## With [Frankenstein](/content/frankenstein "Frankenstein"/index.html) out of the door, we're now looking ahead to our next inklebook. Again, we're collaborating with Dave Morris, this time on the swashbuckling adventure story _Down Among the Dead Men_. ### Developing a visual metaphor One of the first steps in producing a new inklebook from scratch is to design a visual look and feel for it. As part of this, it's useful to establish a consistent metaphor. For _Frankenstein_, the metaphor was that you were looking at Victor Frankenstein's desk, full of anatomical illustrations, spilt ink, and his notes and journals. The metaphor doesn't need to be strictly consistent, but keeping it fairly coherent helps make the whole scene glue together nicely. It helps to answer design questions, such as which font to use where, and what to use for graphical flourishes. So, for _Down Among the Dead Men_, we've started with the scene of being washed up on a tropical beach, along with a set of piratey paraphernalia. We're still developing the exact metaphor - what should the front "cover" look like? Should it be a book cover, a page, or something else entirely? We're also keen to differentiate the visual style from _Frankenstein_. While the material aesthetic is _inkle_'s trademark, we want to make _Down Among the Dead Men_ brighter, and communicate more of the gamey elements in the text. For Frankenstein, it was easy to lean on the beauty of the anatomical illustrations. For _Down Among the Dead Men_, we'll have to find a new touchstone. We'll post more images as we develop the visual skin further, but see what you think about this initial concept. Also, bear in mind that this is purely a first draft, so the polish and finesse will improve dramatically over the coming days and weeks! ### Help us out! Also, feel free to help us out! If you want to suggest ideas for _Down Among the Dead Men_, either reply to this post, or drop as an email. We have a [pinterest board](https://pinterest.com/inkle/down-among-the-dead-men-design-board/ "Down Among the Dead Men pinterest board") up to help us gather visual resources and inspiration from around the web. Disqus Recommendations We were unable to load Disqus Recommendations. 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Is this not a currently available feature? see more [Show more replies](https://disqus.com/embed/comments/?base=default&f=inkle&t_u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inklestudios.com%2F2012%2F05%2F16%2Fvisual-design-begins-for-down-among-the-dead-men.html&t_d=Visual%20design%20begins%20for%20Down%20Among%20the%20Dead%20Men&t_t=Visual%20design%20begins%20for%20Down%20Among%20the%20Dead%20Men&s_o=default#) AK My first thought when I saw the picture at the top was that it was very cheesy. I think it might be better to expand on what you did with Frankenstein. Specifically: make it look like the desk in a pirate captain's quarters. Have maps, log books, quill and ink, navigational instruments, a sword, maybe a kerchief/souvenir from a maiden conquest. I wouldn't worry too much about conveying the gamey elements. And I would definitely have the "front" be a book cover, similar to how you did Frankenstein. Maybe make it look like a logbook or secret journal that was hidden in a chest at the bottom of the sea? Anyways, just my thoughts. I'm sure whatever you guys come up with I will like :) see more JH Thanks very much Armaan, some good suggestions! I agree, it's a bit cheesy at the moment. We'd quite like to make it more colourful than Frankenstein though, and move away from the table-top theme for now. Making it a little bit different but still keep our semi-realistic inkle style. 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