Design Challenge and Design Ideas

Day & Night: Rainforest challenges perceptive children of all ages to explore life in various rainforest locations at different times of day. The book construction consists of a large concertina fold format, 214 x 334 mm (folded out length 1.4 m). Printed on high quality uncoated stock, with paper over board cover. There are two large 7 panel panoramic scenes (printed double-sided), the first showing the vibrant rainforest during the day; the second shows an active rainforest at night. By means of detailed and absorbing illustrations and interactive elements, like that of a Wimmelbook, this epic activity book challenges the reader to find specific objects in a jungle of amusing distractions. There are over 200 different animal and plant species featured across the pages. The construction of the book compliments the explorative aspects aiming to fascinate and entertain young readers. Collaboration with publishers Victionary (Hong Kong).

How the brief was fulfilled

The task of illustrating the book began with research into the strangest and most exotic animals that live in the forest. This included informing myself about the interesting habits of animals, for example particular food they ate, finding out how and when they interacted with other creatures. Identifying any details that could build a unique story told through illustration. These interesting creature stories would later be integrated as tasks for the readers to seek and find particular events on the page.

Scamps of the scenes were created and later full sketched scenes. I produced large linear sketches of the jungle, plotting general background, middle and foreground areas. The sketches were created larger than final book size, so that reduction of scale would lead to a more densely intricate page.

Line art was scanned and re-worked as solid vectors in illustrator, with textures and details later added in Photoshop. The colour choice was intended to generate a definitive contrast between the two scenes, so the concept of day to night would be obviously discernable. Colour palettes were restricted to a few colours for added graphic impact. The unique style of illustration is important as Animals are identifiable but not distinctly anatomically accurate. This approach is suitable for the age group, accessible for young children and also adds to the pleasant and fun experience of the activity book.

Illustrations were reviewed numerous times with the aim to ensure animal characters were suitably hidden or obscured to the reader making them more challenging to spot.
There is an additional fun aspect of the book. In the darkness, the night scene has a layer of ‘Glow in the Dark’ ink. Several curious things light up under cover of darkness. These include luminescent mushrooms; more eyes peering out from the jungle, stars in the sky, star constellations and even fireflies light up.

Two animal, plant and insects indexes appear on each end paper, these clearly identify the main creatures and plants for readers to search for. This book aims to cultivate curiosity in young readers. The visual led approach appeals to children of different reading abilities. The book incites investigation, children can invent their own ‘seek & find’ adventures, or simply study the details and learn more about our forests.