NAOMI PLEASURE-PARK
Publication Design
Cardstock, Cricut foil, Bookbinding materials
This book provides a selection of artifacts—past and present, visual and textual—documenting the marketing and effects of “Snake Oil” products. Ineffective at best and deadly at worst, these supposed cures have a complex history of making their way into our homes and broader cultural landscapes.
I assembled this book with the intention of providing all readers some- thing new to wonder, reflect, learn, or laugh about, regardless of any perceptions coming into the reading experience.
From the original snake oil that claimed to reduce inflammation, to modern-day scams like colloidal silver supposedly aimed at attacking COVID-19 particles, false health advertising has been endemic for all of recorded history, and likely longer.Most of the examples in the book could be boiled down to cut-and-dry cases of snake oil salesmanship. However, the people huckstering these solutions tend to spin a complex web of terminology to feign credibility to their target customers.
I used small, intricate details in my bookbinding and digital design processes that represent the complexities and often patchwork nature of the products themselves.