The creativity of children's book binding and the realization of printing technology
Children's books, that is, children's books, are commonly referred to internationally.
With the opening up of the book market, the competition in the children's book market is particularly strong and fierce. Children's books are often considered by the publishing industry to be the least barrier to entry, and can be put on the market with simple editing, so children's books are extremely prosperous in terms of both variety and quantity. However, there are few children's books that can attract children to read happily and promote their healthy growth.
Children will be exposed to a large number of books as they grow up. Like adult reading, the process of reading books for children is also a process of art appreciation, which should be nurtured by beauty. Good children's book binding design allows children to experience beauty in reading, and at the same time improves children's ability to appreciate, appreciate and create beauty. However, children are significantly different from adults in terms of psychology and physiology, and their aesthetic needs are naturally different from those of adults. In order to achieve the purpose of conveying knowledge to children and guiding their growth, the prerequisite for children's books is to attract children to read effectively. This requires the designers of children's books to pay attention to the analysis of children's physiological and psychological characteristics, and explore how to design children's books from the aspects of shape, color, material, etc., so as to make it more conducive to cultivating children's interest in reading and better promoting their early intellectual development and wisdom growth.
To achieve this, children's book binding designers also need to have new ideas and breakthroughs. Of course, these breakthrough ideas also require in-depth communication between binding designers and designers of content editors and processing units; It also needs to be realized by the corresponding printing and post-processing technology.
Several trends in children's book binding creativity: 1. Bright colors
Children are very sensitive to bright, bright colors. Bright colors have a strong visual impact and appeal, and can attract children's attention the fastest. Compared with other media, print media is not inferior to other media in terms of expressiveness of color, although there are many shortcomings in conveying information. In traditional children's book design, color has always been one of the key concerns of binding designers.
With the emergence of a large number of cartoons and animation images and the introduction and popularization of Western children's books, children's identification with color is more tolerant, and their requirements for color are more novel. For example, a certain animal does not necessarily require the real color in the traditional sense, and no longer pursues the true reproduction of the real color, but can take more exaggerated techniques and combine many other hues on the basis of reality, which can well grasp and satisfy children's curiosity.
Today's children's books have newer requirements for the use of color and design, and under the idea of emphasizing the brightness, richness and variability of colors, the design ideas of binding designers should seek greater breakthroughs in traditional experience.
2. Three-dimensional modeling
Children's thinking is simple and direct, imagination is not deep enough, and intuitive three-dimensional modeling can match children's receptivity. If the designer follows the content of the article, the characters, animals, plants, houses, cartoon people, etc. are designed into asanas in the book; When the pages of the book are opened, the animals and plants can stand upright in front of them, which can better stimulate children's curiosity and inquiry, attract children's interest in reading, and enable children to understand the knowledge in the article most directly. This three-dimensional modeling, in a variety of greeting cards, commemorative cards have long appeared, if this three-dimensional modeling of the idea is applied to the binding of children's books, although in the design is not considered innovative, but also borrowed from the creativity.
3. Interactive handiwork
Children are inquisitive by nature and love to destroy and build. Originally, we often used some special, tear-resistant materials to make children's books, called "books that can't be torn", which the author thinks is not advisable. Children like to tear and tear apart, and we should find ways to satisfy them by experiencing the fun of playing and exploring new things. In the design of children's books, some interactive handmade materials can be designed, which can be cut and folded into various things by young readers; You can also design some self-adhesive stickers, so that young readers can tear them off and stick them in other corresponding places; Or place some paper puzzles in the book to teach children how to do puzzles in an interactive way.
In order to suit the child's nature and develop the child's life potential, the designer can also place some physical objects in the book, such as a small paper bag with a seed, a little nutrient soil, so that the child can take down the seeds and soil, cultivate the seeds according to the knowledge taught in the book, and observe the growth to experience the fun.
4. A multi-sensory experience
In children's books, if you can directly let young readers experience real objects through different senses, then young readers will definitely love your book. This sensory experience allows for creative design in addition to the visual use of bright colors.
Auditory: Place a small chip that can produce sound in the book, record the sound according to the content of the book in advance, and make the sound as long as the page of the book is opened. We often hear this way of sounding in music cards, such as birthday songs, greetings, etc. In the same way, we use this method to accompany the content of the text to record relevant sounds, such as storytelling, animal calls, natural sounds, etc. Tactile: The book is equipped with some related physical objects for young readers to touch when reading. If the article introduces what silk is, you can equip the book with a small piece of real silk; If animals are introduced, a small copy of the animal's fur can be included in the book. Sense of smell: In the book, you can design a variety of fragrances that can be smelled by scratching the coating or rubbing the pages, such as the smell of fruit, the smell of bread, the smell of flowers, etc. The above-mentioned binding design ideas have been gradually reflected in children's books, such as "Haha Pictorial" published by China Welfare Association Publishing House, which is a perfect combination of the above design ideas. The binding design of the book has obtained the national patent of "multi-functional album". It is loved by young readers in the market.
Model making and realization of children's book binding ideas
In order to realize the multi-functional and three-dimensional design idea of children's books, it is necessary to make a set of sample book models according to the design ideas; In the process of making the model, the original design idea can be revised and perfected to perfection.
1. Make a sample
According to the design idea, do it yourself, or ask professional production personnel to make samples. There's a trick to mastering when it comes to versatile design: the pages of a book should be in the form of butterfly pages, so there's plenty of room for you to play. Where to place three-dimensional figures, where to hollow out, where to place moving objects, where to install sound equipment, etc., should be made one by one according to the order of the book.
2. Compare the design
When making a model, it is necessary to test it repeatedly and compare the design ideas. If the model cannot be made according to the design idea, or the production process is very complex, the original design idea needs to be changed. Sometimes the original design had to be canceled and changed. For example, it may be more complicated to make a very realistic three-dimensional animal, if the animal is linearized and contoured, it is simple to operate, and does not affect children's judgment and love for it.
3. Communicate with content planners to revise and refine the idea together
For some content that cannot be displayed in some parts, you can consult the content planner to partially revise the original plan. This communication is often done before and during the writing of the book's content. For example, agree on the images that can appear in the text, the length of the text, the position of the text in the layout, and what auxiliary text can be treated separately. When making the sample model, the copy editor needs to be involved together and cooperate with the designer as much as possible.
4. Communicate with the designers of the processing unit to discuss the feasibility of processing the book model into a product
Any good binding idea can only be transformed into a materialized book through materials and printing. What materials and what printing process are used for book binding, all need to be carefully discussed by the binding designers and the technicians of the processing unit. China's printing technology level is developing rapidly, if the designer's new technology information is not well-informed, the design concept can not keep up, ignoring the use of new materials and new processes, then it will not be able to realize the new idea of book binding.
Therefore, regular communication between the book type designer and the technical staff of the processing unit is an indispensable part of the realization of creative children's book design. Binding personnel should strengthen their understanding of various new processes and develop and utilize them in depth; After comprehending the designer's ideas, the process personnel of the printing unit should also exert their initiative and realize their design intentions with the most appropriate process.
The realization of the printing process of the creative binding of children's books
After the children's book model is made according to the design idea, the printing unit will realize the production of the product through processing. Compared with the printing technology in the 90s of the last century, the current printing process and binding materials are changing with each passing day, especially the technological level of post-processing is constantly innovating and improving, which are the technical guarantee for realizing multi-functional and three-dimensional children's books.
The post-press processing technology of the book, including the beautification and decoration of the surface of the book, such as glazing, laminating, embossing, hot stamping, etc.; Forming and processing of books, such as cutting semi-finished book pages into the size of the design and binding into a book, and processing the book prints such as mounting, die-cutting, indentation, and filleting; Processing of books to obtain specific functions: such as making books have protective functions such as anti-pressure, oil-proof, moisture-proof, anti-wear, and insect-proof.
In the post-press processing of children's books, all these processing properties will be used and reflected. In particular, the combination of UV glazing and screen printing technology can better reflect the brightness and fullness of the color, and express the change of color and some special effects. Then there is the die-cutting process. With the application of computer knife arrangement technology, the requirements of various patterns, shapes and positions can be realized, and the perfect effect can be achieved at will. Die-cutting technology is widely used in the post-press processing of children's books. For example, the cover of the book can die-cut the shape of an animal, and even the hollowed-out animal footprints can be realistically die-cut, which will surprise children.
In the selection of printing materials, designers should fully consider the adaptability and coordination of paper to printing and post-processing technology, and understand the expansion and contraction rate and flexibility of various printing papers. As long as it is designed properly, ordinary materials can also design good products. There are also some rules for the choice of ink, for example, Japanese ink has the characteristics of very light and bright in color performance, while European ink is very pure and elegant.
Study the rational use of new printing technology, fully understand and be familiar with the characteristics of the new process and the visual effects produced, and often have a brilliant stroke in the creative design process, full of fun. Although the application of new materials and new processes is a contradiction with the traditional printing conditions, they can also promote each other in practice. The new process inspires the creativity of the designer, and the creativity of the designer will also promote the continuous development of the printing process, and the continuous progress of the printing process once again expands a new broad space for the designer's creativity.
At present, the children's book market is facing multiple opportunities and challenges. The only way to survive this test is to bring the publishing quality of children's books, including the artistic level of binding design and printing quality of children's books, in line with the international publishing industry. Therefore, it is necessary to have a group of high-level and high-quality binding design talents. They must have a broad vision, advanced ideas, new artistic ideas, and unique insights into printing materials and processes in order to creatively design children's books that are in line with international standards and suitable for children's psychological characteristics and reading ability.