Frank and the Frog Prentenboek by Bence Meszaros

Frank and the Frog Prentenboek by Bence Meszaros is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award in Zilver in Grafisch, Illustratie en Visuele Communicatie Ontwerp Competition Category.

ZilverGrafisch· 2022

Frank and the Frog Prentenboek

by Bence Meszaros

Client: Bence Mészáros

A' Design Award in Zilver Winner in Grafisch Category

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Colors

The Design

About Frank and the Frog Prentenboek

Frank en de Kikker is een kinderprentenboek over verlies en herinnering. Het verhaal volgt Frank, een jonge jongen die op een dag wakker wordt en zijn grootmoeder niet kan vinden. Frank verlaat het huis om haar te zoeken en ontmoet een kikker die zijn vriend en helper wordt. Aan het einde van de reis ziet Frank dat zijn grootmoeder zich op een veilige en vredige plek bevindt, en hij neemt afscheid. Het boek telt twaalf geïllustreerde pagina's die van links naar rechts vloeien, en tegenoverliggende pagina's zijn door contrast met elkaar verbonden. Handmatige lijnvoering en texturen zijn digitaal samengesteld en ingekleurd.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award in Zilver

Frank and the Frog Prentenboek is winnaar van de A' Design Award in Zilver, een buitengewoon prestigieuze erkenning die wordt toegekend aan topontwerpen die prachtig en indrukwekkend zijn. Winnaars in Zilver zijn enorm briljante en uiterst creatieve werken die de uitmuntende expertise, het talent en de scherpzinnigheid van hun ontwerpers illustreren. Frank and the Frog Prentenboek wordt verwacht een prachtig paradepaardje te zijn dat opmerkelijk professioneel en diepgaand innovatief is. Dit ontwerp dat de A' Design Award in Zilver heeft gewonnen, is een hoogst opmerkelijke, bewonderde uitvinding die baat en de grenzen van kunst, wetenschap, ontwerp en technologie verlegt. Frank and the Frog Prentenboek is een zeer benijde creatie die verlangens oproept, positieve gevoelens brengt en verbazing en verwondering doet ontvlammen.

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