Interview about Best moments photo album, winner of the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award 2020
A unique polaroid photo album. It was commissioned by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as a showcase of Polish design in international contacts. It is characterized by a unique hand-made, a combination of paper referring to the skin with beautiful copper gilding. The album consists of two parts: a longer album with a place to insert the photo and a place for their description, and an external short case that is a form. The whole connects and protects the elastic string.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe use of environmentally friendly paper containing 25% leather residues in the Best Moments photo album allowed us to obtain a product resistant to mechanical damage resulting from use, the raw material behaves like leather, i.e. with ageing it acquires a patina, which adds to its beauty, additionally, by using recycled materials we care for our environment.
The Best Moments photo album was designed for a special event organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, it served to integrate and exchange contacts in an analogue way, i.e. during the meeting, photos were taken using an Instax camera, which guests could immediately put into the album and note down new acquaintances. I think that in the era of global digitization, such activities allow maintaining balance in relationships between people through direct contact.
The copper gilding and gold screws in the Best Moments photo album were intended to give an unusual vintage aesthetic. Using hot stamping technology, I was able to reproduce the impression of gilding and create the impression of real fittings in an accessible way.
The Best Moments photo album was created with the idea of presenting Polish design for international contacts. I wanted the proposed project to be immediately associated with class and quality, which is what we try to design in Poland. With respect for tradition while using new technologies.
The two-component structure of the Best Moments photo album, with a longer album and a shorter casing, is a direct reference to the leather cases found in traditional analog cameras. Thanks to this procedure, I created an even more faithful sensual reference to the construction of a traditional camera
The project of the photo album "Best Moments" for the Adam Mickiewicz Institute is also a nod to the Polish history of photography. We are taught about the pioneers of cinema - the Lumiére brothers, who are considered the inventors of the cinematograph. However, we forget about Kazimierz Prószyński, a Polish inventor who was a year ahead of them, creating his own cinematographic device called the pleograph.
The Best Moments photo album does not challenge the current approach to photography, where digital solutions are the priority. It is an elegant non-digital form of recording the good things that happen to us and that deserve special attention. It is a return to the craft of what artificial intelligence will not do for us. It is our decision what photo we want to keep.
The choice of the dimensions of the Best Moments album (230 mm x 128 mm x 16 mm) has been carefully considered and prepared for the presentation of photos taken with the INSTAX camera, from which we receive the photos immediately after taking them.
The elastic connecting tape in the Best Moments Photo Album fulfills both a practical and aesthetic function. I believe that a good design is one that is functional, so using the tape is an intuitive solution that allows you to connect the diary to the case in a simple and budget-friendly way. It's simply pure design :)
Each project is a new story and a new functional and aesthetic challenge. In my projects I always try to use the experience I have gained based on both failures and successes. Design is a process in which you have to be open to everything that happens to you.
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