Research On The Design Of Adult Picture Book

Picture books were born in17th-century Europe and ushered in the golden age in1930s America. Picture books in occident got rapid development through integrating a variety of art forms and gradually integrated to modern picture books in public view now. In Asia, picture books rise in Japan and South Korea in the1950s and1960s of the20th century. In the1970s, people in China Taiwan began to read picture books and brought effect in Mainland China later. With the vigorous development of picture books, the worldwide climax of picture books appeared. In the21th century, picture books have become closest friends to children even adults all over the world and readings that have large circulation and attention in publishing.As science and technology have been making progress and the process of globalization is accelerating, design language is increasingly international and the environment and way of people’s life have been changing. With the guide of the age labeled consumption, reading images, information, digital media etc, and the selecting activities of the most beautiful books of China and the most beautiful books of world, books began to have variety in function, rapid development in productive techniques and varietal skills and techniques in artistic expression. At the same time, the impact of e-books on traditional paper books obliged book authors, book designers and publishers to quest and study book form deeply. Picture books take pictures as main elements, which is different from traditional books that take text as. The narrative function of pictures requires authors, designers and publishers to have skillful and creative ideas on picture book design. Therefore picture book designers have to create picture books imaginatively by seeing the development situation of the contemporary book design, keeping up with mainstream book design concept, using various methods of book design skillfully and combing artistic characteristics of picture books and psychological need of readers, which is especially important to adult picture books. How adult picture books define connotation, position characteristic and expand readership is important to adult picture books design. That’s the features of the age and environment for books make book design get never-ending changes and improvement, obtain splendid results, and also make adult picture books design face greater opportunities and challenges.This thesis is a basic study for adult picture books. Firstly, a concept of book overall design will be mentioned, which is the preparation for the discussion of adult picture books. Secondly, definitions of picture books and adult picture books is going to be given to raise public awareness of picture books, and then make adult picture books more well-known in public. Thirdly, analyzing "five see of books", history, function, binding design, material, technology and esthetic, helps designers to get experiences and ways of think during studying adult picture books in thinking approach. Lastly, a holistic analysis of adult picture books also will be present from three main aspects that are keeping to the subject, applying the design language and design steps. Besids, the author designed an adult picture book by using these theories in order to make the thesis more practical significance.This thesis uses foreshadowing and gradually progressive way to analyze adult picture books design, which ranges over concept connotation, cultural connotation and materialized practice. It is a comprehensive and systematic study applying theory to practice.