User:Chtanz/sandbox

The word 'heirbook' was first introduced into mainstream usage by Catch Stories, a photo-book designer and creator based in the United Kingdom, in early 2013. An heirbook was effectively a unique type of family photo-book, one which was created with the intention of being handed down as a family history book and heirloom, and which therefore contained more text commentary to supplement the photographs. This was to provide the future recipients of the heirbooks with as much detailed information as possible regarding the life, milestones and significant events of the family members. Whereas a family photo-book was often no more than a photo album in the format of a book, heirbooks set a higher barrier in that they are documentary in nature and try to capture many important details of the life of the family, typically via annual publications.

Definition
Catch Stories first defined an heirbook as "a book, typically one of a series of books, in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content, that has belonged to or is intended to belong to a family for many generations, detailing the life, history, significant events or interests of a person or a family."

Inspiration
The founders of Catch Stories created the concept of 'heirbooks' shortly after having their first child. Becoming new parents themselves, they believed that traditional photo albums were not effective enough in capturing a family's memories and stories. With advancements in technology - particularly in digital cameras and smartphones - virtually everyone now had a camera at their disposal at any instant. In addition, smartphones could also performed the function of an electronic notepad or journal. At the same time, photo-book publishing had become ubiquitous which allowed not just for the printing of photographs in a book but also the insertion of text commentary.

Catch Stories realised that the technology was now available, but the population at large had not understood the importance of evolving photo-albums into heirbooks.

Documentary
The documentary nature of the heirbook permits the telling of the story of the person or family in a manner that far exceeds that of the traditional family photo album. The authors of the heirbook use the full resource of photographs and words to convey more than the photographs alone. Personalities and emotions evolve and change over time, and it is often the most recent memories or select stages that are remembered. The regular documentation of a family's life and key events allows the evolution of these to be captured, and it is hoped that this also permits families to identify the events that have led to the development of key interests, skills and personality traits.

Bridge generation gap
The generation gap is one social challenge that the founders of Catch Stories hope to bridge, at least in part, through the use of heirbooks. They believe that the heirbook of the child will assist him or her in understanding the love and depth of concern that parents have for their child. The heirbook will also serve to remind the parent of their own childhood and the relationship with their own parents.

Child development
The founders of Catch Stories believe that parents who create heirbooks for their children will help to cultivate in them a deeper sense of home and belonging, and thus develop a stronger sense of self-worth and self-identity. Heirbooks serve to remind children of events in their formative years which would ordinarily be forgotten and tell children of the story of their parents (and grandparents). This family history creates a valuable connection for the child with the immediate family and prior generations. The practice of keeping heirbooks instills in children a sense of history from a very early age, providing a context for their place in the world and helping to cultivate an interest in history and global events.

Reflection is another important aspect of child development that is thought to be key to kids learning something long-lasting from their experiences - reflection occurs when children talk and think about their experiences. The growth of digital photography has led to far more photos being taken than in the past, however most families do not have a good system of organization to actually utilize the photographs effectively or indeed to turn them into photo albums or photo-books. An heirbook, Catch Stories believes, will allow children to review and discuss past experiences far more readily - and indeed gain more and more from them as they mature and find themselves understanding more about the various aspects of their childhood life.

Evolution
It is believed that the quality of heirbooks will continue to improve over time, as the art of 'heirbooking' takes off. This is because the population still has to be educated to document events effectively, as well as learn to write in an effective manner for inclusion in heirbooks. Early heirbooks will be no more than photo-books with photo annotations with the odd page of text. Sophisticated heirbooks will be far more informative and will see a greater balance between photography and text commentary, with the inclusion of different perspectives from guest writers and the documentation of the family's history in the context of global events or events of particular interest or significance to the family.

Photographs
As heirbooks are intended to be family heirlooms, the best heirbooks are produced with images that have been professionally edited to compensate for poor photographic quality. Digital photographs are generally corrected for poor colour and exposure, and cropped to improve the artistic composition and enhance the visual appeal. More advanced editing techniques are also employed where necessary. Old print photographs can be digitally restored.

Text commentary

 * photo annotation
 * letters (from parent, grandparents or other)
 * annual/quarterly commentary
 * significant events
 * milestones
 * achievements
 * quotes
 * world events of interest
 * school report cards
 * essays
 * personal beliefs, tastes, likes and dislikes

Scanned works

 * copies of documentation, certificates, artwork etc
 * press clippings
 * memorabilia such as ticket stubs, receipts, greeting cards