Interview about ZhuZi Art Book, winner of the A' Print and Published Media Design Award 2020
A series of book editions for the collected works of traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting is published by Nanjing Zhuzi Art Museum. With its long history and elegant technique, the traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy are treasured for their highly artistic and practical appeal. When designing the collection, abstract shapes, colors, and lines were used to create a consistent sensuality and highlight the blank space in the sketch. The effortless coincides with artists in traditional painting and calligraphy styles.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsI dove deep into the original ink works, then stripped them to essentials: fluid black-ink forms, one seal-red accent, and thin bronze geometry. Marrying those organic strokes with a clean modern grid and generous white space let tradition “breathe” while feeling current. Repeated prototyping with museum curators fine-tuned the balance—and that harmony of old soul and new structure won the Gold.
Emphasizing liú bái (留白) echoes the heart of Chinese painting: the void completes the form. Inspired by literati scrolls where blank silk lets mountains “breathe,” I let white space carry the rhythm so each stroke feels alive. Philosophically, it mirrors Daoist ideas of fullness within emptiness—inviting readers to pause, imagine, and participate in the scene.
On the road I found three surprises that reshaped the book:Up close, many Song-dynasty scrolls hide faint ruling-lines that masters used to balance text and image—proof that “spontaneity” was quietly scaffolded; that insight inspired the thin bronze geometry beneath our ink blots.At a rural paper mill in Anhui I saw how Xuan paper’s fibres trap wash-marks like clouds; I switched to an uncoated, high-cotton stock so printed blacks would bloom rather than sit flat.In Suzhou a calligrapher showed me how viewers read empty margins as “soundless poetry”; that personal demo emboldened me to leave whole spreads nearly blank, letting silence tell half the story.
Invisible Grid: I built a 6-column grid keyed to ancient scroll ruler-lines, so every caption or image aligns with a trace of classical proportion without feeling boxed-in.Typeface Pairing: A refined Song-serif for Chinese mirrors brush modulation; a light grotesque sans for English recedes, letting the artwork speak first.Paced Breathing: Alternating dense image spreads with near-empty pages sets a “slow–pause–linger” rhythm, echoing how a viewer strolls through a gallery.Subtle Anchors: Seal-red folios, hairline rules, and bronze dots mark entry points, guiding the eye while preserving liú bái (留白). Together, text, art, and void form one continuous calligraphic flow that honours both the masters and the tradition.
Masters told me, “let the brush lead.”I kept every stroke untouched, added only subtle bronze grids and seal-red cues that echo traditional tools, and enlarged margins after their critiques.The result: modern scaffolding that amplifies—never alters—their authentic voice.
I first traced signature brush-curves from the paintings, abstracted them into a modular library of fluid silhouettes, then paired those with hair-thin bronze arcs taken from ancient scroll guide-lines. Dropping these motifs onto a silent six-column grid, I repeated and rotated them sparingly so each spread echoes a single gesture—soft, rhythmic, never competing—giving the whole book one continuous, sensual pulse.
We broke one dense tome into four slim “rooms.”Origin – essays on philosophy and toolsStroke – pure calligraphy platesImage – paintings & sealsEcho – my design process and contemporary responsesThis modular structure lets each art form breathe, invites readers to handle the books like moving through gallery chambers, and makes cross-comparison easy—flipping two volumes side-by-side reveals how brush energy migrates from script to landscape.
During a late-night proofing session, master calligrapher Chen dipped his brush in clear water and wrote an “invisible” character across my layout, then asked, “Can you still feel the stroke?” That wordless challenge made me widen the margins, swap to absorbent uncoated stock, and dial back every decorative line until the page’s presence—even when blank—could carry the brush’s spirit.
By showing that classical craft and contemporary grids can coexist without dilution, the book becomes a living case study: proof that designers can translate intangible heritage—rhythm, void, brush-energy—into modern visual systems. I hope it sparks more “both-and” projects where tradition serves as a design engine rather than a museum artifact, widening the dialogue on how cultural memory fuels fresh, forward-looking form.
Study first, remix later. Immerse yourself in the original craft—tools, materials, philosophy—before adding anything new.Extract principles, not patterns. Translate rhythm, proportion, or symbolism, rather than copying surface motifs.Use modern elements as silent scaffolding. Let grids, typography, and tech serve the tradition, not overshadow it.Prototype with custodians of the heritage. Share drafts with artisans or scholars; their critique keeps you honest.Leave room for emptiness. Restraint—white space, quiet pauses—lets old and new breathe together.
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