01 —
A book of stories
A book of stories
told through photographs
Stories Around You is an exhibition catalogue compiling photography submissions received from students across India for a national photography festival hosted by Chitkara Design School.
The book gathers every accepted entry into a single, considered volume — pairing each photograph with the photographer's name, place, and a short note in their own words. Winning entries and series are highlighted alongside the wider exhibition, giving every participant a place in the final publication.
The project sat at the intersection of editing, design, and printing — turning a wide field of entries into a coherent, readable artefact that could stand on a shelf and outlive the exhibition itself.
Role
Editor & Publication Designer
Scope
Compilation · Layout · Print
Contributors
Student photographers, pan‑India
Sections
Singles · Series · Winning Entries
Run
20+ copies printed
Cover · Stories Around You
Front & Back Covers
Edition · Stacked Copies
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Editorial
Editorial
approach
Compiling the Entries
Every submission received for the festival was collected, organised, and prepared for layout — each image tagged with its photographer, location, and accompanying note before any design work began.
Layout & Hierarchy
A quiet serif treatment, generous whitespace, and a black‑and‑white palette let the photographs lead. Winning entries and series open with their own title spreads; singles are paced one to a spread to give each image room to breathe.
Print & Production
The catalogue was designed for perfect‑bound print — paper stock, trim, and spread flow tuned so the book reads as a sequence rather than a list. The final files were prepared for press and short‑run production.
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My contributions
C.01
Compilation & Editorial
Gathered every submission to the festival, sorted entries into singles, series, and winning categories, and paired each photograph with the photographer's name, place, and personal note.
C.02
Cover & Identity
Designed the cover for Stories Around You alongside the inner title page and the SAY 2022–23 identity used to mark the edition throughout the book.
C.03
Layout & Typesetting
Built the full spread system — section openers, single‑image spreads, dual‑image spreads, and series pages with the photographer's name, location, and statement set in serif type.
C.04
Print Production
Prepared the final artwork for print, coordinated the short‑run production, and delivered the finished perfect‑bound copies that went out into the exhibition and the library.
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Final outcome
A physical record of an exhibition that gave every entrant a place on the page.
Stories Around You was printed as a short run of perfect‑bound copies and distributed alongside the exhibition. The catalogue functions both as documentation of the festival and as a keepsake — a tangible thank‑you to every photographer who submitted work, and a permanent record of the winning entries.
The project deepened skills in editorial design, sequencing, and small‑run print production, and remains in active circulation as part of Chitkara University's library.
The project deepened skills in editorial design, sequencing, and small‑run print production, and remains in active circulation as part of Chitkara University's library.
20+ Copies Printed
Perfect‑bound · Short run
Awarded to Winning Entrants
Distributed free to festival winners
Chitkara University Library
Catalogued & archived for circulation
Back to work
Yash Dahiya · 2025