The Proposal

I want to focus on the so called ‘template book’, a better name will come. Everyone can make a photobook, specialty online. There are many companies with photo service, and software, to make your own photobook, and in the end to order your creation. Also they provided you with a template to give you an idea for division of your photos. I want to print the template what the companies provided for you. So I print the different kind of divisions in a physical book. First I have to make screenshots of the template, otherwise the pages become blank when you order it. After the screenshots is place them at the exact place of the template example. The book consist of images of the template.

Some companies use the same software so they have the same templates. (Like Kruidvat, Lidl, Cewe, Pixum, Bol) I try to find different templates, so I order at:

• Kruidvat

• Hema

• LuLu

• Albelli

• Fotofabriek

• MyPhotobook

The similarities of this photobook are not only the looks, or feel, but the signs/symbols that they use. The ‘two mountains’, that represent the image, the landscape. What does that say? What are the signs and the meaning of does symbols? What kind of language is it? What if I present the symbols in a different way, like a landscape painting or installation. It’s NOT just a sign, icon or image. It becomes more than that and more than a photobook, it starts a conversation. I want to change the context of the book, the context of the symbols and the point of view. I going to question the book, if it’s just and template or could it be more?

Still there are some questions to be answered; is this a critic on templates? And who is my audience? In the back of my mind this template concept could be more, because don’t we live in a big template? Is it about our daily relationship with media? or with communication technologies?