Liminality is defined as within, or at both sides of, threshold or a transition phase, and can be interpreted in many ways. Through physical, emotional, and metaphorical means, we can apply liminality to almost evert context. My interpretation to the Liminal Space brief stems from a personal place of childhood fear; of what loomed under my bed at night-time. The publication Under the Bed explores common tales and assumptions of fear within the space under the bed.

As a child I was incredibly afraid of the dark, and with that reluctant to go to bed. I’d often ask to leave a light on, or a door slightly ajar as if those will save me from whatever the dark holds. Throughout my research and development process, I began to question why being afraid of the dark is such a universal childhood experience? And why do some adults still have moments of anxiety when alone in the dark. The target audience for Under the Bed is all of those (us) who share this feeling of uncertainty and fear of what could be hiding in the dark. The publication explores different aspects of fear rooted from Under the Bed across a series of chapters, varying from the physical space itself to horror within film and literature. By exploring monsters, phobias, and psychology in a dark and often threatening manner, the intention is to shine a light on the irrationality we have when it comes to fear and imagination.

Typographically, the outcome celebrates this fear through layout and hierarchy by contrasting words of advice and comfort alongside grim and menacing narratives to ignite and extinguish the uncertainty the reader has, creating conflict within themselves to further enhance the feelings of anxiety. These typographic nuances are portrayed through the body type, using Adobe Caslon Pro which offers many options to vary the text. A serif typeface like this replicates traditional horror design where they implement a “ghostly elegance” to be inviting and welcoming towards the contrasting horror and gore. This typeface specifically offers the use of ligatures that not only improve legibility but also add a humanist touch, referring to childhood tales.

The heading type used to visually reference Under the Bed throughout, even when the topic at hand deviates away from the physical space. I managed to take Cochin typeface to create this experimental type. I chose to use Cochin instead of Adobe Caslon Pro because the letter spacing with Cochin is greater and overall, the apertures are wider and rounder, so even with the bottom part of each letter being cut off, they’re still legible.

Chapter one helps to identify the liminality of fear, chapter two pinpoints those fears into the childhood context of Under the Bed, and how those fears are acknowledged in chapter three may still follow you around today. Sharing cultural experiences in chapter four begins sprouting subtle comfort in knowing that people across the world have the same experiences and feeling, and further in chapter five and six, the application of fear in fiction highlights absurdity of these fears.

By the end, the switch has been flipped to ease the mind; the monster is fictional, and our imagination is the enemy, expressed through the visual elements. I embodies this by changing the background colour from the dark, to the off-white to resemble day and comfort. The content of these pages also matches this feeling, as it offers support and reassurance to ease the anxiety of the readers. I’ve kept the same type in these pages but used italics more because it seems more relaxed and hand rendered, suggesting a personal and exclusive experience.