- Designed by
- Sarah Mitchell
- Category
- Emerging Designer of the Year
- Year
- 2021
- Publisher
- Scholastic Australia
About the Designer
Sarah is a freelance book designer based in Sydney. She has previously worked in-house for Scholastic Australia on a wide range of children’s titles across their various imprints. Prior to specialising in book design, Sarah freelanced as a graphic designer and illustrator, working with clients in the medical, arts and publishing industries. She has also written and illustrated a picture book, Starry Starry Night, which was shortlisted for the CBCA’s Crichton Award for new illustrators.
View profile- Design Rationale
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A Boy and a Ball explores themes of nature and humanity’s fight for survival in the face of man-made destruction and I wanted the design to reflect this juxtaposition. I crafted a loose painterly version of a handwritten font for the title to express the hopeful, playful innocence of the ‘boy’, even when surrounded by danger. Typographic placement was carefully considered to give focus to the dramatic visuals throughout, with staggered line breaks emphasising the text’s poetic phrasing. A wood-free stock was chosen to complement the naturalistic endpaper scene, which is a hopeful depiction of an eventual triumph over evil.
A Boy and a Ball
Cover Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Internal Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Author: Phil Cummings
Illustrator: Phil Lesnie
Publisher: Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Australia
Typesetter: Sarah Mitchell
Printer: R.R. DonnelleyBeyond Belief is inspired by the true story of Muslims who hid Jewish children from the Nazis in the Grand Mosque of Paris during World War II. The design needed to acknowledge the cultural and religious themes whilst avoiding overt visual clichés. I created an illustration that introduces symbology specific to the setting. The archway and background tile patterns replicate architectural elements of the Grand Mosque, whilst the textured title mimics the Mosque’s white cloth robes. The tree and pigeon are motifs that relate to the central character, with spot gloss emphasising the tree as a symbol of inner strength.
Beyond Belief
Cover Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Internal Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Author: Dee White
Illustrator: Sarah Mitchell
Publisher: Omnibus Books, an imprint of Scholastic Australia
Typesetter: Sarah Mitchell
Printer: Griffin PressHeart and Soul: This is a story about a man, his dog and their shared love of jazz. I wanted the cover to capture the style of old record covers and posters. For the title treatment, I went for a groovy mid-century typeface reversed out of block colours to simulate a stencil or screen-print. Wood-free stock was chosen for the internals to complement the muted palette and painterly textures. Musical notes needed to be hand-drawn and applied to various illustrations throughout. These motifs were then carried over to the title page and endpapers, weaving text and image together into a visually harmonious package.
Heart and Soul
Cover Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Internal Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Author: Carol Ann Martin
Illustrator: Tull Suwannakit
Publisher: Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Australia
Typesetter: Sarah Mitchell
Printer: R.R. DonnelleyKit and Caboodle: The adorably spooky art style with its limited colour palette and creamy backgrounds felt reminiscent of a kind of mid-century Halloween aesthetic, which inspired my font selections and title treatment. For the cover, I wanted to use the moon as a framing device, so I lifted scenic elements from various illustrations to create the silhouetted composition. Uncoated stock was chosen for the internals to echo the natural texture of the original art and PMS endpaper patterns were created to complement the red accents throughout. Twinkling silver foil detailing is sprinkled across the cover, emphasising the magical essence of the story.
Kit and Caboodle
Cover Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Internal Designer: Sarah Mitchell
Author: Anna Pignataro
Illustrator: Anna Pignataro
Publisher: Little Hare Books, an imprint of Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing
Typesetter: Sarah Mitchell
Printer: Asia Pacific Offset - Details
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- Special finishes
- A Boy and a Ball (Matt lamination, spot gloss, wood-free endpapers), Beyond Belief (Matt lamination, spot gloss), Heart and Soul (Matt lamination, spot gloss, wood-free internals), Kit and Caboodle (Matt lamination, silver foil, wood-free internals, 5th colour endpapers)