Chapter 02 · The Craft · Dó Press — Field Notes
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Four principles of the press

What the hand remembers

1

Ink before color

The black keyline is struck first from pearwood block; every pigment is later laid within its frame, never beyond it.

2

Pigment breathes on paper

Translucent mineral washes are thinned with water so the dó fiber shows through every stroke — color as light, not as paint.

3

Symmetry holds the devotion

A deity is centered, mirrored, framed in ornate panels — the composition is never improvised, because the meaning lives in the balance.

4

A print ages into its ground

Vermilion, indigo and gamboge deepen alongside the mulberry paper over decades, so an old print looks more itself, not less.

This is the Hàng Trống Folk Print design system, applied by Curio Design — a design-style library for AI agents. Full Hàng Trống Folk Print guide → designbycurio.com/learn/vietnamese-hang-trong-folk-woodblock