Make the Alphabet
A captivating alphabet book that teaches through play.
Book Idea, Book Design, Toy Blocks Design, Photography, Woodwork
"Make the Alphabet" is a unique book that teaches kids what the letters of the Macedonian alphabet look like. We designed it to be simple and incredibly fun, keeping them engaged from start to finish. The concept combines three things that the kids from our target audience are learning: colors, letters, and basic geometric shapes, making it widely productive.
It is designed for kids between the age of 6 and 8 - kids that are beginning primary school and are about to tackle the alphabet for the first time.
I built the idea with my dad and he helped in the execution of it with his creative and human-centered ideas and his woodwork to create the playing blocks.
Credits: Book Idea, Book Design, Toy Blocks Design, Photography: Evangelija Ivanoska Book Idea, Toy Blocks Design, Woodwork: Boran Ivanoski
"I can build the entire alphabet with 11 blocks!? But it has 31 letters!"
This is what a 7-year-old child had to say about the concept when introduced to it. She excitedly and impatiently started arranging the letters one by one.
11 blocks for 31 letters? It is designed to keep them focused on only one letter at a time and to also make it as simple as possible. Our concept was to have as little blocks as possible.
The cause
I wanted to design this book to make learning fun. My parents sparked a lot of curiosity in me as a child about my interests. That's part of the reason I am a designer today. Children are the future generation, and education is crucial - making it spark curiosity and entertainment is the best way to turn learning into a special memory and to speed it up too. It is a great tool for teachers,
My goal is to inspire its use in households by publishing it and I aim to hold workshops for children where we play with the book and I help them learn. This way it benefits non-formal education too. This book is designed to foster development and creativity.
Designing the blocks
After I figured 11 is the minimal number of blocks we could create all the letters with, I gave the dimensions to my dad and he created these beautiful wooden blocks with smooth edges that feel very satisfying to the touch. I painted the blocks on only one side with water-based paint. We decided to paint only one side because we wanted the design to feel as natural as possible, and the wood looked very good. I made sure the texture of the wood showed through the paint too.
Designing the book
The book is simple, sleek, and straightforward. The size of the blocks on the printed pages are the same size as the blocks in real life. My favorite part of the design is that the front and back cover together include all 11 blocks in a dynamic composition.