography and imagery become increasingly erratic as pages turn, emulating the prisoners’ deteriorating mental states. Stained, textured pages and a worn leather cover evoke the psychologist’s relentless note-taking and recall journals from the 1970s. Each chapter, marked by the day, represents shifts in autonomy and identity, conveying the loss of control experienced by participants. Expressive typography underscores the psychological descent at the core of the narrative.