“The Adventures of 3 Bears” is a set of children’s books that is packaged in a clever and adorable way. The pages of the books come together to create a bear mask, which is sure to entertain and impress any kid.
Owl & Dog Playbooks is an independent children’s book publisher based in London and is behind the design for this playful book. Designers Yeonju Yang and Claudio Ripol founded the company and come from product design backgrounds. They aim to “see books as objects and formats to be challenged, rather than being standardized vessels to contain images and words.”
“‘The Adventures of 3 Bears’ is a set of three books in a triangular concertina format. Panda discovers his bravery in the jungle, Bear has a dreamy experience under the sea, and Koala journeys to the moon where he meets a friendly alien. After reading the stories, the books unfold and become a mask of the main character.”
“The unusual shape of the books was an opportunity to challenge the way they were packaged.
We defined our brief as follows: We needed to display the books in a fun engaging way, to protect them properly for shipping, and finally we wanted to keep packaging waste to a minimum.”
“Our solution was to display the books all side by side which creates an arch of textures and colours as well as shows off all the book covers. We created a backboard ‘carved in’ to protect and encase the books, and we designed it so it would hopefully be kept as a base to tidy the books. There are also additional hidden illustrations when the books are lifted.”
“We are interested in new, unusual formats, halfway between books and toys, and exploring the theatrical role-playing involved in reading a book to a young child. Our books are designed to be read and used creatively, our mission is to celebrate the fun ritual of book-reading, and to promote magical moments of discovery.”
Designed by: Owl & Dog Playbooks
Location: London, UK
