After a Bird Fell Down 絵本 by Shu Wei Chang

After a Bird Fell Down 絵本 by Shu Wei Chang is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award 銅賞 in 印刷・出版メディアデザイン Competition Category.

銅印刷· 2022

After a Bird Fell Down 絵本

by Shu Wei Chang

Client: Shu-Wei Chang

A' Design Award 銅賞 Winner in 印刷 Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #130690

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

Colors

The Design

About After a Bird Fell Down 絵本

『After a Bird Fell Down（鳥が落ちたあとに）』は、穴あき絵本とポップアップ絵本の構造を組み合わせた絵本です。判型は105×150ミリメートル、厚さは約27ミリメートルで、小鳥の大きさに近い寸法となっています。ページをめくるにつれて穴は次第に大きくなり、芽はより高く伸びていく一方で、本そのものは薄くなっていきます。表紙は白色で砂のような質感を持ち、空押しによるくぼみの中に、緑の羽根を印刷した透明のステッカーが収められています。このデザインは、時の流れが喪失と新たな成長の双方をもたらすことを表現しています。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銅賞

After a Bird Fell Down 絵本は、創造性、独創性、鋭い洞察力で際立つ傑出したデザインに授与される、高い権威をもつ評価である A' Design Award 銅賞の受賞作品です。銅賞の受賞作品は、十分に巧みで印象的なほど創造的な工芸品であり、デザイナーの豊富な経験、想像力、機知を裏づけています。After a Bird Fell Down 絵本は、高く評価され、称賛され、愛される品であり、顕著にプロフェッショナルで革新的であることが期待されます。この A' Design Award 銅賞を受賞したデザインは、芸術・科学・デザイン・技術のベストプラクティスを取り入れており、細部への配慮に優れています。After a Bird Fell Down 絵本は、ニーズを見事に満たし、欲求に触れ、感情を魅了し、好奇心を引きつけます。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: By combining the structure of hole books and pop-up books, this picture book adopts "volume of book pages" into its narrative. While reading, readers would find out the hole bigger and the sprout taller page by page. With A6 size and thickness which is almost three centimeters, the book size is as big as the dead body of a bird. While readers turn each page and make the book thinner, they can feel that the body of a bird gradually disappears at the same time.
Dimensions & Packaging: 105mm x 27mm x 150mm, 15pages, back taping, debossing and a transparent sticker on cover
Tags: graphic design, editorial, book design, picture book, hole book, pop-up book, artist's book
Production Technology: In terms of color, the whole book is purely white as possible. Wish such kind of emptiness could make readers relate to "time," something we cannot see but can feel. Besides, there is no words shown on book cover. Instead there is a debossed rectangular pit where a transparent sticker printed with a green feather is at. It looks like a photo frame sealing a feather, which symbolizes that this book seals the death of the bird in this story.

Second, paper with sand-like texture is chosen for the cover. Hope readers can feel like touching the ground; that is, where this story happens.

Third, the copyright page is decorated with blue sky and is the very beginning of this story as well. So, when readers open this book, they would not only read the sentence, "A bird fell down onto the ground," they can dive into this story from the bird's-eye view from the sky.
Design Challenge: The most difficult part is how to actualize the binding. Before the final version, the design was revised three or four times. At the beginning, this book was envisioned to be the board book for babies. With the binding method which thick cardboard was pasted in pairs, it was planned that there would be a hole within this book. Yet, it would be almost impossible to make holes on each page aligned. In addition, if
chosen paper is thicker than 1 mm, it couldn't be printed or even bound. After long discussions and several revisions, 0.5mm cardboards with spine taping is chosen. Such binding needs more glue than ordinary books to bind pages firmly. It jams pages as well. So, after the printer made several experiments to find out the most suitable way for flipping through, it became the book you see now.
Inspiration: It's a story about seeds germinating after a bird died and fell down onto the ground, and the end but also the beginning of life. Via increase and decrease of its volume, this book want to bring out the plot and core concept: "there are two sides to life.", and make readers realize that time passing are not simply about reduction and death. Increase and birth are also what time passing brings.