Infocastle Thesis Book by Basem El Koury

Infocastle Thesis Book by Basem El Koury is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award in Print and Published Media Design Competition Category.

IronPrint· 2020

Infocastle Thesis Book

by Basem El Koury

Client: FH JOANNEUM Graz

A' Design Award Winner in Print Category

11,270

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #86810

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Colors

The Design

About Infocastle Thesis Book

Infocastle is a master thesis book about the virtual reconstruction of the castle Oberkapfenberg in Austria. The book explains how virtual reality can preserve cultural and natural heritage in digital form. Plans, paintings and photographs were collected to rebuild the castle as it appeared during the Renaissance. The printed book measures 200 by 25 by 200 millimetres and is kept in a wooden slipcase. The wood comes from the forest where the castle was built. A hologram on the cover shows the three-dimensional castle when the book is held to a light source.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award

Infocastle Thesis Book 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. Infocastle Thesis Book 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. Infocastle Thesis Book is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.

Image Analysis

Color Temperature: WarmSymmetry: PartialBackground: Top and Bottom

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The book is a master thesis about the project of a VR 3D simulation of the castle "Oberkapfenberg" (Austria), in its original state during the Renaissance. The thesis was bound with materials, that fit to the concept of the project, to give its portrayal a high standard value. The appearance should be a link between the historical aspect of the castle (wood) and to the technology of VR (hologram).
Dimensions & Packaging: The thesis is a 200 mm x 25 mm x 200 mm printed book with a 206 mm x 36 mm x 211 wooden slipcase.
Tags: VR, book, 3D, simulation, hologramm, wood, diploma, castle, oberkapfenberg
Production Technology: For the VR simulation of the castle, all information (plans, paintings, photographies, etc.) had to collected used for the reconstruction. A user will be able to see and walk in the castle in its original state as it was in the time of the Renaissance. The thesis binding is made from the wood of a tree, that originated from the forest where the castle was built. To make the front cover fitting to the concept of the project, a hologram of the 3D castle was made.
Design Challenge: I had to learn 3D (Blender), the game engine (Unity3d) and the techniques of VR from the first day I started the project. Moreover, I needed to collect all information about the castle Oberkapfenberg to be able to recreated as original as possible. To receive that specific wood and the hologram for the project was nearly impossible.
Research: Historical relics disappear due to natural and human causes. Therefore, Virtual Reality is a suitable solution to render those as real as possible as a digital form. This diploma thesis explains in detail which methods are available, which make it possible to digitally preserve these relics or to rebuild them virtually using documents. The Diploma is accompanied and explained by a 3D simulation, built by the author himself, of the castle Oberkapfenberg at the time of the Renaissance.
Inspiration: The thesis is covering the importance of digital preservation of cultural and natural heritages with the usage of Virtual Reality (VR). Therefore, the thesis was bound in a style that reminds the reader of the look of an old book, with the elements of minimalism and simplicity in the design.
Project Duration: The project started in September 2017 in Graz (Austria) and finished in Mai 2019 in Graz (Austria) and it was for the master's thesis.
Operation Flow: As soon as the reader picks up the book, s/he will notice the fine balance between nature and technology. When the reader hold the wooden book to a light source, s/he will see the rendered version of the castle in the black square, which is the hologram. By the slightest rotation of the book, the reader will see the castle from each perspective.
Image Credits: Basem El Koury, 2019