Frank and the Frog Puke Kiʻi by Bence Meszaros

Frank and the Frog Puke Kiʻi by Bence Meszaros is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award Kala in Hoʻolālā Kiʻi, Kiʻi Paʻi a me Kamaʻilio ʻIke Competition Category.

KalaKiʻi· 2022

Frank and the Frog Puke Kiʻi

by Bence Meszaros

Client: Bence Mészáros

A' Design Award Kala Winner in Kiʻi Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Frank and the Frog Puke Kiʻi

ʻO Frank a me ka Rana he puke kiʻi keiki e pili ana i ka nalowale a me ka hoʻomanaʻo. Ke hahai nei ka moʻolelo iā Frank, he keiki ʻōpio i ala aʻe i kekahi lā ʻaʻole hiki iā ia ke loaʻa i kona kupuna wahine. Haʻalele ʻo Frank i ka home e ʻimi iā ia a hālāwai ʻo ia me kekahi rana i lilo i hoaaloha a kōkua nona. I ka pau ʻana o ka huakaʻi, ʻike ʻo Frank aia kona kupuna wahine ma kahi palekana a maluhia, a uē aloha ʻo ia. He ʻumikumamālua ʻaoʻao kiʻi ko ka puke e kahe ana mai ka hema a i ka ʻākau, a ua hoʻopili ʻia nā ʻaoʻao kūʻē ma ke ʻano hoʻohālikelike. Ua haku ʻia a hoʻokala ʻia nā laina lima a me nā ʻano ʻili ma ke ala kikohoʻe.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Kala

Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā Frank and the Frog Puke Kiʻi i ka A' Design Award Kala, he ʻike hoʻohanohano nui loa i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā kiʻekiʻe loa, nani a kupaianaha. He mau hana ʻālohilohi loa a hana noʻeau nui nā lanakila Kala e hōʻike ana i ka loea, ka makakoho a me ka ʻoi aku o ka noʻonoʻo o kā lākou poʻe hoʻolālā. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo ka hoʻolālā Frank and the Frog Puke Kiʻi he hana kupaianaha, kūlana ʻoi aku, ʻoihana kiʻekiʻe a hou loa. ʻO kēia hoʻolālā i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Kala he mea hoʻokumu kūpono loa, mahalo ʻia e hāʻawi i ka pōmaikaʻi a hoʻoneʻe i nā palena o ka hana noʻeau, ka ʻepekema, ka hoʻolālā a me ka ʻenehana. He mea i ʻeleu ʻia e nā mea he nui ka hoʻolālā Frank and the Frog Puke Kiʻi e hoʻāla i ka makemake, lawe mai i nā manaʻo maikaʻi a hoʻāla i ka kamahaʻo a me ka mahalo.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Frank and the Frog is designed to give an escape world to anybody who needs to find peace after losing a beloved one. The book tells the story of a little kid called Frank, who wakes up one day and can't find his Granny. Frank decides to leave his home to find Granny and bring her home. During his journey, he meets a frog, who becomes his friend and helps him through the adventures. In the end, Frank sees Granny is in a safe and peaceful place; he decides to say goodbye and let her go.
Dimensions & Packaging: Width 300 mm x Depth 15 mm x Height 300 mm
Tags: illustration, picturebook, children, book, bookdesign, childrenbook
Production Technology: Mixed media. Manual linework and textures, digitally composed and colourized.
Design Challenge: The hardest part was, of course, how to bring the topic of death into the picture book in a kid-friendly way. Another thing I had to consider during the development phase was that even though I always spend a lot of time thinking about death, I never had an intimate experience with it. So I wanted to be respectful with this topic.
Research: RESEARCH ABSTRACT**:
A big part of my research was to find the right mentor for Frank.
I was looking into different mythology characters, symbols, characters from my life, etc. When I find frogs, I immediately fall in love with the idea. I think they are visually exciting; frogs are travellers, and they can travel through lands, through the water. In the shaman culture, frogs as totem animals have the power of transformation and travelling between the human world and the spirit realm.
Inspiration: My main goal with this picture book was to tell a story and tackle a topic that is not that common in children's literature. A topic that was hard to understand when I was a kid and had me confused for a long time. The subject of death.
I am lucky to have all four of my grandparents alive and know them, but this is a rare phenomenon in my environment. Many people lose their grandparents during their childhood. The base idea comes from my childhood: I was always (and still am) scared of what would happen when my grandparent won't be here anymore.
Project Duration: The project started in June 2021 in Helsinki.
Operation Flow: This picturebook has 12 fully illustrated pages. All the pages have a left-to-right flow, leading the eyes of the reader to the next page. The spreadsheets next to each other are designed to pair up based on different contrasts: e.g., on one page, when the composition is complex, then on the next page, the layout is minimal, or when Franks is high up in the sky, on the next page he goes deep under the ocean.
Patents: Copyright 2022 by Bence Mészáros
Written by Barnabás Csukás, based on an original story by Bence Mészáros
Team Members: Designer, Illustrator: Bence Mészáros
Writer: Barnabás Csukás
Image Credits: Creator Bence Mészáros, Frank and the Frog