Wooden Fan-shaped Mother-of-pearl Red Plate
About
I have always been drawn to bookbinding. For this project, I worked from a Japanese antique wooden fan-shaped red plate with mother-of-pearl inlay. Its material and craft vocabulary - mother-of-pearl, gold-toned wood grain, and overlapping fan geometry - was translated into the overall packaging system
Design Theory
1. Front Design
The central pattern references the architectural arcs in Ma Lin’s Binging-Ying Night Tour. The concept also draws on the Kinkaku-ji imagery in the Yukio Mishima biography, using gold foil on doors and windows to heighten ritual and stillness
2. Back Design
Inspired by a composition from Kōhei Sugiura’s book design, the white areas use mother-of-pearl sequins to build layers of luster, while darker gold-foil areas create contrast and rhythm
3. Spine and Belly Band
Typography becomes the primary visual focus, emphasizing the object title and adding Japanese text for layered detail. Horizontal, vertical, and longitudinal columns create a clear, stable order
