Once Upon a Rabbit Mahi Matua: Kiriata Poto Whakaahua by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award Parahi in Hoahoa Kiriata, Ataata me te Whakaihiihi Competition Category.
ParahiKiriata· 2026
Once Upon a Rabbit Mahi Matua: Kiriata Poto Whakaahua
by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun
A' Design Award Parahi Winner in Kiriata Category
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The Design
About Once Upon a Rabbit Mahi Matua: Kiriata Poto Whakaahua
Kuputuhi Pukapuka: Ko Once Upon a Rabbit he kaupapa hoahoa whakaahua i whakaawehia e ngā āhuatanga ahurea o te Hui Rama, me ngā maharatanga ā-tirohanga o te wā tamariki. Ka whakatū te mahi i tētahi reo ā-tirohanga ngohengohe, whakaputa whakaaro, mā te whakakotahitanga o te āhua ā-ahu me te tairongo tuhi-ā-ringa, e hanga ana i ngā whakaahua e rite ana ki te mea kua tāraia me te takarohanga. Ka whakamahia ngā tauira e hoki mai ana pēnā i te rāpeti me te Tangyuan, ngā pōro raihi, hei punga ā-tirohanga, i te wā ka whakanuia e te nekehanga, te tāwariwari, me te titonga te hau me te haere tonu, ka puta he wheako hoahoa kotahi e pakiaka ana ki te mahana, te tauwehe, me te tairongo ahurea.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award Parahi
Ko Once Upon a Rabbit Mahi Matua: Kiriata Poto Whakaahua te toa o te A' Design Award Parahi, he whakaaetanga tino whai mana e hoatu ana ki ngā hoahoa kōeke e tohua ana mā te auaha, te mahi mōhio me te whakaaro hōhonu. Ko ngā toa Parahi he mahi pukenga e rite ana, he auaha mīharo, e whakatūturu ana i te wheako nui, te whakaaro me te mōhio-ā-ringa o ā rātou kaihoahoa. E tūmanakohia ana ko Once Upon a Rabbit Mahi Matua: Kiriata Poto Whakaahua he taonga whakanuia, whakamīharotia, aroha nui, he ngaio, he auaha hoki. Ko tēnei hoahoa i toa i te Parahi e whakauru ana i ngā tikanga pai rawa i te toi, te pūtaiao, te hoahoa me te hangarau, ā, he tino mīharo ki ngā taipitopito. Ka whakatutuki a Once Upon a Rabbit Mahi Matua: Kiriata Poto Whakaahua i ngā hiahia, ka pā ki ngā hiahia, ka whakaoho i ngā kare-ā-roto, ā, ka kume i te pākiki.
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]
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