Pop-up cards and books

Ingenious pop-up images bring graphics to life and always introduce an element of surprise. A successful pop-up design is the result of the image, message and mechanism all working together effectively. Answering the following questions will help you get the balance right. Who is it for? Many pop-up cards and books are aimed at the younger age group, but a pop-up can provide an exciting way to convey information to adults. You must be clear about the type of person you are designing for. An understanding of things they find appealing or amusing will help you decide on a style and theme for your design. PCMRT 1 Downloaded from  – the website of Nuffield Secondary Design & Technology Pop-ups Design Guide What will it look like? Certain images have become clichéd and over-used. For example, an obvious idea for a Christmas card would feature a robin or Christmas tree. To help you devise an imaginative and original pop-up, it is important to research the theme and use brainstorming exercises to discover a richer source of images. Give careful thought too the style of decoration of your design and the effect that you want to create.

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 A pop-up storybook could use bright colours and an amusing cartoon style to encourage a child to learn to read, whereas a get well card for an elderly person would require a more gentle, cheerful style. Remember that too much decoration may distract from the three-dimensional image. A pop-up can look impressive left quite plain. You will need to consider the appearance of the message or text. The style of the lettering and the layout of the words should be attractive, but also suit the image of the pop-up design. How will it work? Pop-ups use a variety of different mechanisms. Some are very complicated, but even the most basic can have a lot of visual impact. It is useful to study popup books and cards and analyse how they are constructed. You can adapt a mechanism for your own design. You will find instructions for pop-up mechanisms opposite. P