Once Upon a Rabbit Primary Function: Animert kortfilm by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Once Upon a Rabbit Primary Function: Animert kortfilm by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award i Bronse in Film-, video- og animasjonsdesign Competition Category.

BronseFilm· 2026

Once Upon a Rabbit Primary Function: Animert kortfilm

by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

A' Design Award i Bronse Winner in Film Category

4,452
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #180467

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Once Upon a Rabbit Primary Function: Animert kortfilm

Book Text: Once Upon a Rabbit er et animert designprosjekt inspirert av kulturelle detaljer fra lanternefestivalen og visuelle barndomsminner. Verket etablerer et mykt og uttrykksfullt visuelt språk gjennom en blanding av dimensjonal form og håndtegnet sensibilitet, og skaper bilder som føles både strukturerte og lekne. Gjentakende motiver som kaninen og Tangyuan, risboller, brukes som visuelle ankere, mens bevegelse, rytme og komposisjon fremhever stemning og kontinuitet, noe som resulterer i en helhetlig designopplevelse forankret i varme, fortrolighet og kulturell resonans.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award i Bronse

Once Upon a Rabbit Primary Function: Animert kortfilm er vinner av A' Design Award i Bronse, en høyt prestisjefylt anerkjennelse som tildeles enestående design som utmerker seg ved kreativitet, oppfinnsomhet og skarpsindighet. Bronsevinnere er rikt dyktige og påfallende kreative gjenstander som bekrefter designernes store erfaring, fantasi og ressurssterkhet. Once Upon a Rabbit Primary Function: Animert kortfilm forventes å være en høyt ansett, beundret og verdsatt gjenstand som er bemerkelsesverdig profesjonell og nyskapende. Dette designet, som har vunnet A' Design Award i Bronse, rommer beste praksis innen kunst, vitenskap, design og teknologi og utmerker seg ved sin omtanke for detaljer. Once Upon a Rabbit Primary Function: Animert kortfilm tilfredsstiller behov på en strålende måte, berører ønsker, sjarmerer følelser og vekker nysgjerrighet.

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]