Owl and Dog Playbooks: Pirouette One to Watch winner - design dot to dot

The Owl and Dog Playbooks are the first Pirouette One to Watch winners in the design category. We were already familiar with their books but it’s always so nice (important) to see a product in the flesh and let it grab your attention. We also took the time to speak with the designers Yeonju Yang and Claudio Ripol to talk about these beautiful books. 

The Owl and Dog playbooks did not disappoint, we love their playful design and thoughtful execution. There is a lovely mix of colour and graphics designed to capture the child’s imagination and encourage them to interact – playful, fun and very cute!

We chat with the designers behind the Owl and Dog Playbooks.

What are your backgrounds ?
Our background is in design. We met at the Royal College of Art while we were studying, and have worked for different design consultancies for many years. Since 2011, we have been running a design studio together and have worked on a variety of creative fields, including toys for Muji, fashion accessories for Tag Heuer, interior design, branding and packaging for Marley Coffee, and Victorinox, etc.

How did the idea for Owl and Dog playbooks come about ?
Our background had nothing to do with publishing, but we realised at some point we really enjoyed designing for children. So we took our interest in toy design and an acquired knowledge of printing technology from packaging design, and we combined both into an idea for a children book which, as you read it, you are already transforming it into something else. It was this idea of really fusing together the play aspect and the read aspect of the book into a seamless experience that has informed our titles, and has become the basis for Owl and Dog Playbooks.

Where would you like to take the Owl and Dog playbook line in the future ?
We would like to publish our books in more languages and continue exploring ideas of learning, play and engagement. We love working on the bond between parents and children through storytelling and role-playing.

Any news from when we last spoke ?
Flat zoo, which we displayed as an advance copy at Dot to Dot, has been released and is in stock. It deals with individuals being naturally good at certain things, sometimes not so good at others. It comes with a set of plates that can be combined to form all the characters in the book. It is part story, part character role-play and part puzzle.

Also, we are selected to participate in some fantastic fairs this summer such as ELCAF in Hackney.

There are 5 playbooks so far Flat Zoo, This Clumsy Monster, FISH, The Adventures of 3 Bears and Guess who!

The Adventures of 3 Bears

Fish 

This Clumsy Monster 

Guess Who 

NEW: Flat Zoo

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The Owl and Dog Playbooks

We are interested in new, unusual formats, halfway between books and toys, and exploring the theatrical role playing involved in reading a book to a young child. Our books are designed to be read and used creatively, with a vision to celebrate this fun ritual of book reading, and to promote magical moments of discovery. As the style of our books will be always different, we hope our overall vision will become easier to understand as our list grows.

We combine our own work with the work of other artists and designers to produce our books.

Available for retailers to stock wholesale or to purchase direct online at  https://www.owlanddog.com

 Claudio Ripol & Yeonju Yang