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2025 ADC Awards - Book Design

La Divina Commedia

Agency Chuantao Zhu + Lingqi Kong + Shuguang Gu

Client Macau University of Science and Technology

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Category

Limited Edition / Private Press / Special Format Books

Annual ID

ADC104_BKD033M

This work explores the issue of desire in contemporary society. Modern consumerism, materialism, hedonism, and narcissism drive people to pursue instant gratification, overlooking lasting values and meaningful goals, while ignoring spiritual needs and moral responsibilities, leading to selfishness and violence. But Dante interpreted society's indulgence phenomenon 700 years ago with his "Divine Comedy" – "Heaven and Hell." Through deconstructing Dante's literary interpretation of desire in "Divine Comedy," I created a series of designs, including books, paintings, and exhibitions, to deeply explore the relationship between desire and morality in today's society.

Through literary interpretation, I categorized the desires depicted in Dante's "Divine Comedy" as "pride," "lust," "envy," and "anger," and based on these themes, I created secondary designs and subsequently produced 300 paintings and 2000 pages of literary interpretation. White and black serve as the base colors for this work; I used colorless intaglio on the pure white book surface to achieve a sculptural, sacred feel. White represents the phenomenon in desire that can promote good virtues, while black symbolizes the shadow of falling into the abyss.

The English version of the book is bound "back-to-back," symbolizing "Heaven" and "Hell," allowing readers to freely traverse between "Heaven and Hell" within the text. I also specifically chose "Washable Paper Pro" as the paper material, enabling readers to immerse it in water at any time for a "baptism" effect. The Chinese version employs dragon scale binding and traditional book sewing techniques. Additionally, I crafted a pocket-sized book, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, allowing readers to recite their own poetry like Dante anywhere and anytime. I hope to explore the impact of desire on behavior and find a moral and spiritual balance through these different contexts and reading experiences.

2025 Awards

Total Points: 3

Merit Honor

Credits


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