Voice Print Bók by Isabelle Tan is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award í járni in Hönnun prentaðra og útgefinna miðla Competition Category.

JárnPrentun· 2026

Voice Print Bók

by Isabelle Tan

Client: Isabelle Tan

A' Design Award í járni Winner in Prentun Category

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Colors

The Design

About Voice Print Bók

Voice Print er bók um óflæði í tali, þær truflanir og óreglur sem eiga sér stað þegar fólk talar. Bókin notar leturfræðilegar nótnaskriftir, sjónræn mynstur sem kortleggja tal yfir tíma, til að sýna að flæði er á rófi frekar en einföld skipting í tvö ástönd. Nótnaskriftirnar eru prentaðar á hálfgagnsæjan pappír þar sem prentið skín sterkt í gegn. Ritgerðir, settar með hvítu letri á svörtum grunni, á gljáandi og ógagnsæjan pappír, veita samhengi og leiðbeina lesandanum. Bókin er 9 sinnum 12 tommur að stærð, sama stærð og nótnablöð.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award í járni

Voice Print Bók vann A' Design Award í járni, virta viðurkenningu sem veitt er góðum hönnunarverkum sem uppfylla þær faglegu og iðnaðarlegu kröfur sem gerðar eru til vel hannaðra sköpunarverka. Sigurvegarar í járni sýna mikla færni, mikla sérhæfingu, sérfræðiskilning og skapandi getu höfunda sinna. Þess er vænst að Voice Print Bók sé mjög metið, dáð og elskað sköpunarverk sem er hagnýtt og nýstárlegt. Þetta hönnunarverk sem vann A' Design Award í járni sameinar bestu starfsvenjur greinarinnar og hefur hæfa tæknilega eiginleika tengda þekkingu og hæfileikum. Voice Print Bók er virt fyrir nákvæmni sína og er hannað til að veita lífsgæðabætur sem hjálpa til við að gera heiminn að betri stað.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Voice Print is a book about disfluencies and the way we speak. It attempts to show the hidden complexities of fluent speech through typographic scores, showing that fluency exists on a spectrum rather than a simple binary. Alongside the scores are essays that provide context and guide the reader through the book. These essay spreads are white on black, and printed on glossy, opaque paper stock. It's design is intentionally rigid and mechanical, but still mimicking the fluidity of the scores.
Dimensions & Packaging: Width 228.6mm x Depth 304.8mm x Height 15mm
Tags: typography, book design, experimental typography, graphic notation, editorial design
Production Technology: The book is 9x12 inches, same size as sheet music. Scores are printed on translucent paper with significant show-through, representing the fluidity of human speech. Essays are white on black and printed on glossy, opaque paper, to contrast the scores.
Design Challenge: The hardest part was translating something as fluid and emotional as speech into a strict visual system. Finding the right balance between structure and freedom required constant testing. Socially, it confronted cultural biases surrounding stuttering; technically, it involved designing a typographic method capable of capturing temporal and tonal variations. This process expanded the role of design as a tool for empathy and linguistic awareness.
Research: This design research explores speech fluency through visual notation. The goal was to reveal the structure behind imperfect speech. Using recorded interviews, speech was transcribed into typographic scores that map sound over time. Participants included people with varying speech patterns. The results show visual and rhythmic similarities between stuttering and melisma, reframing disfluency as expression, not error, impacting how we perceive voice and identity.
Inspiration: What is fluency? Is it the lack of stutters? Does it signify perfection? How do we show the hidden complexity behind fluent speech? When we mention fluency, thoughts of speaking smoothly often come to mind. Disfluencies have been viewed as undesirable due to cultural perceptions. What if our pauses and irregular flow of speech arent seen as undesirable?
Project Duration: This project started in January 2023 NYC, and completed in July 2025 NYC.
Operation Flow: Voice Print turns speech into visual scores. Each page transcribes how we talk, pauses, hesitations, and rhythm, into patterns on a grid, inspired by the musical score. By following a few design rules, speech becomes something you can see. It helps us recognize that stuttering and melismatic singing share structure, showing that our disfluencies are not flaws but part of how we express ourselves.
Team Members: Isabelle Tan