"This handbook was part of a 3-year community development project in Hai Phong, Vietnam, which was funded by the European Union and CESVI, a non-governmental, international humanitarian organisation based in Italy. The handbook was written in Vietnamese by a team of project staff and volunteers, providing fundamental knowledge, in addition to advices for the adolescent audience on how to deal with concerns such as physical, psychological - behavioural changes as well as to prepare for their protest against puberty, sexual abuse, drug or video game addiction and so on..."
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With an attempt to avoid well-trodden paths taken by several previous books on the same topics – regarding of Sex education for teenagers, the authors took a narrative approach by developing a story line in which an imaginary protagonist, the Firefly, embarks on an adventure into the world of teenagers to explore various facets of their social life. Becoming their secret companion, the Firefly is besides them, to understand and help the teenagers facing with their troubles – changes – hesitation on the journey of growth.
With this approach, the designer is given crucial role into art direction as well as system of visual development which not only functions as the content illustration but also invokes the young audience’s interest right at first sight….
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* The book is published into 2.500 copies for the first time. ( January/ 2013)
Book cover
Sketches of character design development, including various studies of face, body and colour for "Firefly" figure.
The Firefly dwells inside school desks where he regularly reads the students' crumbled papers thrown inside. To differ from other fireflies in his species, he becomes the teenaged students' companion, understands their hidden stories, confusion and adolescent reluctance.
The Firefly looks down through the bundle of flowers, observing the students gathering at school yard.
For this chapter, the Firefly is metaphorically compared with the "Red Riding Hood" meawhile all the social threads to teenagers such as: drug, sex abusion, game online are represented through the image of a Wolf. "The Wolf" surrounds vulerable teenagers, putting them in dangers and risk for both psychological and health destruction.
The "Red Riding Hood" is caught by the shady "Wolf" in the Game forest where he is stuck and hence impossibly figures out an exit.
An illustration represents the teenaged girl is attracted into "dangerous conversations" through online platform. Sex abuse threat is not only captured through physical contact but also brought via ambiguous relationships in seem - to be - safe world of Internet.
Along the journey of growth, family is where their true love is homed.
Firefly and his warm family gathering.
The chapter cover for concentration into teenagers' psychological and behavioural changes.
The section cover for tales about first love in school time.
Layout extraction from the chapter "First love..."
Another layout features the blame on a prominent bad habbit within student's community.
