Shuwa-shuwa& 99 illustrated Japanese onomatopeias
by les M&M&m&m
Book design (layout and graphic design)
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Words: les M&M&m&m
Foreword: agnès b.
Cover illustration: Merle Goll
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Shuwa-shuwa is a book that presents Japanese onomatopoeia through illustrations by 100 illustrators from 35 countries.
Maceo and Maïté, the two children of the Franco-Japanese family behind this project, are the little heroes depicted in these illustrations.
On each double-page spread, the name of the onomatopoeia in kana and its pronunciation are shown. The translation of the onomatopoeia and examples of sentences in French, English and Japanese are then given. Finally, you can find information about the artist, such as their origin and social media links.
Graphic design: the challenge
An elastic yet consistent layout
The idea was to highlight the illustrations more than the text and to create a book that you want to own and display, something more fun and colourful than educational.
To do this, I made sure to offer a flexible layout, in order to avoid any monotony. In the weightless environment of the book, I thought it would be easier for the reader to immerse themself in the world created by each illustrator.
However, I was careful to maintain a sense of unity throughout the book. A system, so that the reader would not be totally disoriented.
Each right page uses colours as well as some graphic elements from the illustration in order to match its atmosphere.
And coloured circles distinguish the three sections: translation, examples, artist.
The title (name of the onomatopoeia in kana and romaji) maintains the same position on each page, in order to give some stability. However, the other elements are freer and seem to float. As if they defy the laws of gravity, not worrying about respecting any template.
I also played with the possibilities offered by Japanese writing, which works both horizontally and vertically. And each sentence in Japanese is accompanied by lines that are sometimes parallel, sometimes slanted.
The reader is thus plunged into a new world each time they turn the pages.
You can purchase the book at www.shuwashuwabook.com
mozo-mozo, sara-sara, guda-guda
aki-aki
futsu-futsu, dada-dada, pin-pin
Shuwa-shuwa
