Reimagining School Guides: The Kinetic Book

Kazune Watanabe's Award-Winning Design for Kuwasawa Design School

Watanabe's design, dubbed the "Kinetic Book," is a far cry from traditional school guides. Using analog methods to recreate digital images, the guidebook appears ordinary at first glance. However, when pulled out, it reveals a surprising animation that works naturally, capturing the viewer's attention. The guidebook is divided into separate volumes, allowing for various ways of engagement and enjoyment.

The Kinetic Book's unique properties lie in its innovative use of analog methods to recreate digital images. The book's case is slit, and the animation is created by the expression of the cover partially visible through the slit. Although the cover appears to be printed only in black, it is not printed in one black color but in a combination of special colors. This combination creates an optical illusion, reproducing the flicker of RGB colors that can be seen when a monitor is magnified.

The design was realized through meticulous attention to detail. The slightest deviation of the color plates creates an optical illusion, reproducing the flicker of RGB colors visible when a monitor is magnified. Under normal conditions, the colors are barely perceptible, but when the slit is passed through, the colors appear as a frame-by-frame feed.

The design's target audience is students interested in studying design. The aim was to reach as many people as possible and pique their interest in design. The design was shared widely on social media, leading to an unprecedented spread for a school guidebook. As a result, the number of requests increased compared to previous years, boosting the school's recognition significantly.

The design project, which started in July 2020 and ended in April 2021, was released in Japan in May 2021. The design team faced several challenges, including the narrow range of expression of slit animation and the difficulty of expressing it dynamically compared to ordinary animation. After more than 100 prototypes, they achieved a digital expression using typography.

The design's excellence was recognized with a Silver A' Print and Published Media Design Award in 2023. This prestigious award is given to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.