Q&A With Illustrator Sophie Beer
Queensland based book illustrator Sophie Beer shares with ABDA some insights into the inspiration and processes behind her bright, buzzing illustrations. Did you mean to end up as an illustrator? What was your trajectory? A very circuitous one! I went to uni for law and literature but had no passion for law and was warned […]
The Long and the Short of it
Heads up, folks…due to a few issues beyond our control we won’t be releasing an ABDA Awards Longlist this year, which we’re a little bummed about. Our sincere apologies if you were looking forward to it with baited breath like we were. But don’t despair, once the second round of judging is completed the […]
Q&A with Typesetter Megan Ellis
Megan Ellis is a typesetter based in Collingwood, Melbourne. Specialising in (but certainly not limited to) illustrated books, Megan is an Adobe InDesign pro and wears many hats along the publishing process. We chat with Megan about the role of typesetters and gain insider wisdom for designers who work with them. How would you describe […]
2019 Awards – Save the Date!
The ABDA Committee is delighted to announce the 67th Australian Book Design Awards will be taking place in Sydney at the State Library of New South Wales on Friday 31 May 2019, with tickets on sale in April! The Australian Book Design Awards celebrate the bravest and brightest, the most original and beautiful books published in Australia […]
Meet Your Judges — The Australian Book Design Awards 2019
The ABDA committee is pleased to announce the judges of the 2019 awards. With experience across a wide range of publishing, design, academic and retail platforms, we’re thrilled to have them on board to uncover the best and brightest, most original and beautiful designs of the last year. JAMIE KEENAN worked in-house for Jonathan […]
Everyone on the same page: the ABDA survey results
In 2018, the ABDA community shared their experiences, difficulties and suggestions in a survey aimed to shed light on the collective and often unspoken trials of our profession. The main aims of the survey were to: Measure the health of our local book-design community Asses whether ABDA can do more to support our members Determine […]
One Book, Two Covers
For this post, ABDA committee member and designer Hazel Lam has brought together local book covers and their international counterparts with insights on their design processes. I have always enjoyed going overseas and seeing how different the book covers are compared to what we do here in Australia. I’ve been struggling to come up with […]
Design and Production Assistant for Text Publishing
Text is looking for a Design and Production Assistant to join its busy, highly efficient design team. This is a two-day a week casual position, based in Melbourne. Duties include designing marketing and publicity materials, managing and processing reprints, assisting in book production and providing support to our editorial, publicity, sales, marketing, rights and export […]
2018 Covered : Favourite Covers of the Year
As we turn the page on 2018, the ABDA committee and wider publishing community reflect on their favourite covers of the year. Jessica Lowe • ABDA Committee Member, Design Manager at Hardie Grant Books My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh. Design by Darren Haggar. Darren Haggar’s adoption of meme aesthetics has a jarring, rebellious […]
Seasons Greetings
As 2018 draws to a close, the Australian Book Designers Association’s committee wishes a safe and festive holiday season to you, your families and friends. Thank you all for your wonderful support in 2018 and may the new year bring you exciting design briefs and lenient client feedback!
The Hot Desk #5: morning routines of book designers
In our final instalment of The Hot Desk for the year, we check in with Nada, a freelance designer based in Sydney and Adam, an in-house designer in Melbourne about their morning routines. Nada Backovic Freelance designer, Sydney My mornings take advantage of the freelance life with a leisurely walk around Iron Cove Bay (but […]
Designing ‘The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club’
Christa Moffitt (Christabella Designs) shares the journey behind the cover of ‘The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club’. Joint winner of the Best Designed Commercial Fiction Cover category at the 2018 ABDA Awards, Christa details the trials of designing a cover with a particularly long title and breaking the mould in a well-trodden genre. […]