Girls with Chess 編輯插畫 by Mengyao Guo is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 A' Design Award 鐵獎 in 平面設計 Competition Category.

鐵平面· 2024

Girls with Chess 編輯插畫

by Mengyao Guo

Client: Mengyao Guo

A' Design Award 鐵獎 Winner in 平面 Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #154267

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Girls with Chess 編輯插畫

《棋弈女孩》係一幅為關於性別平等嘅文章同宣傳活動創作嘅編輯插畫作品。畫中描繪兩個女孩下棋嘅情景，其中一個女孩將「王」棋推倒，另一個則在旁觀看。呢個被推倒嘅「王」棋象徵住父權規範嘅瓦解。作品運用咗橙色同藍色兩種對比色彩，藉以探討二元身份，並暗示唔同嘅情境狀態。呢幅插畫以高解像度數碼影像製作而成，方便作品可以喺網上分享，亦可以彈性尺寸印刷。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 鐵獎

Girls with Chess 編輯插畫是 A' Design Award 鐵獎得主，這是授予滿足人們對設計精良的創作所期待的專業與工業要求的優良設計的聲望認可。鐵獎得主展現出其創作者的高超技藝、高度專業化、專家級的理解力和創造能力。預計Girls with Chess 編輯插畫將成為一件備受推崇、令人欽佩且被珍愛的創作，既實用又創新。這件贏得 A' Design Award 鐵獎的設計整合了行業最佳實踐，並擁有與專業知識和才華相結合的稱職技術特性。Girls with Chess 編輯插畫因其嚴謹而受到尊重，旨在提供有助於讓世界變得更美好的生活品質改善。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This illustration is designed to highlight issues related to gender, ideally for an article or social movement campaign. It features two girls engrossed in a game of chess, one of them toppling the King piece, while the other watches. The artwork explores binary identities and the interplay of dual colors, orange and blue, to evoke various situational states.
Dimensions & Packaging: Digital works for any flexible changes.
Tags: Illustration, Gender, Equality, Communication, Visual Symbolism
Production Technology: The illustration was made using Adobe Photoshop, a leading graphic design software. Photoshop's diverse toolset facilitated nuanced color blending, detailed texture creation, and precise element placement. Its layer-based approach allowed for complex composition building. The high-resolution output ensured the illustration's quality was maintained across various digital and print applications.
Design Challenge: The main challenge was to create an illustration that effectively communicates complex themes of gender equality and societal norms. Balancing aesthetics and message clarity while ensuring the artwork was thought-provoking but not overly didactic required careful design decisions. Research into gender issues, color symbolism, and visual metaphors was crucial in addressing this challenge, ultimately leading to an evocative and meaningful illustration.
Research: The illustration was developed after researching gender issues and visual symbolism. The investigation encompassed an understanding of societal norms associated with gender, cultural implications of color, and the power of visual metaphors. This research informed the design, from the symbolic chess game to the gender-associated colors, resulting in a provocative artwork that fosters dialogue on gender equality and societal structures.
Inspiration: This illustration draws inspiration from the ongoing dialogue around gender issues and equality. It uses the metaphor of a chess game, traditionally seen as a strategic and intellectual pursuit, to underscore the abilities and potential of women in challenging societal norms and structures. The act of the girls toppling the King piece represents dismantling patriarchal norms.
Project Duration: The project started and finished in September 2020 in China.
Operation Flow: As a visual piece, this illustration invites viewer interaction through its symbolic elements: the chess scene and the color interplay prompt thoughts on gender roles and equality. As a digital artwork, it's easily shared and displayed across platforms, enhancing accessibility and facilitating discourse on the depicted social issues. The illustration thus catalyzes conversations about gender norms and societal structures.
Image Credits: Image #1: Illustrator Mengyao Guo, Girls with Chess, 2022.
Image #2: Illustrator Mengyao Guo, Girls with Chess, 2022.
Image #3: Illustrator Mengyao Guo, Girls with Chess, 2022.
Image #4: Illustrator Mengyao Guo, Girls with Chess, 2022.
Image #5: Illustrator Mengyao Guo, Girls with Chess, 2022.