What lies within He: Best Book Design from all over the world 2025
"The book "What lies within He" has been awarded the "Best Book Design from all over the World 2025" title, an award presented by the Stiftung Buchkunst in Germany, recognized as the highest honor in global book design. ""What lies within He" stood out from thousands of entries worldwide, demonstrating the innovative power of Chinese design and confirming its perfect balance of art and craftsmanship.
This book contains 240 ink paintings by designer He Ming, depicting his collection of everyday objects. Each piece is accompanied by brief sentences expressing his thoughts and feelings, revealing the history, culture, and personal memories behind the objects. It is a collection that blends life philosophy and artistic exploration.
"What lies within He"
Author: HE Ming
Design: Qingmen YIN
Publisher: Jiangsu Phoenix Fine Arts Publishing House
Printer: Artron Print
Understated and elegant in feel, format and colour, the design of this book is just as minimalist and quiet as the ink drawings it presents. The combination of grey, black and white works perfectly here. The monochrome black printing of both text and images is complemented by the subtle grey colour of the cover. Both the inside pages and cover are pleasant to the touch, rounding off a well-made object that sits comfortably in the hand.
What Lies with He is made up of two volumes with different reading directions – horizontal and vertical. The unique binding brings the images together to form a cohesive collection. The flow between the two page orientations is organic and functional yet highly engaging and playful. The two parts are visually and haptically separated by roughened edges. One of the book edges thus has a rough finish, but which depends on the reading direction.