Awards Book Archive

Gazing at the Stars
  • Shortlisted

Designed by
Peter Long
Category
Best Designed Non-Fiction Book
Year
2015
Publisher
Black Inc.

About the Designer

Peter has been designing books for more than fifteen years, and until recently was Senior Designer at Black Inc.Books and the Art Director of The Monthly magazine. Before books he designed mostly for stage and film. He is also a filmmaker; the short film A Telephone Call for Genevieve Snow, which he wrote and directed, won the Silver Lion for the best short film at the Venice Film Festival.  …

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Design Rationale

When the Nazis invaded Slovakia, seven-year-old Eva Slonim and her sister Marta were sent into hiding by their parents, but were captured and sent to Auschwitz. Her story is told very plainly. I wanted the book to feel simple but strong. We had access to a lot of beautiful pre-war family photographs, but the thing that stood out was a cloth yellow star of David marked with a ‘J’. Eva’s father was a textile merchant before the war. It was one of those moments where an idea seems right, but I can’t easily explain how I came upon it.

Details
Dimensions
135 x 210 mm
No. pages
208
Credits
Author
Eva Slonim