UMEZZ PERFECTION! “Watashi wa Shingo (My Name Is Shingo)” (Book Design)
Considering its direct connection to the content it involves, typography plays an important role, especially in the realm of books. Book design is no longer limited to the cover alone, as today’s book designer has to consider a wide range of factors related to the main text layout, the types of paper used, bookbinding, and even cost calculation and distribution. UMEZZ PERFECTION! is the title of a series of Manga books by Kazuo Umezu incorporating new designs, for which I teamed up with Hidenori Yoshioka. Each book has its own individual character, and we attempted to respond to this with an array of different design solutions to match the respective content. If you have the opportunity, pick them up and see for yourself. (Sobue)
Watashi wa Shingo (My Name is Shingo) is a Manga that illustrates the boundary between the world of children and that of adults. In order to highlight the tension of the two protagonists, Satoru and Marin, as they gradually approach the end of the time that allows them to live as children, we came up with a pagination style that suggests the “ticking-away” of time. Bookmaking using a combination of totally different materials was inspired by the idea to stress the work’s general undercurrent of a“ sense of discomfort when two conflicting elements approach each other.” My heartfelt thanks go out to all those who supported us throughout our repeated experimentation. (Yoshioka)
