Open: A Boy's Wayang Adventure
About
In collaboration with Ethos Books and Brainchild Pictures, Open: A Boy's Wayang Adventure is a story about a 10-year-old boy, Benjamin Oh, who is mildly autistic. Open, as Benjamin is called by his family and friends, likes to draw monkeys and is inadvertently chosen to play the role of the Monkey King from the Journey to the West for a class play. Open is a story about overcoming barriers, compassion and understanding towards children in the autism spectrum.
Design Process
Initial proposals. They play with the idea of Ben heading off for an adventure, bravely stepping onto the stage or combining Ben's emotion cards with the iconic monkey king makeup.
The proposal chosen is a play on positive and negative spaces. Within the monkey king's silhouette, we see Ben in his safe space drawing the iconic markings of the monkey. The author and editors of the book felt that this resonated with the tone of the book which is filled with positive and negative feelings and Ben's journey to balance his emotions and step out to act as his hero.
Alternate colour and title designs.
Blue is Ben's favourite colour and a colour that connotes both sadness and calm. Through his art, Ben makes his surroundings as vibrant as colourful as he can.
Final Design
Special thanks to Ethos Books and Eva Wong Nava for the opportunity!
