Once Upon a Rabbit Ọrụ Bụ Isi: Ihe Nkiri Nkịtị Emere Ka Ọ Na-emegharị by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Once Upon a Rabbit Ọrụ Bụ Isi: Ihe Nkiri Nkịtị Emere Ka Ọ Na-emegharị by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz in Nhazi Ihe Nkiri, Vidio na Eserese Na-agagharị Competition Category.

BronzIhe Nkiri· 2026

Once Upon a Rabbit Ọrụ Bụ Isi: Ihe Nkiri Nkịtị Emere Ka Ọ Na-emegharị

by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz Winner in Ihe Nkiri Category

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The Design

About Once Upon a Rabbit Ọrụ Bụ Isi: Ihe Nkiri Nkịtị Emere Ka Ọ Na-emegharị

Ederede Akwụkwọ: Once Upon a Rabbit bụ ọrụ imewe nkiri emere ka ọ na-emegharị nke sitere n'aka nkọwa omenala nke Ememme Oriọna na ncheta ọhụụ nke nwata. Ọrụ a na-eguzobe asụsụ ọhụụ dị nro ma na-egosipụta echiche site na ngwakọta nke ụdị nwere akụkụ na echiche eserese aka, na-emepụta ihe onyonyo nke na-adị ma nhazi ma na-atọ ụtọ egwuregwu. A na-eji ihe ngosi na-emegharị dịka oke bekee na Tangyuan, mkpụrụ osikapa, dịka ihe njide ọhụụ, ebe mmegharị, rhythm, na nhazi na-emesi ikuku na ịga n'ihu ike, na-arụpụta ahụmịhe imewe jikọtara ọnụ nke sitere na ọkụ, mmara, na mmetụta omenala.

The Recognition

About the Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz

Once Upon a Rabbit Ọrụ Bụ Isi: Ihe Nkiri Nkịtị Emere Ka Ọ Na-emegharị meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz, nnabata dị oke ugwu e nyere design ndị pụtara ìhè nke a ma ama maka nzụlite ihe, ọgụgụ isi na nghọta. Ndị meriri na Bronz bụ ihe e mere nke ndị nwere nka nke ukwuu ma dị mma n'imepụta nke na-egosi ahụmahụ buru ibu, echiche na ọgụgụ isi nke ndị designer ha. A na-atụ anya na Once Upon a Rabbit Ọrụ Bụ Isi: Ihe Nkiri Nkịtị Emere Ka Ọ Na-emegharị ga-abụ ihe a na-asọpụrụ nke ukwuu, a na-eto na a hụrụ n'anya, nke dị oke ọrụ ma dị ọhụrụ. Design a meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz na-agụnye ụzọ kacha mma n'ime nka, sayensị, design na teknụzụ, ma dị mma nke ukwuu maka nlebara anya ya n'obere ihe. Once Upon a Rabbit Ọrụ Bụ Isi: Ihe Nkiri Nkịtị Emere Ka Ọ Na-emegharị na-emezu mkpa nke ọma, na-emetụ ọchịchọ aka, na-adọrọ mmetụta obi ma na-adọta ọchịchọ ịmara.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Once Upon a Rabbit is an animated short inspired by childhood memories and subtle cultural details of the Lantern Festival. Guided by the recurring presence of the rabbit and tangyuan (rice balls), the film unfolds as a sequence of connected moments that gradually lead toward a shared table. The piece emphasizes emotional flow and visual association over explicit storytelling, capturing the lively warmth of the Lantern Festival.
Dimensions & Packaging: 16x9 video file
Tags: Animation, Motion Design, Illustration, Culture, Year of Rabbit
Production Technology: The project was produced using a hybrid 3D and 2D animation workflow. Core scenes and motion were created in Cinema 4D, with a focus on modeling and animation. The renders were then composited in Adobe After Effects, where textures, graphic details, and subtle motion accents were added to achieve a cohesive, handcrafted visual quality.
Design Challenge: A key creative challenge was achieving a sense of warmth and human touch within a digitally constructed visual environment. The project sought to avoid a rigid or overly polished appearance by introducing texture, softness, and brush-like qualities into form and motion. Balancing control and imperfection required careful visual restraint, ensuring the imagery remained expressive and inviting while maintaining coherence and clarity throughout the animation.
Research: This project is based on exploratory design research focused on visual expression and cultural memory. The objective was to understand how abstract form, color, and motion could evoke familiarity associated with the Lantern Festival without relying on literal depiction. The research was conducted through visual experimentation, reference studies, and iterative sketching using digital tools. Observations were drawn from personal memory, cultural imagery, and repeated motion tests. The results informed a visual language that balances simplicity and expressiveness, demonstrating how motion design can translate shared cultural atmosphere into an accessible and emotionally resonant visual experience.
Inspiration: Once Upon a Rabbit was inspired by childhood memories and subtle cultural details of the Lantern Festival. The project explores the use of 3D techniques rendered with a 2D sensibility, creating a vivid yet dreamlike visual language reminiscent of childhood doodles. By prioritizing mood, memory, and shared cultural experience over literal representation, the work aims to evoke a sense of warmth and nostalgia through motion.
Project Duration: The project was developed and completed in 2023 as an independent animation project, produced remotely.
Operation Flow: Motion unfolds through a sequence of gentle transformations, where shapes, colors, and motifs transition fluidly between scenes. Visual elements expand, contract, and reorganize to guide attention and create continuity, allowing the design to feel cohesive while maintaining a sense of lightness and rhythm throughout the experience.
Team Members: Jesseter Wang,
Hannah Sun
Image Credits: Direction / Design / Animation: [Jesseter Wang & Hannah Sun]
Music / Sound: [Davis Aguirre]