About Us
Mission Statement
ABDA exists to support Australian book designers – to promote their work to, and connect with, the broader publishing community. In addition, we aim to discover and foster emerging talent. Through our public talks and workshops, digital showcases and the national annual Book Design Awards, ABDA provides a dynamic network for industry professionals.
This website, launched in October 2015, provides an online hub for the community. Offering news, forums, educational events and a searchable archive of each year’s award categories, it is an invaluable resource for present and future Australian designers.
ABDA exists to serve its members. We encourage feedback and suggestions, please email us with ideas and feedback about events, blog posts or anything else you’d like to see more or less of.
Committee Members
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Hannah Janzen
PresidentFreelance Book Designer
Hannah is a Sydney-based book designer with an eye for detail and a passion for books. She has 12 years experience working in the Australian publishing industry. After working in a design studio for 6 years across a wide range…
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Astred Hicks
Vice PresidentFreelance Designer, Design Cherry
Astred is a freelance book designer whose distinctive work for a number of publishing houses covers fiction, non-fiction and educational, with a special emphasis on young adult fiction. She is a sometime lecturer in graphic design and was the lead…
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Andy Warren
TreasurerSenior Designer, Five Mile
Andy is an award winning Melbourne based designer. After graduating from RMIT in 2013, Andy interned then eventually worked as a designer at Hardie Grant Books. Working across a range of non-fiction titles, the work produced here led Andy to…
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Pooja Desai
SecretaryDesign Manager, Hardie Grant Egmont
Pooja is an award-winning designer currently working as the Design Manager for Hardie Grant Egmont. Before stumbling upon her one true love – publishing – her design career has spanned across packaging, product, magazines, marketing and digital. In her free…
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Michelle Mackintosh
Committee MemberGraphic Designer/Illustrator/Author
Michelle Mackintosh is an author, graphic designer and illustrator. She has worked on a number of illustrated books, including cookbooks and craft books. Michelle also designs stationery and logos. She is based in Melbourne, Australia.
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Philip Campbell
Committee MemberPhilip Campbell Design
Philip has been designing books, amongst other things, for over 20 years. He worked previously as a designer for Text Media and EmeryStudio and spent time as a sessional lecturer in Communications design at RMIT. His work focuses mainly on…
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Emily O’Neill
Committee MemberFreelance Designer
Emily is a Sydney-based freelance book designer. She has previously worked in-house for Penguin Books and Allen & Unwin on a wide range of projects including commercial and literary fiction, children’s and illustrated lifestyle titles. She has also created designs…
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Jessica Horrocks
Committee MemberSenior Designer, Text Publishing
Jessica is a designer and production coordinator at Text Publishing, where she has worked since 2015. Prior to this she had a brief stint in the design department of an advertising agency and a longer one in the production department…
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