ABDA Members Favourite Covers of 2016
It’s the holiday season and with 2016 nearing its end we asked ABDA members what their favourite covers of year were and why. Here are their responses —
Rob Klinkhamer Freelance Book Designer
Spritz — Italy’s Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes By Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau, design by Margaux Keres and illustrated by Matthew Allen.
Its strong illustrated central image, evocative typography and a bright, gorgeous colour palette make this a most striking cover. Looking at it you want to have that spritz lazing in the sun. The cover harks back to classic deco poster design while still being utterly contemporary. And the text design is equally luscious. Check out the authors’ other book ‘Sherry’, another beauty!
Debra Billson Freelance Designer
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, design by Dominique Falla and photography by Alejandra Ramirez Vidal.
I always love seeing craft making it onto a cover. Being a child of the ‘70s, I loved hammering little nails into wood and trying to make an amazing piece of art by patiently wrapping around lengths of cotton. My results were nothing like this, but Dominique Falla’s tactile typography on The Sun is also a Star warms my heart, as I inwardly cheer for all those lost crafty skills (even if the positioning of the author name and shout-line over the thread annoy me!).
Alissa Dinallo Freelance Book Designer
The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St Clair, designed by James Edgar.
I love this cover for its simplicity, as soon as I saw it in the bookshop I wanted to pick it up and known more about it. The cover did its job, very well.
Evi Oetomo Designer OetomoNew
Swing Time by Zadie Smith, designed by Jon Gray (gray318)
It’s such a strong, (seemingly) simple, graphic cover. The execution is super class. I’d love to grill Jon on how he gets that clever with a cover one day.
Nada Backovic Nada Backovic Designs
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, designed by Peter Dyer.
One of my favourite covers this year is The Essex Serpent designed by Peter Dyer, this cover feels beautifully reminiscent of a richly ornate and dark Victorian England past. The design cleverly depicts both the ‘serpent’ slithering through the Morris-inspired floral marshes of the Thames Estuary as well as the meandering river itself. The beautiful illustration almost seems to move, silently and ominously across the cover, like the serpent, like the river. Those who knows the Thames and its surrounds won’t fail to recognise the gothic, earthy, dark colours and its ambience. Whether you know the river or not, the cover promises the reader a certain beauty to a dark and gothic love story.
Simon Barnard Author and Illustrator
1984 by George Orwell, designed by WH Chong.
A favourite was Chong’s take on 1984. It’s deadly clever and I can’t help but think the clock is watching me.
Josh Durham Design By Committee
How to See by David Salle, designed Peter Mendelsund.
I love the simplicity and rawness of this—there’s no concession to fashion, trends or taste. All that peripheral stuff is not needed —just a simple, clever, brilliantly executed concept.
Laura Thomas Senior Designer Scribe Publications
The Bed Moved by Rebecca Schiff, designed by Janet Hansen and The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose, designed by Sandy Cull.
Sandy’s design is a striking design – it messes with my eyes in a great way. Love the movement and energy. Janet’s design is so bold and full of energy, it’s just calling me to pick it up. Perfect colours, too.
Imogen Stubbs Acting Design Director Text Publishing
These Are The Names, Little Caesar, A Beautiful Young Wife and Joe Speedboat, by Tommy Wieringa, designed by Jenny Grigg.
The series-style covers for Tommy Wieringa, designed by Jenny Grigg and published by Scribe, were favourites of mine this year. Deceptively simple and striking, with clever use of his initials and overlapping shapes to create a linking narrative.