Discussing Time Book by Zona Yuechen Guan is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Bronze A' Design Award in Print and Published Media Design Competition Category.
BronzePrint· 2022
Discussing Time Book
Client: Zona Yuechen Guan
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Print Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #136550The Design
About Discussing Time Book
Discussing Time is a book that records a group discussion about the concept of time and presents typographic sculptures inspired by that discussion. The book measures 7 by 12 inches. One sculpture is made of ice, formed by pouring water into molds and freezing it. As the ice melts into water, the passage of time becomes visible to the audience. The layout refers to illuminated manuscripts and parchment books of the early sixteenth century, combined with modern photography. The result links historic book design with present technology.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Discussing Time Book is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Discussing Time Book is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Discussing Time Book splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Design Interview
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
I want viewers to experience the passage of time when they look at my sculptures through the ice melting. I think that time is more like a concept. It is something we know but can't touch in person. It is precious, and everyone can only pass through the time once. So, I hope people can think about time through my work and bury the seeds of the belief to cherish and live in the moment.
Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
My instructor Olga Mezhibovskaya inspired me a lot. She is an interdisciplinary artist, and the way she teaches students is exceptional. She never limits students' imagination and expression, and she encourages us to experiment with different materials and forms. She leads us to integrate different disciplines. So, I will observe and perceive everything happening around me, think and try to express my ideas with some unique materials.
Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
Physically: Water, Fridge, Silicon, Wood, Paper, Fabric
Digitally: Photoshop, Indesign
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- This project is a group discussion of interdisciplinary type design experience that the designer played different roles: the sculpture's artist, the concept creator, the photographer, the videographer, the facilitator of discussion, the transcriber of the conversation, the editor of the texts recorded, the designer, and the bookbinder. A collective book features a sculpture of time made by the designer based on illuminated manuscript-style book design with a modern twist in its photography.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The book is designed in the size of 7x12 inches.
- Tags
- Typography, Interdisciplinary Design, Time, Sculpture, Book Design, Ice, Type.
- Production Technology
- For the sculpture, I use ice. I make the molds and then pull water inside and then freeze it to get the iced sculpture.
- Design Challenge
- I think the hardest pair part for this project is "time." Since this is a collective book design project, we need to gather everyone to discuss the concept of "time." Everyone has a different understanding of "time," we have to discuss everyone's expressions and ideas. And then design a typographic sculpture based on "time." I need to repeatedly discuss with everyone and complete my own sculpture works in this process. So time is very tight. Doing research, finding the parchment, and analyzing the typography, fonts, design preferences of that era took a lot of time as well.
- Research
- I have researched many books from the 16th century onwards and sources on book printing and design analysis. A team of thirteen people, including the instructor and I, had many discussions on our understanding and views on "time." My sculpture's concept originates from the natural phenomenon of ice melting into the water. The design combines sixteenth-century book design elements with modern technology, making the book design itself embody a concept of "crossing time."
- Inspiration
- When people look at the ice, they cannot see the melting change immediately. It is like they could not feel the movement of time when they were young. When people start to realize the changes, it will be more obvious that the melting speed will be faster. The ice will melt into the water at the end. The ice will finally become water, left on the ground, but the water print will leave on the surface. Although it is the end, it still leaves something behind to the world.
- Project Duration
- This project started in February 2020 in New York and finished in April 2020 in New Yoke, and won the silver award of Graphis New Talent 2021 in New York.
- Operation Flow
- This is a collective book design project for thinking and discussing "time" and sculpture-making with the letter "time." My time sculpture started with the natural phenomenon of ice melting into the water. I want the audience to experience the passage of time. Referring to the parchment design in the early 16th century, I use ancient design elements to combine with modern technology. In the end, I got a collective book of thoughts and discussions on "time" and sculpture works that spanned time.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Yuechen Guan, 2020.
- Image Credits
- Image#1: Photographer Zona Yuechen Guan
Image#2: Photographer Zona Yuechen Guan
Image#4: Photographer Zona Yuechen Guan
Image#5: Photographer Zona Yuechen Guan
Video Credit: Film, photograph, edit by Zona Yuechen Guan/Music by Andigold
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