Examination of character designs in children's silent books according to design principles

Silent books; These are the books in which the story is told only with illustrations, not written text, and the story is shaped according to the reader's interpretation. The most basic feature of these books is that they are visual. Considering that the visual language of the paintings has a universal power and potential that cannot be seen in any way by the written language, it can reach people of all cultures, whatever language they speak. Simple, long stories and complex stories are told in silent books, pushing the boundaries of expressive and creative expression. The story within the book; It is formed by the visual description of the characters and the places they contain. For the generalities of this expression, principles such as line, color, texture, form, size and direction, which constitute the basic design, are used. Thus, visual communication is included in the story. In this type of book, the reader can interpret the story contained in the picture with his own experiences or put forward his own assumptions inspired by the pictures. Silent book stories initiate an open process where the imagination of the reader is left and the development of creative thinking. The child's making sense of the world he sees starts with finding the way in the visual expression he has acquired in this process. Especially preschool children can gain various abilities from interacting with picture books to learn their pictures beforehand. The child can produce different solutions to the problems encountered in his daily life with his abilities. The message of the story describing the silent book is given through the usage characters. At this point, character designs turn into a process that includes more than one stage that needs to be planned in detail. Artists who create works for children have the right to have thoughtful principles and goals. These children need to benefit from their children and be shaped according to what they want to see. Visually in line with the target audience, character design within the scope of design principles involves the reader in the story and aims to interact with the story by keeping his attention alive. In books where the target audience is children, the essence of the story and the character design turn into a sensitive process that needs special attention by its content. This thesis work; The book review for the development of Europe includes the literature-based principles and the analysis of the character designs in the selected 7 silent children's books according to the design principles.