ELIAS SHIEH

IPHO TUTOR · PRINT & INFORMATION DESIGN · 2021–2026

WORK № 06

IPhO Tutor Handbooks

Nine months, one shelf

I wrote, typeset and produced the handbooks for my nine-month physics olympiad course — one volume per month, 1,699 pages in all, each made like a new issue of a monthly magazine.

9 VOLUMES1,699 PAGES195 × 263 MM
  1. Cover of 最初の月 (the first month): a small robot astronaut standing on a beach at sunset. Lecture titles run down the left edge.

    01最初の月

  2. Cover of 二ヶ月目 (the second month): a round white character peering out of an olive-green box, with a striped ball in front.

    02二ヶ月目

  3. Cover of 三ヶ月目 (the third month): a white astronaut with rainbow-striped sleeves striding across a map.

    03三ヶ月目

  4. Cover of 四ヶ月目 (the fourth month): an astronaut on an orange ground, splashed by liquid pouring from a flask above.

    04四ヶ月目

  5. Cover of 五ヶ月目 (the fifth month): a toy astronaut tucked into a bento box among rice and vegetables.

    05五ヶ月目

  6. Cover of 六ヶ月目 (the sixth month): a small astronaut swimming inside a curling blue wave.

    06六ヶ月目

  7. Cover of 七ヶ月目 (the seventh month): an astronaut holding two glowing orbs, surrounded by lightning. The titles of Lectures 47 to 54 run down the left edge.

    07七ヶ月目

  8. Cover of 八ヶ月目 (the eighth month): an astronaut leaning against a glowing lamp post on a street at night.

    08八ヶ月目

  9. Cover of 九ヶ月目 (the ninth month): an astronaut with a glowing orange visor walking through a dim hall lit by sparks.

    09九ヶ月目

Nine volumes, one per month — 1,699 pages in all. The LINE ID on each cover is blurred.
DATE
2021–2026 · printed edition 2024
CONTEXT
My own physics olympiad training company, 物⁠奧⁠土⁠魠 (IPhO Tutor). I wrote the handbooks, typeset them and produced the print files.
ROLE
Writing · Layout and typesetting · Cover and spine design · Print production
STACK
Word → Acrobat Distiller (print PDF) · Photoshop (covers, spines)
CREDITS
Cover illustrations generated with Midjourney, one scene per month · Cover layout adapted from a paid, royalty-free template

THE 45-SECOND READ

PROBLEM

Olympiad training material in Taiwan was usually black-and-white documents typeset in LaTeX or Word.

DECISION

Plan the course as one volume per month, and make each volume an issue of a monthly magazine — its own cover, color and contents page, with lecture numbers that carry on from one issue to the next.

PRODUCT

9 volumes, 1,699 pages, 195 × 263 mm, one volume per month.

STATUS

Used in the course from 2021 to 2025. Students in the course that used these handbooks went on to win three gold medals and one silver at the International Physics Olympiad.

I wanted each handbook to be like a new issue of a monthly magazine — it has its own lead story, and the key visual sets the mood.

ON DESIGNING THE NINE VOLUMES

THE PRACTICE / 01

A course, issued monthly

I had planned one volume for each month of material. The idea of making them a magazine came to me while I was browsing a design-template site.

So the handbooks are styled like a Japanese monthly. The issue names, in Japanese, count the months of the course: 最⁠初⁠の⁠月 (the first month), 二⁠ヶ⁠月⁠目 (the second month), through to 九⁠ヶ⁠月⁠目. Each cover lists that month’s lectures down its left edge, the way a magazine lists its stories. And the lecture numbers carry on from one issue to the next instead of starting over: the fourth month holds Lectures 24–30, the seventh 47–54.

ONE COVER, TAKEN APART — THE SEVENTH MONTH

Cover of 七⁠ヶ⁠月⁠目 (the seventh month): an astronaut holding two glowing orbs, surrounded by lightning. The titles of Lectures 47 to 54 run down the left edge.
THE COVER OF THE SEVENTH MONTH, LECTURES 47–54. THE COVER LAYOUT IS ADAPTED FROM A PAID, ROYALTY-FREE TEMPLATE.
  1. 01Issue name

    七⁠ヶ⁠月⁠目, “the seventh month” — the issue name, in Japanese, counting the months of the course.

  2. 02Cover lines

    This month's lectures, 47 to 54, run down the left edge like the stories on a magazine cover. The numbers carry on from the issue before.

  3. 03Cover image

    Every month's astronaut is in a different scene. The seventh month covers electrostatics and circuits, so it gets lightning. Generated with Midjourney.

  4. 04嚴⁠禁⁠外⁠傳

    “Not for distribution.” The handbooks stay inside the course. On this page the LINE ID in this box is blurred.

THE PRACTICE / 02

Every issue sets its own mood

Each volume gets its own color, and the pages that open it — the contents and the lecture openers — are designed again for every issue. The fourth month’s contents use large thin serif numerals; the seventh month’s hang from rules of different lengths.

SAME PAGES, NINE ISSUES

最初の月The first month · 227 pages

Contents spread of the first month: CONTENT set vertically, with large stencil lecture numbers and a page list under each.
PP. 2–3 · Contents
First lecture opener of the first month: a short story on the left page, an illustration of a red teapot machine on the right.
PP. 4–5 · First lecture

Pages 2–3 and 4–5 of every volume — the contents and the first lecture's opener. Pick a month to compare.

THE PRACTICE / 03

An index you can see from outside

On the right-hand pages of each lecture, a tab on the outer edge carries the lecture’s number and title in the volume’s color. With each new lecture the tab moves one step down the page.

Once the books are trimmed, the tabs show from outside. Look at the edge opposite the spine and each lecture is its own block, each one a step below the last.

THE FORE-EDGE — THE FOURTH MONTH, LECTURES 24–30

First tabbed page of Lecture 24, the top of a fan of seven pages from the fourth month — one per lecture, 24 to 30 — whose edge tabs step down the page.First tabbed page of Lecture 25; its tab sits one step lower than the last.First tabbed page of Lecture 26; its tab sits one step lower than the last.First tabbed page of Lecture 27; its tab sits one step lower than the last.First tabbed page of Lecture 28; its tab sits one step lower than the last.First tabbed page of Lecture 29; its tab sits one step lower than the last.First tabbed page of Lecture 30; its tab sits one step lower than the last.
The pagesThe first tabbed page of each lecture, fanned so the tabs show.
The fourth month's fore-edge rebuilt from its print file and stretched sideways: seven tab blocks step down from the top left to the lower right, one per lecture.24252627282930
The closed bookThe fore-edge rebuilt from the 153-page interior PDF — each column is the outer edge of one sheet — and stretched sideways so the blocks are easy to see. The strip on the right is the same edge at its real proportion.

Hover or tap a page to find its block on the edge.

THE PRACTICE / 04

Room to write, and the handwriting kept

Examples are followed by a lot of empty paper. That is on purpose: some students write large.

Some pages are handwritten in blue, red and green. My first handouts were all written by hand; I wanted them to carry some warmth. As the course grew and became more systematic, that had to change, so I pasted the earlier handwritten notes into the typeset books as images.

ONE LECTURE, PAGE BY PAGE — THE SEVENTH MONTH, LECTURE 47

  • Opener
  • Lesson
  • Example + space
  • Handwritten

  1. 01PP. 4–5

    Pages 4–5. Opener. Lecture 47 starts on its own spread — the number on the left, the lecture's question on the right.

    Opener

    Lecture 47 starts on its own spread — the number on the left, the lecture's question on the right.

  2. 02PP. 6–7

    Pages 6–7. Lesson. Typed explanation, with handwritten notes pasted in.

    Lesson

    Typed explanation, with handwritten notes pasted in.

  3. 03PP. 8–9

    Pages 8–9. Lesson. The lesson continues; typed text and handwriting share the page.

    Lesson

    The lesson continues; typed text and handwriting share the page.

  4. 04PP. 10–11

    Pages 10–11. Example, then space. The example takes the top of the page. The rest is left empty on purpose — some students write large.

    Example, then space

    The example takes the top of the page. The rest is left empty on purpose — some students write large.

  5. 05PP. 12–13

    Pages 12–13. Handwritten. Whole pages in handwriting, in color.

    Handwritten

    Whole pages in handwriting, in color.

  6. 06PP. 14–15

    Pages 14–15. Handwritten. More of the lecture, worked through by hand.

    Handwritten

    More of the lecture, worked through by hand.

  7. 07PP. 16–17

    Pages 16–17. Next lecture. Lecture 48 opens the same way, and the edge tab moves one step down.

    Next lecture

    Lecture 48 opens the same way, and the edge tab moves one step down.

Pages 4–17 of the seventh month, from Lecture 47's opener to Lecture 48's.

THE PRACTICE / 05

Made for the printer

The text is set in Word and turned into print PDFs with Acrobat Distiller; covers and spines are Photoshop files. Pages and covers share one size: 195 × 263 mm, a custom B5.

A spine has to match the thickness of the book behind it, and that depends on the page count and the paper. So every volume gets its own spine file, from 6.0 mm wide for the 99-page ninth month to 13.5 mm for the 259-page sixth. The file names carry the numbers: the thickness, the page count, and the version of the text each cover or spine was made for (對⁠應⁠ ⁠v⁠e⁠r). The books went to print in 2024, and the text has been revised since.

THE SET

  1. Spine of 最初の月 (the first month), 227 pages, 11.9 mm wide.
  2. Spine of 二ヶ月目 (the second month), 171 pages, 9.1 mm wide.
  3. Spine of 三ヶ月目 (the third month), 222 pages, 11.6 mm wide.
  4. Spine of 四ヶ月目 (the fourth month), 153 pages, 8.2 mm wide.
  5. Spine of 五ヶ月目 (the fifth month), 231 pages, 12.1 mm wide.
  6. Spine of 六ヶ月目 (the sixth month), 259 pages, 13.5 mm wide.
  7. Spine of 七ヶ月目 (the seventh month), 135 pages, 7.9 mm wide.
  8. Spine of 八ヶ月目 (the eighth month), 202 pages, 11.6 mm wide.
  9. Spine of 九ヶ月目 (the ninth month), 99 pages, 6.0 mm wide.

ONE SPINE FILE NAME

第1個月講義_書背2024_對應ver1.31_(x1-a)_厚度1.185_頁數227.pdf

  1. 第1個月講義Month 1 handbook
  2. 書背2024Spine, 2024
  3. 對應ver1.31Made for version 1.31 of the text
  4. (x1-a)PDF/X-1a, the print-file standard
  5. 厚度1.185Thickness — sets the spine width
  6. 頁數227Page count

The nine spine files side by side at one scale, 6.0 to 13.5 mm wide. The numbers are page counts.

LEAF THROUGH IT

Seventeen spreads from the nine months

Picked for their layout or their handwriting, and shown as printed. Click a page or use the arrow keys to turn it; on a phone, swipe.

  1. The opener of Lecture 3 in the first month: an illustration of a sunlit garden full of flowers and blue butterflies spans the fold. On the right, a short story in Chinese: Jack and Jill chase butterflies in a park, and Jack wonders whether adding up each small step would trace the whole path.
    01 最初の月 · PP. 70–71The opener of Lecture 3: an illustration across the fold, and a short story that leads into the integral.
  2. Left page: a section heading on angular quantities in kinematics. Right page: a spinning record and the right-hand rule, then a figure showing that two rotations in different orders give different results.
    01 最初の月 · PP. 212–213Angular velocity as a vector — figures with English labels set into the Chinese text.
  3. Left page: four colored 3D surface plots and a domain diagram, above a boxed definition of a function of two variables. Right page: two examples under pink rules, with room to work.
    02 二ヶ月目 · PP. 14–15Functions of two variables, with 3D surface plots.
  4. A handwritten spread on degrees of freedom: a pendulum and a particle on a hemisphere drawn in blue, notes in blue with yellow highlighting, and a conclusion in red.
    02 二ヶ月目 · PP. 120–121Degrees of freedom, handwritten.
  5. Left page: the right half of Lecture 21's opener, a pixel-art astronaut on ruled green lines with the English title. Right page: handwritten notes in blue and red on the principle of relativity and inertial forces, with diagrams of two observers.
    03 三ヶ月目 · PP. 142–143Lecture 21's opener facing handwritten notes on relative motion and inertial forces.
  6. Left page: a wheel rolling along a red line, then three wheels showing pure rotation plus pure translation equals rolling, with velocity arrows in red. Right page: a heading on the angular velocity of a rigid body.
    04 四ヶ月目 · PP. 10–11Rolling motion as pure rotation plus pure translation, shown on three wheels.
  7. Left page: a single heading on a hollow spherical shell. Right page: a table of moments of inertia for hoops, cylinders, rods, spheres and a slab, each drawn in red with its axis.
    04 四ヶ月目 · PP. 34–35A reference table of moments of inertia for common shapes.
  8. Left page: notes on hyperbolas and ellipses by eccentricity. Right page: the polar equation of a conic above five drawings of double cones cut by planes.
    05 五ヶ月目 · PP. 38–39Conic sections: double cones cut by planes, and the polar form with eccentricity.
  9. Left page: Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, with two yellow shear-stress charts. Right page: what affects viscosity, a sketch of viscosity against temperature for liquids and gases, and a yellow chart of viscosities for many fluids.
    05 五ヶ月目 · PP. 152–153Viscosity: Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, with charts.
  10. Left page: a pipe drawn in tan with velocity profiles developing along it, and numbered notes. Right page: the wall shear stress falling along the pipe, above another pipe diagram.
    06 六ヶ月目 · PP. 58–59Viscous flow in a pipe: the entrance region and the fully developed velocity profile.
  11. Left page: a cross-section of two concentric cylinders with a fluid between them and a magnifying glass on the gap. Right page: the torque balance, and a piston in a cylinder with its oil film magnified.
    06 六ヶ月目 · PP. 70–71Couette flow, and how it is used to measure viscosity.
  12. A page on capacitors: short typed paragraphs, with handwritten derivations in blue, boxed results in red and drawings of parallel plates with orange field arrows. The facing page continues by hand inside a yellow-framed box.
    07 七ヶ月目 · PP. 68–69Capacitors, worked through by hand around the typed text.
  13. Left page: nodal analysis, with four steps in red, a circuit marked up in color and the resulting equations by hand. Right page: an example circuit under an orange rule.
    07 七ヶ月目 · PP. 84–85Nodal analysis: the steps in color, then a circuit to try.
  14. Left page: a drawing of charged particles spiralling along Earth's field lines. Right page: a short text on the aurora above six photographs of auroras.
    08 八ヶ月目 · PP. 88–89The magnetic mirror and the aurora, with photographs.
  15. A handwritten spread in blue and red: a magnet and a moving loop seen by two observers, Jack and Jill, with the derivation running down both pages and Faraday's law boxed at the foot of the left page.
    08 八ヶ月目 · PP. 94–95Motional EMF and the principle of relativity, handwritten — two observers, Jack and Jill.
  16. Left page: four panels showing the pinch effect, current, magnetic field and ions in color, above a photograph of lightning over a town. Right page: a theta pinch drawn as a striped cylinder.
    09 九ヶ月目 · PP. 18–19The pinch effect in four steps, with a photograph of lightning.
  17. Left page: the image-charge method, typed in bold with handwritten working in blue, red and yellow highlighting. Right page: field-line diagrams of a charge near a conducting plane.
    09 九ヶ月目 · PP. 74–75The image-charge method, handwritten, beside field-line diagrams.

READING NOTE

What this page shows

The handbooks are not distributed outside the course — every cover says 嚴⁠禁⁠外⁠傳, “not for distribution”. This page shows a selection as printed: the covers and spines, the contents and lecture openers, Lecture 47 in full and seventeen spreads from the nine months. There is no PDF to download, and the LINE ID on the covers is blurred.