ĐÀ NẴNG — A series of four posters featuring characters from an ancient tuồng play (classical drama) by Vietnamese designer Đặng Thị Bích Ngọc has been named a winner of the 2017 American Graphic Design Awards.

The 23-year-old designer from Đà Nẵng Architecture University made the posters on trúc chỉ (bamboo pulp paper).

“Posters on the theme of theatre and cinema need special lighting effects. Trúc chỉ helps a painting look neo-classic, as the image on trúc chỉ paper will appear when it is illuminated by LED lights. With her graphics, Ngọc has achieved success in America,” said painter Nguyễn Tri Phương Đông who also won at the American Graphic Design Awards and advised Ngọc on her poster project.

The art of making trúc chỉ was invented by painter Phan Hải Bằng in 2011. Based on the traditional process of making the paper, Bằng created a new type of art, đồ họa trúc chỉ (trucchigraphy), in which artists create paintings on trúc chỉ paper.

The paper has become a material for many other artistic and daily-use products, like lanterns, wallets, candle boxes, handbags, wall paintings and table calendars.

Graphic Design USA has been a business-to-business information source for graphic design professionals since 1963. The competition this year attracted nearly 10,000 entries.

Winning projects run the gamut from traditional print and packaging to non-traditional internet and interactive pieces, from dream assignments to conventional endeavors, from large creative departments to independent design studios and freelancers, from established stars to rising newcomers, according to the Graphic Design Awards. — VNS