Frank and the Frog Liber Pictus by Bence Meszaros

Frank and the Frog Liber Pictus by Bence Meszaros is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Praemium A' Design Award Argenteum in Graphica Competition Category.

ArgentumGraphica· 2022

Frank and the Frog Liber Pictus

by Bence Meszaros

Client: Bence Mészáros

Praemium A' Design Award Argenteum Winner in Graphica Category

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Colors

The Design

About Frank and the Frog Liber Pictus

Franciscus et Rana est liber pictus puerilis de amissione et memoria. Fabula sequitur Franciscum, puerum parvum qui quodam die expergiscitur neque aviam suam invenire potest. Franciscus domo egreditur ut eam quaerat et ranae occurrit quae amicus adiutorque eius fit. In fine itineris, Franciscus videt aviam suam in loco tuto et tranquillo esse, eique vale dicit. Liber duodecim paginas pictas habet quae a sinistra ad dextram fluunt, et paginae adversae per contrarium coniunguntur. Lineamenta manu facta et texturae digitaliter componuntur et colorantur.

The Recognition

About the Praemium A' Design Award Argenteum

Frank and the Frog Liber Pictus victor est Praemii A' Design Award Argenteum, honoris eximie amplissimi formis summi generis, pulchris et conspicuis dati. Victores Argenti opera valde splendida et creandi ingenio praedita sunt, quae praestantem peritiam, talentum et acumen auctorum suorum ostendunt. Exspectatur Frank and the Frog Liber Pictus opus mirabile, exemplare, valde professionale et penitus novum fore. Haec forma Argento victa inventum notabile et admiratum est, quod ad fines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae promovendos confert. Frank and the Frog Liber Pictus creatio est, quam multi invident, quae cupiditates excitat, sensus bonos affert et admirationem miraculumque movet.

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