Membership

ABDA exists to support
Australian book designers –
to promote their work to, and connect with, the broader publishing community.

Membership Levels

Click on the membership below to find out more about eligibility and benefits

 

Professional Individual
$80.00 Annually

For professional Book Designer / Creatives living and working in Australia, to showcase their work. This membership supports members by showcasing and celebrating their work through awards, online profiles and access to Members-only discounts.

 

Establishing Designer Member
$70.00 Annually

For Establishing Designers / Creatives living and working in Australia, who are wanting to break into the book publishing industry. This membership supports members by showcasing and celebrating their work through online taster profile and access to Members-only discounts. Individual Membership only. 

 

Friends of ABDA
$65.00 Annually

Open to all book collaborators who aren’t book creatives (editors, publishers, authors etc.) as well as the wider creative community (photographers, illustrators, graphic designers, art directors etc.) whose body of work is based less than 80% in the Australian Book Publishing industry. Membership provides discounts to events, award submissions and offers from partner organisations. Individual Membership only.

 

Student Membership
$55.00 Annually FREE FOR THE 70TH AWARDS

This membership offers current students (part-time and full-time) unique access to a community of design specialists, as well as discounts to events, award submissions and offers from partner organisations.

 

Company Membership
Please email info@abda.com.au

We are very grateful to the Publishing companies that support our work. A Company Membership entitles publishing companies to discounts as well as access to ABDA events.  Prices varies based on the number of publications per annum.

 

The Australian Book Designers Association exists to support Australian book designers – to promote their work and connect them with the broader publishing community. We promote our members’ work through our online ABDA Profiles, the annual Australian Book Design Awards, public talks and seminars, industry advocacy, education and training, digital showcases and workshops throughout the year.

The ABDA website provides an online hub that connects members with each other and with the wider community

Last year ABDA launched a new membership category for individuals, Friends of ABDA and Establishing Designer Membership which sit alongside our Professional Individual Membership, Student Membership and Company Membership.

In an inclusive approach, the new membership categories have been created to embrace our fellow professional book collaborators – publishers, commissioning editors, editors, authors, production, marketers, and so on — as well as the wider creative community. 

With the creation of Friends of ABDA we aim to continue nurturing the relationship between book designers and their colleagues. By joining Friends of ABDA, people from the entire publishing industry can celebrate and support the wealth of design talent we represent, while also benefiting from ABDA’s resources and programs.

Breaking into any industry can be tough which is why ABDA has introduced the Establishing Designer Membership. Designed to bridge the gap between Student and Professional Memberships, this membership nurtures those whose body of work is not yet 80% or more commercial* book creative work. This membership offers a taster portfolio to support creatives in their ambition to further their career in the Australian Book Publishing industry.

Our Professional Individual Membership is exclusively for book designers and professional book creatives, including book illustrators, book typographers, typesetters and book photographers whose body of work is based 80% or more commercial work in the Australian Book Publishing industry.

And as a special 70th birthday present to the industry – and to encourage the next generation of Australian book designers – student membership is free for the duration of the 70th Australian Book Design Awards.

Not too sure which membership to get? See our infographic above for the path you need to take.

*Work is considered commercial when it is created from a brief for a paying client and it is commercially available (physically or electronically). Clients may be trade and education publishers, self publishers, government departments and private companies.


Member Discounts

All members enjoy discounts from the following highly recommended suppliers and supporters:

 

 

25% discount on full-year subscriptions from
Books + Publishing.

 

1 month free trial of Rounded – the only cloud accounting app built specifically for Australian Freelancers and sole traders.