the mighty tale
of hanuman
editorial
Reimagining the Ramayana for the contemporary family. A coffee table book created to transcend age, trends and cultures. The magic was finding the the balance between the written word, the richly detailed 18th century miniature paintings and white space.
We were commissioned to design a family book that would present the story, while bringing to life the miniature art of the Hindu court of Jodhpur-Marwar - a crucial element in India’s cultural heritage.
On reading the script and looking at the miniatures, we were convinced that the book must be designed to travel across borders, and age groups. It was necessary to create a product where two contrasting narratives could exist in perfect harmony, with the design acknowledging the different cognitive benchmarks across the cross section of readers.
A clean and classic approach was used for the grid. Large striking images were countered with clean legible text, making the experience easy to relate to, visually compelling and accessible for both children and adults.
We created a product that encouraged children’s imaginations to soar, while teaching them the art of creating miniature paintings, along with an interactive chapter providing guidelines on how to decode a narrative painting. The simplicity and conviction of the narrative inspired children to dive enthusiastically into the world of books and immerse themselves in Hindu mythology, as a family activity.
We were not just designing for all ages, and all cultures, we were also designing for the digital native. Recognising differential reading patterns, our first task was to develop a grid that allowed a hierarchy – that kept the attention of skimmers, browsers and readers. The grid was designed to have a rhythm. With nuanced page breaks to alleviate monotony and to allow for spreads to shout out when required.
Editing images, and using them with type to build a rhythm was a conscious decision – allowing for spreads to shout out when required.
The intent was to create a product that encouraged children’s imaginations to soar, exposing them to the magic of miniatures, also helping them decode the art through an interactive chapter.
