Day Code Chinese Almanac by Wan Fen Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Competition Category.
IronGraphic· 2022
Day Code Chinese Almanac
by Wan Fen Chen
Client: Maruko Design Studio
A' Design Award Winner in Graphic Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #135425The Design
About Day Code Chinese Almanac
In Taiwan, calendars is in addition to telling the date, they could tell the fortune hours and which zodiac animals signs should be careful during that day, according to the calendar. It includes things that could be achieved smoothly today and which ones people should put aside for some other time. When look at the calendar, Wan Fen Chen always think: what if Wan Fen Chen transposed the information on the calendar from printed words to icons? The page would look marvelous and unique after transposition and rearrangement. Therefore, the Day Code - Chinese Almanac came into being.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award
Day Code Chinese Almanac is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Day Code Chinese Almanac is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Day Code Chinese Almanac is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
On the calendar in Taiwan, in addition to providing information regarding the records of ancestors’ wisdom – lunar calendar. It also tells people to welcome good fortune and avoid bad omens every day. Nevertheless, the information is provided in verbal form. "Let's turn over decades of calendars, make some changes, and try to convert words into patterns!" The idea came naturally.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
The transformed image can clearly convey the meaning it represents.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
Introducing this calendar to more other countries and let more people know about Taiwan's culture.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- On the calendar in Taiwan, in addition to providing information regarding the records of ancestors’ wisdom – lunar calendar. It also tells people to welcome good fortune and avoid bad omens every day. Nevertheless, the information is provided in verbal form. Day Code - Chinese Almanac presents signs transposed from words. It also filtered and deleted some suggestions for incompatibility in the regular lunar calendar and selected reminders suitable for modern people: marriage, business contract, opening a business, moving, etc. to remind them which items are suitable or unsuitable to be done today.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- w100 mm x d36 mm x h143 mm
- Tags
- Lunar calendar, calendar, graphic design, vintage, tiles with floral patterns
- Production Technology
- Risograph and Perfect Binding
- Design Challenge
- In the digital era and the modern times, few people use printed calendars. It may promote people’s intentions of using printed calendars by adding interesting and functions, such as: enlarging the note section, adding specially designed stickers for reminders, etc. to transform a regular calendar into a diary.
- Research
- Transpose words into simple and comprehensive graphics Using risograph technology, random derangement, uneven coloring, imperfect and unexpectable printing features adds a vintage feel. Traditional Taiwanese tiles with floral patterns and iron windows are used on the design to add Taiwanese style to the design. Now, the lunar calendar is commonly used by the Taiwanese in daily life. Therefore, in addition to dates of the solar calendar, the lunar calendar, corresponding to the wax and wane of the moon, are displayed completed.
- Inspiration
- Is today suitable for moving? In the 1960s to 1980s, on the walls of every family in Taiwan, calendars presented by xx companies or oo stores were hanging there. People tore off one page early in the morning to celebrate the coming of a new day. In addition to telling you the date, you could tell the fortune hours and which zodiac animals signs should be careful during that day, according to the calendar. It includes things that could be achieved smoothly today and which ones I should put aside for some other time. On this little piece of paper, many codes of daily life were hidden there.
- Project Duration
- The project started in January 2022 and finished in December 2022 in Taiwan
- Operation Flow
- No punch holes on the calendar. Pages are intact. The calendar is placed on a special rack to present a simple setting. On the note column and blanks, reminders of today can be written there. Using the corresponding reminder stickers, users can record things to do, time arrangement, thoughts, wish lists, etc. transforming a calendar into a diary.
- Image Credits
- Creator & Visuals: Wan Fen, Chen
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