The Last Great American Dynasty

This project explores editorial design as a form of storytelling. Using Taylor Swift's song The Last Great American Dynasty as source material, I designed a book that follows the intertwined lives of Rebekah Harkness and Taylor Swift, revealing how two women separated by decades became connected through a single place and a shared public narrative.

Each verse, chorus, and the bridge has its own visual language, allowing typography, pacing, and composition to mirror the emotional rhythm of the music. The pivotal bridge, where the song shifts from Rebekah's story to Taylor's, becomes a turning point in the book's layout as well, signaling the narrative transition through changes in hierarchy, spacing, and graphic elements.

To deepen the story beyond the lyrics, I incorporated historical newspaper headlines, gossip columns, and public criticism directed at both women. These inserts interrupt the primary narrative, illustrating how reputation is often shaped by voices outside our own and inviting readers to reconsider the stories they think they know.

The project expanded beyond the book into a cohesive publication system, including an invitation for a hypothetical launch event. Together, the pieces investigate how editorial design can use typography, sequence, and materiality to transform a familiar song into an immersive narrative experience.

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Le Murate Complex