How to use folds to tell stories
We do say that stories unfold… There is storytelling magic in folding and unfolding paper, concealing and revealing words and images.
Pop-up books are perhaps the most obvious example of this, with the surprise and delight of whole 3D scenes being revealed as a page is turned. Moveable books, the wider category that they come under, originated as solutions to explain and demonstrate scientific concepts, as proxies for the three-dimensional models used in astronomy and anatomy. They’d include moveable parts, from sections that could be lifted to reveal the layer underneath to rotating charts. Today these designs are mostly reserved for children’s picture books, but they retain the potential for conveying complex, layered ideas.
Even simpler structures can create a little mystery and invite discovery. This is why I love concertina books. A very simple method of making portable pages out of sheets of paper, they create endless possibilities in telling stories.
You can flick through them page by page like any ordinary book, then flip them round and start again from the other side: perfect to tell two stories, or one tale from two perspectives, in words or photos. You could use a concertina in this way to show the same event documented in colour on one side and black and white on the other, or separate out formal shots and peeks behind the scenes.
By unfolding the pages you get more options still: a panorama made up of individual shots or a continuous drawing across panes, or perhaps unexpected juxtapositions adding food for thought or a touch of humour. Text can run across the pages too, creating poetic effects.
A concertina can also be used vertically, on one side or both, with yet more options and freedom to create a visual story.
The point is that these books invite creativity, in both the writer or storyteller and the reader. They make reading more physical and interactive, discovering not just the contents but also how to read them, and in the process bringing their own interpretation, uncovering new connections, and adding a layer to the original story.
My escape maps also play with the revealing element of folds. A simple A3 sheet smoothly opens and closes, like the simplest of movable books, making its contents feel like treasure.
Folding paper can take other forms too of course, from a paper aeroplane concealing a note to a salt cellar telling fortunes or, simply, a folded letter, perhaps sealed with wax. Before the advent of envelopes, folding and securing letters to keep contents confidential, known as letterlocking, was an art of its own, and some have retained their secrets until being finally revealed with the help of technology.
If you feel inspired, grab a piece of paper, and get writing and folding, maybe having a go at letterlocking or pop-up book techniques. Or you could try one of my concertina albums, lost & found albums or escape maps, to make a photo album, tell or draw a story, or fold your secrets away.
Further reading:
A brief history of pop-up books on Domestika
When pop-up books taught popular science in The Atlantic
Pop-up and moveable books, including tutorials, from the British Library
