Polite Type

Beth Fileti (she/her), a multidisciplinary designer exploring art and technology. I specialize in systems thinking, communication strategies, and design solutions.

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Petty About Books

Interactive Narrative

|

2022

Step into the mind of an award-rejected author

Explore your petty self here
I'm not petty about books. Oh wow, look who made the best seller list. There is a dropdown button with "Combined Print and E-Book Fiction" selected and a set of 5 book covers all messed up.

About the Project

Concept

Working in the arts, it can be easy to fall into some petty thinking about other creatives. This piece invites you to step into your own pettiness to find the joy in that feeling.

How it works

In this interactive experience, a user unknowingly steps into the role of a petty author, who has never made the NYTimes’ coveted best seller list.

By digitally selecting a book from the shelf, and “accidentally” ruining the cover, the user develops an inner narrative. They are guided through the experience by clicking buttons, which follow a strict, linear user journey, despite having the freedom to “mess up” the cover to their heart’s content.

By combining interactivity with non-traditional story-telling, this piece establishes users as unwitting actors in the private theater of their browser.

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Process Documentation:

I'm not petty about books. Oh wow, look who made the best seller list. There is a dropdown button with "Hardcover Fiction" selected and a set of 5 book covers, 4 out of 5 are messed up. Beneath that the book cover for John Sandford's The Investigator is large and has been digitally messed up. There is text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
I'm not petty about books. Oh wow, look who made the best seller list. There is a dropdown button with "Combined Print and E-Book Fiction" selected and a set of 5 book covers all messed up.

‍

A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."

Image Gallery

A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Well, clearly taste is subjective"
An array of messed up book covers at the top of the screen and below it is one of the book covers larger.
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "I think it's a massive improvement."
A messed up book cover with text over it reading "The author would agree that this is better."
I'm not petty about books. Oh wow, look who made the best seller list. There is a dropdown button with "Combined Print and E-Book Fiction" selected and a set of 5 book covers all messed up.
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "I'm really more of a movie person, myself."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "What do they know anyways."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "What do they know anyways."
An array of messed up book covers at the top of the screen and below it is one of the book covers larger.
A messed up book cover with text over it reading "The author would agree that this is better."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "I don't see what was so great in the first place."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Just walk away slowly. No one will notice."
I'm not petty about books. Oh wow, look who made the best seller list. There is a dropdown button with "Combined Print and E-Book Fiction" selected and a set of 5 book covers all messed up.
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "I don't see what was so great in the first place."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "I'll just put it in the trash, where it belongs."
A digitally messed up book cover and text that reads "Amazing what a good editor can do."
A messed up version of the book cover for Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews.
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Read about my experiences in
NYU’s IMA/ITP Program
and
Type@Cooper.
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About
Polite Type
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beth@politetype.com
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