After a Bird Fell Down Prentenboek by Shu Wei Chang

After a Bird Fell Down Prentenboek by Shu Wei Chang is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award in Brons in Drukwerk en Gepubliceerde Media Ontwerp Competition Category.

BronsDrukwerk· 2022

After a Bird Fell Down Prentenboek

by Shu Wei Chang

Client: Shu-Wei Chang

A' Design Award in Brons Winner in Drukwerk 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 Prentenboek

Boektekst: After a Bird Fell Down is een prentenboek dat de structuur van een gatenboek en een pop-upboek combineert. Het boek meet 105 bij 150 millimeter en is ongeveer 27 millimeter dik, bijna zo groot als een kleine vogel. Naarmate de pagina's worden omgeslagen, wordt het gat groter en groeit de scheut hoger, terwijl het boek zelf dunner wordt. De omslag is wit, heeft een zandachtige textuur en bevat een transparante sticker bedrukt met een groene veer binnen een verdiepte reliëfuitsparing. Het ontwerp toont dat de tijd die verstrijkt zowel verlies als nieuwe groei met zich meebrengt.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award in Brons

After a Bird Fell Down Prentenboek is winnaar van de A' Design Award in Brons, een hoogst prestigieuze erkenning die wordt toegekend aan uitstekende ontwerpen die zich onderscheiden door creativiteit, vindingrijkheid en scherpzinnigheid. Winnaars in Brons zijn ruimschoots vaardige en opvallend creatieve artefacten die de grote ervaring, verbeelding en het vernuft van hun ontwerpers bevestigen. After a Bird Fell Down Prentenboek wordt verwacht een hooggewaardeerd, bewonderd en gekoesterd object te zijn dat opmerkelijk professioneel en innovatief is. Dit ontwerp dat de A' Design Award in Brons heeft gewonnen, verwerkt de beste praktijken in kunst, wetenschap, ontwerp en technologie en is uitstekend door zijn aandacht voor detail. After a Bird Fell Down Prentenboek bevredigt schitterend behoeften, raakt verlangens, charmeert gevoelens en spreekt de nieuwsgierigheid aan.

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.