The Art of Correspondence
Mary Callahan, the award-winning designer of ‘The Art of Reading’, shares the story of her design through correspondence with the book’s publisher. 16 October 2015, 11:58am Dearest M Brief as follows: Short synopsis In The Art of Reading each chapter explores a literary virtue – patience, curiosity, courage, pride, temperance, justice – reminding readers of […]
Q & A with Tess McCabe
As the designer and director of Creative Minds Publishing, Tess McCabe publishes books and resources for creative professionals and their businesses. Like the creative’s guide to copyright, ‘Owning It’ by Sharon Givoni, or the illuminating interviews in ‘Conversations With Creative Women’. She’s also one half of the podcast The New Normal, discussing kids, partnerships and creative work. Did […]
The Making of Magrit
A post by ABDA committee member Amy Daoud Winner of Best Designed Children’s Fiction Book and Designers’ Choice Children’s/Young Adult Cover of the Year at the 2017 Australian Book Design Awards, designer Amy Daoud shares the story behind the cover of Magrit. Nine-year-old Magrit has lived most of her life in an abandoned cemetery alongside her […]
Hall of Fame – Alec Bolton
A post by Michael Richards Before the formation of ABDA, the Australian Publishers Association was responsible for awarding the annual Book Design Awards. In 1995 the APA Hall of Fame Award was presented to Alec Bolton (1926–1996), publisher, designer, typesetter and printer. Alec worked as an editor with Angus and Robertson in Sydney and in London, with Ure […]
Staff Picks—Embiggen Books Favourite Book Cover Designs
The latest in a series of interviews where we ask staff at bookstores to tell us about their favourite book designs. This month we hear from Warren Bonett at Embiggen Books, 197-203 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. Fiction This is arguably the most competitive visual real estate in publishing. Fiction cover design frequently depends on whether the […]
The Image Detective
It’s never been easier to find the perfect image or inspiration for your book design, but how do you go about tracking down the original artist in the age of Pinterest and Tumblr? We talk to freelance permissions editor Sarah Thomas about navigating copyright and her work in book publishing over the last twenty years. […]
Q & A with David Campbell
As Senior Designer at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) David Campbell is surrounded by inspiration. Before landing this coveted role he was a freelance designer for twelve years, working with numerous galleries and arts organisations including ACMI, Melbourne Fringe and Voiceworks magazine. Did you mean to end up as a book designer? What was […]
Designing The Museum of Modern Love
A post by ABDA member Sandy Cull Taking home both the Literary Fiction and Cover of the Year categories at the 2017 Australian Book Design Awards, designer Sandy Cull shares the story behind her design. In his review of the The Museum of Modern Love for The Australian, Dominic Smith says, ‘From its conception to its […]
Tales of the Handmade Book
When we think of a handmade book we often think of one-off artist editions, but Tara Books has found a way to produce beautiful, handmade books thousands of times over, in multiple languages and editions. ABDA members and friends in Sydney and Melbourne were recently treated to a presentation by visiting publisher Gita Wolf and her son, […]
Alison Forbes: a book design pioneer
Alison Forbes (1933–) was the first full-time independent book designer in Australia. In a pioneering career which paralleled the transformative period of Australian publishing, Forbes designed hundreds of titles. Her remarkable legacy can be seen today on the bookshelves of Australian homes, libraries and schools. In the third year of her illustration and design course at […]
Q & A with Gayna Murphy
Gayna Murphy is a versatile and award-winning designer who has worked across many areas of publishing including magazines, large format illustrated books, cookbooks, literary fiction and children’s books. She is currently senior designer at Bauer Media Books. Did you mean to end up as a book designer? What was your trajectory? I started out designing and art directing […]
Re:collection and Sun Books
A guest post by Dominic Hofstede A look at the history and art of Sun Books, the iconic Australian paperback publisher launched in 1965. In 2016 Warren Taylor and I undertook a Creative Fellowship with the State Library of Victoria (SLV). The Fellowship provides artists, scholars and designers with a unique and supportive environment in which to […]