The Balancing Book

The Power of Chōwa is a book about the Japanese philosophy of finding balance, even when things seem to go in the wrong direction. Author Akemi Tanaka set the challenge of creating a cover that visualises this in a way that’s quintessentially Japanese, embracing traditional simplicity while still feeling modern. A small diagonal cut was made, visually throwing the squared cover off balance. However, this small imperfection gave the book just enough surface area to stand up and be perfectly balanced at an eye-catching 45-degree angle, with the cover art working in harmony to compliment it.