original title Là où tout commence, les premiers 1000 jours
project Graphic design and production
client Le cherche midi • Odile Jacob
manufacturing 14,3 x 20,4 cm • 256 pages • four-color process • bound • flap-cover
texts Nathalie Casso-Vicarini • Boris Cyrulnik • Isabelle Filliozat • Antoine Guedeney
photographs Mathieu Moudoulet • L2 Films-mai-juin production
The book is inspired by the documentary Les premiers 1000 jours, written by Claire Lajeunie and Gilles de Maistre, and directed by Claire Lajeunie
In this book, four specialists share their experience and knowledge regarding the first 1,000 days of life, centering on the stories of six babies.
The goal was to create a book that was not merely a text-heavy volume, but one that was a pleasure to leaf through.
From the outset, I thought about a motif based on the circle, as it symbolizes the mother’s womb, the circle of arms that takes over at birth, and finally, the ball and the discovery of play.
Furthermore, as the authors wished to move away from the standard color schemes associated with early childhood, I created a palette of bold, distinctive colors (plum, raspberry, malachite green, burnished gold, ultramarine blue) complemented by desaturated tones that could easily sit behind the text without compromising readability.
Colored circles distinguish the chapters, highlight titles, frame pull quotes, and accompany images. Their rhythmic placement creates a playful, varied, and joyful journey that invites reading and reflects the extraordinary brain stimulation a baby experiences during the first months of life.
